Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Alla Rakha at the Monterey Pop Festival '67

Welcome to Gharana Music, first the "good" news: Karan Mehra, who has been hosting this show for the last year or so, decided to graduate from Georgia Tech, and move to New York. Well, good for him, we'll miss you, Karan. Good luck. The bad news is mainly for me, desperately trying to fill his shoes at WREK. It's also bad news for you, because you, our beloved audience, will have to put up with me, Avinash Sastry. Not a fair contest. Trust me.

So on that cheerful little note, let me tell you about today's line-up. Today, we feature Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and their phenomenal performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. For me, this is a very special performance. It goes way back to my undergrad days, when we were sitting and watching the videos of the Monterey Pop Festival. And right after Jimi Hendrix, came these two giants of Hindustani music. We just sat there, and watched and watched for the whole hour without saying a word. The performance scarred me, in that I could never think of Hindustani music as slow music for patient listeners; it had become just as enthralling as Led Zeppelin or AC/DC (bad comparison I know, and I apologize, but I warned you ).

The first track is in Raag Bhimpalasi. It starts slow and gradually builds up speed and rhythm, yet never goes too fast, setting up the mood for the second half of the performance. The second half begins with a spell-binding solo performance by Ustad Alla Rakha in Ektaal. I really like the way Pandit Ravi Shankar explains the timing, "It is 12 beats for each cycle, counted as 4-4-2-2, but Alla Rakha wants to play it faster so we'll be counting six beats as 2-2-1-1". The third and final track, called Dhun (Dadra and fast Teentaal) concludes their performance. He explains the timing for this one too, and as they start playing it seems quite easy to follow. Soon though, you reach a point where it is almost impossible to keep track of what they're doing, and that's when you realize that it is just pure genius!

As always, feel free to send us a mail, or comment on our blog, we'd love to hear from you! If you miss the show, you can still hit those links in the second column and listen to our archive. Looking forward to a great year with you all and with Gharana Music!

Avinash Sastry
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

22nd March, 2010

A big thanks to Uche, host of Sub Saharan Vibes, who covered in for me last Monday and did a great job picking music and hosting the show. He dug out some rare vinyls from our vault, and these are the tracks he played:

1. Pandit Raghunath Seth (flute) & Sri Balakrishnan Iyer - Raag Hansadhwani (album: Classical Flute Music of India)

2. Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta (sarod) - Drut Bandish in Teentaal

3. Pandit Samir Chatterjee (tabla) - Drut Gat in Teentaal

4. Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar and Gopal Das

5. Pandit Ravi Shankar - Mishra Ghara Dhun

6. N. Rajam - Raag Jhinjhoti

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music

WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM

Mondays, 8-9 p.m.

www.wrek.org

(+1) 404-894-2468

Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

8th March, 2010

The music on the show tends to get more soothing around exams, I'm not sure whether that's a conscious attempt on my part.

Tonight what played was 2 beautiful pieces that definitely helped relax the mind. Here they are:

1. Dr. N. Rajam (violin) - Raag Jhinjhoti (album: Masters Of Indian Classical Music Vol 2)

2. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) - Raag Durga (album: Masters Of Indian Classical Music Vol 2)

Playing live in Atlanta on 20th March is the big event: Ustad Zakir Hussain! He will be performing at the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University with a host of brilliant musicians, namely

Taufiq Qureshi, Ganesh and Kumaresh, Sabir Khan, Navin Sharma, Sridar Parthasarathy, and the Motilal Dhakis of Bengal.

More details here: http://www.rialtocenter.org/

For updates regarding the show and Indian Classical events in Atlanta, follow us on Twitter on http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music

WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM

Mondays, 8-9 p.m.

www.wrek.org

(+1) 404-894-2468

Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

1st March, 2010: 50 weeks!

The March 1st episode marked my 50th show as host of Gharana Music, so I'm really happy. I almost didn't realize when it happened - the last year has gone by very quickly.

