In a candid chat with us, sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan , who performed in the city recently, shares his memories as a child, talks about his beliefs and more. The 65-year-old musician comes from a long line of legendary sitar players, being the seventh generation of the Etawah gharana. When asked if he always wanted to play the sitar or if he was just following in the footsteps of his forefathers, he says, “When I first started, I was only three or four at that time.
My father gave me a small sitar as a toy and told me to play with it. Then, slowly, he started training me.” He continues, “So, I grew to appreciate the sitar and kept learning till I was 13 or 14.
Gradually, I knew that was the instrument I wanted to play. To me, the sitar is everything and has given me everything. It is my life.
Everything comes after this; it is always my priority.” When asked about how he wants to be remembered, he says, “I want to be remembered as a purist. As a person who doesn’t go beyond boundaries but knows how to extend it when required.
Because, there are all types of expressions in our music, there is nothing that we cannot play.” He adds, “So, we don’t need to spoil our music by going outside the boundary of traditions. The idea is to stay within tradition and your bounda ry and do whatever you want.
” I do believe in experimenting, and I have done so many different things with my instrument, but never at the cost of music. If different musicians work tog.
