Khan plays Indian classical music

Amjad Ali Khan, a well-known Indian classical music artist and composer, presented a public demonstration of the sarod Wednesday at Auer Hall.

Khan is visiting Bloomington for the week to perform at the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival on Saturday and to teach a one credit hour course in Indian classical music as the School of Global and International Studies’ first artist in residence.

Michael Dodson, director of the Dhar India Studies Program, said Khan had a long relationship with IU and Bloomington and previously performed at Lotus. However, this is Khan’s first time teaching at IU, Dodson said.

Khan, a sixth-generation sarod player, began performing at 6 years old. Since then, he has performed worldwide and received numerous awards, including a Grammy nomination in 2010 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award, an honor given by the Indian government to someone who promotes communal harmony and peace.

“It’s like having the Rolling Stones,” Dodson said. “He’s giant on the Indian classical music scene, and he’s an extraordinary person as well.”

Maria Bucur-Deckard, SGIS associate dean for international programs, said the idea for the artist in residence program came about six months ago during discussions with representatives from the Lotus Festival in an effort to bring the musicians for a longer stay.

“It’s worked out beautifully,” Deckard said. “It’s been such a lovely thing. The idea is to have access to these brilliant people and make their talents more easily translatable for people who are not experts in that area.”

Khan’s class began Monday and ends Friday. Students spend two and a half hours each day learning the fundamentals of classical Indian music through traditional methods, including melodic forms known as raga and rhythmic patterns known as taal.

During Wednesday’s demonstration, students sat on stage and sang along during the first two pieces. After the students’ portion, Khan, who was joined on stage by his son Ayaan, played a few pieces by themselves. Khan said none of the music is written down.

“Everything is new and natural,” he said.

Dodson said the first piece the students performed was called “Rag Yaman,” which was based on melodic scales, and the other was in a style called “Tarana” with verbal sounds but no actual lyrics.

“It’s not just that they’re learning a new form of music,” Dodson said. “They’re learning a tradition — a very different tradition.”

Freshman Sara Nemes said she heard about the class through her father, an international studies professor.

“I’m really into cultures and music as well, so I thought it would be a really interesting experience,” Nemes said. “He’s a very esteemed, illustrious man, but he’s helping us understand it ourselves and master it. I really appreciate his kindness and his passion for his instrument.”

Freshman Vasundhara Singh said she had a great experience hearing the sarod onstage and singing along to Khan’s playing. 

“This was honestly an amazing experience,” Singh said. “He’s sort of a legend in India, so to be able to share the stage with him was an amazing experience.”

Khan said he’s really enjoyed working with the students during the week.

“I’m so pleasantly surprised with the talent of the students here,” he said. “They’re so musical. I hope I can come back again to spend more time.”

He said the students were courageous for learning the new music and performing it.
“Whoever is learning creative arts, whoever is learning music, should be able to perform anything under any circumstance,” Khan said.

Sophomore Lavanya Narayanan got to sing solo during the student pieces. She said she has been singing for 14 years and previously trained in Carnatic, a South Indian classical music style.

At one point in the demonstration, Khan pulled Narayanan over and whispered to her — she was getting another solo. She said she was not expecting this one.

“It was such a learning experience,” Narayanan said.

Singh said the class has taught her more than just Indian music.

“It’s a cultural thing, and it’s really special,” she said. “It’s something that anyone could enjoy.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Schor on Twitter @SchorAlyssa.