A response to the AMC website
Last weekend was very upsetting and disappointing for me and my family. For the very first time we saw the AMC’s website and found to our utter dismay misrepresentations and sheer misreporting of the Nehru Centre event in honour of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan.
Firstly, the event was organised by the Nehru Centre as a part of their ongoing programmes which commemorate the legendary figures of India.
Secondly, the event was chaired by the scholar-writer Reginald Massey who has written authoritative works on Indian classical music and dance (Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar wrote the Foreword to his book 'The Music of India'). Mr Massey was not even mentioned in the AMC report.
Thirdly, the two guests for the evening's question-answer panel were Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (whose name and presence also went unmentioned) and Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Fourthly, the film which was shown comprised the homages paid to Ustad Alla Rakha Khan by musicians of the calibre of Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shankar Mahadevan, Ranjit Barot, Siva Mani and the famous Kathak dancer Sitara Devi. There were also clips of some of the films for which Ustad Alla Rakha Khan hadcomposed the music. (He provided the music and sound tracks for over 45 films).
The question-answer session provided a platform for intelligent discussion and evaluation. There was not a discordant note in the very civilized proceedings.
Fifthly, the evening was not a Tabla seminar to discuss who played tabla solos and to which gharana a particular maestro belonged. The two panel members showed no disrespect to any tabla player or to any musical gharana.
The event was a homage to Ustad Alla Rakha whose contribution to the tabla is unparalleled and unquestioned. Whether his contribution is difficult for some to accept is quite another matter.
Regarding any contention that it was suggested that anyone suggested he was “the first tabla player to develop solo performance for tabla” neither the participants on the podium nor a sample of people who attended – including two music journalists – can recall hearing anything remotely along the lines in the AMC posting or anything that could have been misheard to support the observation. I am surprised that the AMC’s chairman Mr. Viram Jasani, who was present at the Nehru Centre, did not think it important enough to pose a question and ask for clarification from the two distinguished guests.
In all fairness, therefore, I submit that the AMC’s website be amended in the light of the various points outlined above.
Finally, I wish to state that my family, with its long history of music, is fully aware of the gharana system. We respect and cherish all gharanas since each has its own peculiarities and specialities.
- Khurshid Aulia (Daughter of Ustad Alla Rakha and founder of the Alla Rakha Foundation).
