Stringed history

You can hear the past in the riyaaz room of Amaan and

The riyaaz room of Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan is tucked down the basement of their Chirag Enclave bungalow in New Delhi. As the two brothers enter, they carefully draw out wheeler cases of the instrument from a large cupboard, which houses a number of other sarods and instruments like the tanpura and tabla.

“These are both old and new sarods. Some belong to our father Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan sahib,” says Amaan while he adjusts the keys of the string instrument. A couple of minutes later, the young maestros are all set to create magic. The room echoes with the deep sound of the sarod as they slide their fingers on its smooth steel fingerboard. The exceptional clarity of the sound is striking. “It is the wooden flooring of the room which makes the notes resound better. Also there is no performance pressure,” says Amaan.

The floor is minus even a single piece of furniture, except for a small stool on which sits a Ganesh idol. Even the carpets are rolled out only during riyaaz. “We always had our riyaaz room in the basement but this one has been recently renovated. The earlier room was huge. I prefer the cosy feel here. We kept it rather empty to avoid any kind of distraction,” he adds. A double-deck mirror showcase containing two string instruments occupies the centre of the room. “The bigger one is the Rabab. Sarod is an improvised version of the same. And the little sarod in the upper deck was given to us when we started learning the sarod,” says Amaan. In the backdrop of the showcase is a huge portrait of Ustaad Haafiz Ali Khan, their grandfather. The wall opposite the frame holds the three Padma Shris their father has received. “Each time I look around, I realise the high standards that have been set for us. There is so much to be done and such a long way to go,” Amaan signs off.