JEDDAH — Sarod master Amjad Ali Khan and his talented sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan performed on Nov. 20 at the Indian Consulate General in the presence of many Indian nationals eager to admire a living legend who conducted his first public sarod performance at the age of six. He created many new ragas and brought Indian classical music and the sarod to international recognition. Conducted in Jeddah in association with Al-Abeer Medical Group, the concert is part of the Soorya India Festival that will be presented also in Dammam and Saudi Aramco. Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai said: “It's a singular honor for me to welcome Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, one of the 21st century's greatest Indian musicians who is playing for the first time in Jeddah. “He is from a very renowned music school of India, the Senia Bangash School of Music, which by coincidence is in the same state where I come from. “He is a sixth generation sarod player within an illustrious family whose ancestors are recognized by the merit of having invented the instrument, by transforming the Afghan rubab into the sarod we know today. “The sarod is in fact considered an adaptation of a famous Afghan national instrument that arrived in India during the 16th century.” Divided in three parts, the concert started with an exhibition by Amjad Ali Khan's two sons who clearly inherited their father's talent and were initiated into the fine art of sarod playing at a very tender age, performing worldwide ever since. The brothers' exhibition was followed by Amjad Ali Khan's solo performance and a final session during which father and sons played together. Before starting his concert, Amjad Ali Khan explained some of the sarod's main characteristics. He said: “The sarod is a stringed musical instrument that is common in the Hindustani music tradition of northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. “The instrument, often accompanied by the tabla (Indian drums), is similar to the sitar but has a more metallic, deep and reverberant sound. “The modern version has four to six main melodic strings, plus two to four more strings, which are plucked with a plectrum held in the right hand, while the fingernails of the left hand press the strings.”