To talk a little more about the show I invited Dr. Parag Chordia into the studio who could fortunately make it this time. Dr. Chordia started the show at Georgia Tech, but he spoke about how Gharana Music predates his time at Tech. It actually began while he was in college in California, pursuing his PhD. Dr. Chordia dedicated the night's episode to his guru Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, a true genius on the sarod.

Here are the tracks off of a rare All India Radio recording, all by Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta:

1. Kafi Kanhra

2. Raag Naiki Kanada (alap)
3. Raag Naiki Kanada (madhyalay and drut teentaal)
4. Raag Chhaya (drut teentaal)

Hopefully, Dr. Chordia will join me in the studio more often.

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

22nd February 2010: Tabla Special

Having a tabla themed show was always going to be fun, and I hope you weren't disappointed.

We had three pieces tonight, the first two being performances in teen taal (16 beats), and the show closer was radically different to anything we've played before. In addition to Ustad Zakir Hussain's tabla beats, there was also the ghatam, the dhol, the dholak and more. One of the most energetic mpieces we've ever had, this ventured away from the mould of Indian Classical and incorporated flavours of Punjabi folk (north India), Rajasthani folk (western India) among others. If you couldn't tune in, make sure you listen to it by playing the tracks on the right sidebar of this blog (link available until 7th of March).

Here are the tracks that played:

1. Pt. Suresh Talwalkar - Drut Teentaal

2. Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri - Vilambit Teentaal

3. Ustad Zakir Hussain - Taal Mela

Join us again next week for another theme-based show!

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

25th January, 2010

Welcome back to the first live broadcast of Gharana Music of 2010! Spring '10 is well on its way at Georgia Tech and it's great to be back in the studio.

Picking music for the first show of the year was easy, an hour-long performance of Raag Malkauns by Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee on sitar. It's been said that Pt. Bannerjee preferred live performances to studio recordings, so I chose to play one of his performances from his concert at Bath, England.

Thanks to all of you who have emailed us, called in and given us feedback through our blog! Hope you tune in for the next several Monday nights, or catch the recorded version on this blog or www.wrek.org.

Oh, and here's wishing all the Indians a happy Republic Day, and happy Australian Day to our Australian listeners.

Until next time,

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

23rd November, 2009

It's been nearly a year since the horrific terrorist attacks on Mumbai (26th November 2008), and let's take this moment to offer our respects to those we have lost and wish their families the best. It is also an opportunity to look ahead and learn from what's happened, and feel a sense of pride about how the Mumbai and Indian citizens came together and brought the city back to its feet in no time.

Gharana Music was on as usual, and what played on the show tonight was one of the most talented contemporary Hindustani musicians who is also from Mumbai, Pandit Nayan Ghosh - a rare case of someone who has mastered two diverse instruments, the tabla and the sitar. We also heard a piece by Ustad Rashid Khan. Here are the songs:

1. Pandit Nayan Ghosh (sitar) - Raag Kafi accompanied by Malhar Ghosh on tabla

2. Ustad Rashid Khan (vocals) - Raag Bihag

You can listen to the last two shows (the links refresh every week) by clicking on the links in the right sidebar. Tune in again next week!

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

9th November, 2009

Ketaki Deo was back to hep me out this week, she hadn't had enough of the WREK studio :)

Tonight we focused on raags that are generally played at or around daybreak:

1. Pandit Ravi Shankar (sitar) - Raga Ramkali, Live in London
2. Pandit Jasraj (vocals) - Raag Bhairavi, accompanied by Shafat Ahmed Khan on Tabla, Appa Jalgaonkar on Harmonium, Kumari Shweta Zaveri, Shri Neeraj Parekh & Shri Krishna Kant Parekh on vocals
3. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) - Jogiya Kalingra

Thanks for tuning in & calling in, tune in next Monday for another hour of some of the finest music created.

Karan Mehra
Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

2nd November, 2009

Possibly one of our best hours on Gharana Music, the music was mesmerising! Here's what played:

1. Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan (sitar) - Raag Shahana
2. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) - Raag Bageshri (in Vilambit Tintal)
3. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor) - Raag Bhimpalasi (Gat in ektal)
4. Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla), Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), John McLaughlin (guitar) and Jan Garbarek (saxophone) - Making Music (album: Making Music)

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

26th October, 2009

More firsts on tonight's show, including music by Ustad Shahid Parvez and the first in-studio guest of the semester.

