Ustad in Music and Life

I dont know about the nuances of music. I can listen to music in any form (Hindustani or Carnatical or Western) even without instruments. I've heard about Ustad few years back . Not only I got attracted to his musical legendry, but him being a humanitarian and humble person. I can see a child in his smile.

The below are some excerpts from the articles on Ustad taken from "The Hindu" :

Talking to The Hindu from Varanasi, Dr. Srivastava said the Ustad had great love for his country. Unlike his peers, he did not go abroad for money and fame. "He did not even leave his favourite Banaras where the notes of his shehnai wafted across the Kashi Vishwanath and Sankat Mochan temples and intermingled with the placid waters of the Ganga," she said.

The Ustad personified secularism. "He was a practising Muslim who offered `namaz' five times a day. Yet he had immense faith in Baba Vishwanath, Sankat Mochan and Ganga maiyya. Asked to hunt for greener pastures, he
used to remark, ``where will I find Baba Vishwanath and Ganga," says Pandit Vyas.

Born in a poor family in Bihar on March 21, 1916, the Ustad was aware of his humble origins. This reflected in his demeanour and his conduct towards others.

The Ustad once narrated to this correspondent how he refused requests from the district administration and a company selling air-conditioners to have an a/c installed in his room. "How could I have slept in the cool comfort of the a/c when my neighbour Ramzan Ali poured buckets of water on his `tattar' [made of tin] for keeping the heat away in the summer," he asked.

Mai ta-umar anahad naad ki khoj me raha aur sunta raha ahat naad ko kyunki mera wajud qaid hai is badan mein. Mai jab isse azad hounga tabhi ahat naad ka gham khatm hoga aur sun sakunga anahat ko (During my entire life I heard the stuck sound since my life is encompassed in this body, whereas I have always wanted to listen to the unstuck sound. I will be able to do it when I will be free from this body.)

Mujhe kuch nahi chahiye. Mai sirf khuda se mangta hun ek saccha sur jo mujhe abad kare aur is jahan ko abad rakhe (I need nothing. I beg simply from God a true note so that I find rest in myself and the same for the world).

The articles are below:

http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/22/stories/2006082212530100.htm -- Atiq Khan
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/22/stories/2006082205472000.htm -- Gautam Chatterjee
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/22/stories/2006082205482000.htm -- Goutam Ghose
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/22/stories/2006082205372000.htm -- L.Subramaniam

Hope we can take a leaf out of this Great person's Life.

P.S. Watch preview of a documentary "Banaras, Music Of the Ganges" in which Ustad's Music is counterpart.

- NSR.