The Lost Sitar

The fact that I never got to see a live performance of the late sitar maesro,Ustad Vilayat Khan (accompanied by Pandit Kishan Maharaj), will probably be an enduring regret for me, accentuated by the fact that I have a VCD recording of "When Time Stood Still", which was probably his last performance in the UK (a SONY and BMG product). The recording itself is so captivating, I am always left with a sense of wonder about what it might have been like to actually sit through one of his live recitals.

In this recording, the old, but hale Ustadji addresses the audience every now and then as he guides their minds and souls through the majestic portals of the late night melody, Raag Darbari Kanada. In his inimitable style he shows them the incredible scope of the Raag and also his indisputably unique finger techniques. Somewhere in these moments, he speaks affectionately to the audience, telling them that he only has a little time left on this earth and asking them to listen attentively to his Sitar because its like will not be heard again. The simple dignity with which he speaks these words never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

The maestro did not speak out of pride...he stated a simple fact, widely endorsed by fellow musicians and connoisseurs of music during his life and also after his demise. His baaj (style of playing the sitar) was a skill developed out of an unbelievably acute, natural sense for music, which was honed by the musical lineage into which he was born. His father and Guru, the late Ustad Enayat Khan, a musical powerhouse in his own right, had drawn the attention of thousands of listeners to the giftedness of his child when in their first ever recording together, he introduced himself as Vilayat's father, so great was the mastery exhibited in the artistry of the young Vilayat Khan.

Ustadji has left behind some talented children and disciples,who do much to uphold his tradition and teachings. However the songs that his Sitar wove each time he held it in his hands, more lovingly than a mother cradles her infant, will not grace this world again...not for a long time to come.

There are so many artistes like Ustadji, who have spent decades in the single-minded pursuit of the spiritual satisfaction that only true music can bestow. For them, music is the highest form of worship...arising as an abstract and melodious prayer from the very core of their beings and winging its way unerringly to the Eternal...Somewhere, Ustad Vilayat Khan is playing his Sitar, his eyes closed in meditation, the characteristically faint but charming smile upon his lips...and The Universe is listening...enchanted...enraptured...