But first, here's what played last Monday (19th October), since I did not update the blog in time:

Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) - Raga Jhinjhoti, along with Hidayat Khan (sitar) and Sukhvinder Singh (tabla)

Back to this week, we're really excited to let you know that Ustad Shahid Parvez, one of the finest Sitar players who has been performing live 46 years now (his first performance was at the age of 8!), is coming to Atlanta. Not just that, he's coming to perform at Georgia Tech! Ustad Shahid Parvez's genius demonstrates how he has done more than justice to the lineage of musical legends that he comes from, including Ustad Imdad Khan, Ustad Wahid Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan and more.

He will be accompanied by Rohit Majumdar on Tabla, and will be performing from 6-9 at the Student Center Theater (350 Ferst Drive, Atlanta GA 30332). For tickets and further details pls contact Dr. Santosh Pande at 770-447-5517 / Mr. Bob Ghosh at 404-431-0091 / Dr. Sham Navathe at 770-416-8901. I would NOT miss this concert organized by the ICMS (Indian Classical Music Society).

We also had in the studio with us Ketaki Deo, a masters student at Georgia Tech studying Computer Science. She has been classically trained in Hindustani vocals and was here to share with us her introduction to Indian Classical music, her training with her Guru back in Pune, India, and the cultural hub that is Pune. Ketaki, we will hopefully see you perform soon at Tech. We also used this opportunity to play our first Rahul Deshpande performance (since Ketaki asked for it), someone whose music I've been wanting to play for a while but haven't gotten down to.

Here's what played tonight:

1. Ustad Shahid Parvez (sitar) - Raag Desh (live)

2. Rahul Deshpande - Albela Saajan (live)

3. Ustad Shahid Parvez (sitar) - Dhun (live)

In case you missed any of this, you can listen to the last 2 shows by clicking on the links in the "Listen to Gharana Music now" section on the right hand side.

See you next week!

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

5th October, 2009

An interesting show to say the least, all the performers whose music we played today have had Western influences, yet play music that is truly Hindustani.

Srinivas Reddy on sitar began playing rock and jazz until his "life-changing" meeting with Sri Partha Chatterjee, who would go on to become his guru. (http://www.srinivasreddy.org/)

Sameer Gupta on tabla began, and continues to play improvisational world, fusion and jazz, with several other active musical projects. (http://www.sameergupta.com)

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, a highly accomplished slide guitar player uses it for Indian Classical music. (http://www.debashishbhattacharya.com)

Here is what played:

1) Srinivas Reddy (sitar) and Sameer Gupta (tabla) - Raag Hemant (Alap and Vilambit), from the album "Hemant & Jog"

2) Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar) with Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) - Raag Pahadi Jhinjhoti (Madhya Gat in Jhaptal)

If you liked what you heard (you can listen to the last 2 shows by clicking on the links in the sidebar on the right), go ahead and buy the music!

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m. EST
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

28th September, 2009

Ustad Vilayat Khan's music always has a calming effect on me, and so I thought even the 40+ minute performance was too short. This was followed by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, whose style of playing I've always been a fan of. Not much else to report from here, apart from the as-usual hectic school work.

Here's what played tonight:

1. Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) - Raag Bhairo Bahar -- Alap and Jhor

2. Pandit Anindo Chatterjee (tabla) - Asta Mangal taal (album: Dream on Drums)

You can now listen to the last two shows by playing the links on the sidebar on the right. You can also follow us on twitter!

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

See you next week!

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

21st September, 2009

Atlanta is under water and the situation is serious. The American Red Cross is in and there are emergency services coming to the aid of many. Here are some emergency numbers, courtesy @hellonorthga on Twitter:

American Red Cross, Metro Atlanta: Phone: 404-575-3730 Fax: 404-575-3082

Down trees: 404-817-6813

Flooding: 404-658-6500

Power outages: 888-891-0938

Protected from all this in the studio, was some great Hindustani music. What played during the hour was:

1. Anupama Bhagwat (sitar) - Raag Shyam Kalyan Vilambit

2. Pandit Jasraj (vocals) - Raag Bhairavi

3. Gundecha Brothers (vocals) - Raag Puriya Dhanashree Sooltaal

You can listen to the show here until 28th September:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

And here between the 28th and 5th of October:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Follow us on twitter!

