Catch Zakir Hussain, Rakesh Chaurasia live in concert

The Aadi Anant festival is back at the NCPA, celebrating the guru-shishya tradition in classical music.

Winter is coming. In the world of Indian classical music, this means that a fresh new round of concerts begins. Kicking them off is Aadi Anant at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Aadi is origin or beginning and Anant is that which has no end.

It’s a fitting title for a concert that celebrates the teacher-pupil tradition, an unending chain of how music has travelled through the centuries. This edition is headlined by tabla maestro Zakir Hussain who collaborates with Rakesh Chaurasia, the leading flautist of the young generation, and L Subramanium, the violin virtuoso who plays with his son and pupil Ambi.

“For me, to be performing along with Ustad Zakir Hussain is a huge honour,” says Chaurasia. “Being with him on stage or while traveling, there is a continuous stream of learning.” Ambi, on the other hand is as excited to play at the hallowed NCPA as to accompany his father. “I’m really looking forward to this concert structure,” he says. “It will start with a solo by my father, and the finale will have the both of us alongside Corky Siegel, an amazing blues harmonica player from the US.”