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org

(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/gharanamusic

14th September, 2009

Busy start to the week, promises to get busier. Aarohi, the student orgranization on campus plan to organize their first Indian Classical concert of the semester in a few weeks, details will be posted here.

What played on the show this week was Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Pandit Ravi Shankar:

1. Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar (vocals) - Raag Sampurna Malkauns

2. Pandit Ravi Shankar (sitar) - We played a number of short tracks in the following raags:

Raag Ahir Lalit, Raag Nat Bhairav, Raag Bhatiyar, Raag Sindhu Bhairavi, Raag Hemant, Raag Rasiya

Here's an important event coming up:

Vibha will be holding its annual 5km run/walk event this year on sept 19th. The event will start in BioTech Quad courtyard, 315 Ferst Drive NW at 8.30 am. Vibha is a charity organization working for underprivileged children. All proceeds support child development projects and "Make a Wish" foundation. Last year, they had over 1000 participants and could raise $50,000. This year, there will be a special kids' carnival. For more details, please call Keshav at 770-309-6268 or visit http://tinyurl.com/vibhagtwalk

Come and support a great cause!

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

7th September, 2009

The slide guitar made its debut on Gharana Music as we played music by Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya for the first time on the show. A beautiful 34 minute piece in Raag Pahadi Jhinjhoti accompanied by Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla, started off the show. Pt. Bhattacharya started playing music at the age of three and has gone on to receive great respect in the musical fraternity worldwide. Read more about him at:

http://www.debashishbhattacharya.com/

One Bengali musician was followed by another, Pandit Dhruba Ghosh on the sarangi covered the rest of the show. Both the artists' CDs can be found on www.amazon.com, and they even have a few songs posted on www.myspace.com, http://last.fm and more.

Here are the tracks that played tonight:

1. Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya (Hindustani slide guitar) with Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) - Raag Pahadi Jhinjhoti (Alap, Jor & Jhala)

2. Pandit Dhruba Ghosh (sarangi) with Kashinath Mishra (tabla) - Raag Komal Rishabh Asavari (Madhya Bandish in Jhaptaal, Drut Bandish in Teentaal)

You can listen to the tracks here until 14th September:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

And here between the 14th and 21st of September:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

August 31st, 2009

The fall semester begins, and it's great to have a campus full of people! This semester will see more musicians come in to the studio (Georgia Tech students, and otherwise) and have a chat with us. Also, stay tuned to get updates about Indian Classical concerts happening on and off campus.

Tonight's show included artists that we hadn't played before, and I'm now wondering why. Here's the playlist:

1. Pandit Suresh Talwalkar (tabla) - Drut Teental (album: Laya Kalpana, Rhythmic Bliss of Tabla)

2. Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar) with Akram Khan (tabla) - Raag Jaijaiwanti

3. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) - Raag Marwa

You can listen to the show here until the 7th of Sept:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Or here between the 7th and the 14th:

Part 1 (8.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.)

Part 2 (8.30 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.)

Do your best to make it to the Georgia Tech campus on the morning of the 19th of September, an contribute by walking for charity:

http://wiki.vibha.org/Dream_Mile:2009_Atlanta_Home

If you would like to volunteer for the event, please visit:

http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg956v/vibha%20volunteering.htm

Hope to see you there!

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

July 27th, 2009: The July tribute series to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ep 4

The final show of the series and personally, it was my favourite. Following the opening piece by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was a beautiful performance by the Ustad along with Pandit Ravi Shankar, in Raag Ramdas Malhar. The show ended with what is possibly one of my favourite performances, Raag Mishra Mand by the Ustad and Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee. I had played this on an earlier show as well, but since we ran out of time on the show, I just had to play it again. I was happy that we could manage to fit in three great pieces in our last show, covering a good combination of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's solo performances as well as collaborations with two of Hindustani music's greatest Sitar players.

You can listen to the show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

With this we wrap up our July special, a tribute to the legend. While he will be dearly missed by listeners, followers and peers all across the world, his music is timeless and something that we will continue to play here at Gharana Music.

These past 4 weeks have been a treat, I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

July 20th, 2009: The July tribute series to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ep 3

Just one more week to go in this series of tribute shows to the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and today we have a 1988 recording from his concert in Stuttgart. The performance featured the Ustad accompanied by Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla, who is the Director of Percussion at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California and Basil, Switzerland. On the tambura (tanpura) is Shefali Nag.

The other track of the night was by the tabla legend Ustad Allah Rakha, along with his son, Ustad Zakir Hussain. When Ustad Ali Akbar Khan gave his first recital on All India Radio in 1938, it was Ustad Allah Rakha who had accompanied him on the tabla.

Here is the playlist:

1. Gat in Slow and Fast Tintal - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) & Shefali Nag (tambura): Live in Stuttgart

2. Roopak Taal - Ustad Allah Rakha (tabla), Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla)

Here are the audio files of the show, these links will be good for a week:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

Next week will be the final show of the tribute month, and I promise you it's going to be special. We'll be playing some of the Ustad's finest collaborations with other artistes that he has played a lot with.

Thanks for tuning in!

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com

July 13th, 2009: The July tribute series to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ep 2

Continuing with our tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the music on today's show was special. We started the hour with an All India Radio archival recording by Khansahib, followed by a beautiful piece by Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee, someone that Khansahib has played a lot with. What made the show special today was the last piece, one in which both these legends played together.

Here's the playlist:

1. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) - Raag Darbari (All India Radio Archival Recordings, Vol 7)

2. Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee (sitar) - Raag Sohini

3. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan & Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee - Raag Mishra Mand

Each week, you can listen to the current week's show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

And the previous week's show here:

Part 1: 8 - 8.30 p.m.

Part 2: 8.30 - 9 p.m.

Here are some interesting quotes by and about the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan:

(source: http://dkvblog.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/06/alvida-ustad-ali-akbar-khan-1922-2009.htm)

"..an absolute genius, the greatest musician in the world "

- Yehudi Menuhin describing Ustad Ali Akbar Khan when he met him in 1952

"If you practise for 10 years, you may begin to please yourself. After 20 years you may become a performer and please the audience. After 30 years you may please even your guru. But you must practise for many more years before you finally become a true artist – then you may please even God."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

"When I heard the news it was like losing Ray Charles, or John Coltrane, or Charlie Parker, you know. There probably couldn't be two-three musicians like him in the world."

- Rock Guitarist Derek Trucks paying tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan

"I started to learn this music at the same time I began to talk. So it is as natural to me as speaking. It's not something I have to think about any more than I have to think about the words I'm saying."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan talking to Don Heckman of The Times

"I teach what I learned from my father. The same system, with the same traditional purity. The same kind of devotion, the same love for music has to be built up. And that can only happen when it comes from the heart. Otherwise, music doesn't last. It doesn't stay."

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in conversation with The Times

"When I came in '55, because I was in Indian dress, people on the street in New York came out of the bars and shops and followed us. They asked me, 'Who are you? Where are you from?' When I said, 'India,' some of them didn't even know where it was. Or others who knew I was a musician asked funny questions like, 'How can you play music in India with all the tigers and snakes and monkeys you have to fight off?' "

- Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in conversation with the Asian Week as quoted in The Washington Times

"All the people who studied there - it changed all our lives. Khan embodies the pure spirit of music; it's not just the notes, it's the spirit. Every time I listen to him, he takes me there."

- Mickey Hart, drummer with Grateful Dead talking of learning music under the Ustad as quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle

Karan Mehra

Gharana Music
WREK Atlanta, 91.1 FM
Mondays, 8-9 p.m.
www.wrek.org
(+1) 404-894-2468
Email: gharanamusicatlanta@gmail.com