Sarod maestro documents memories of his musician father, fraternity

As a tribute from a son to his father on the latter's 40th death anniversary, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan released his book, My Father, Our Fraternity, on Thursday evening. Aarefa Johari reports.

As a tribute from a son to his father on the latter's 40th death anniversary, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan released his book, My Father, Our Fraternity, on Thursday evening.

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The book, an account of the life and times of Khan's father, Haafiz Ali Khan, was launched at Parel's ITC Grand Central by actor Amitabh Bachchan.

The event was held a day after the demise of sitar legend Ravi Shankar, and Khan's audience observed a minute's silence in his memory.

"My father was a scholar, but he was also a very simple, compassionate and encouraging person," said Khan, who received his musical training from his father while growing up in Gwalior.

Haafiz Ali Khan came from an illustrious family of musicians whose ancestors invented the sarod. In his book, Khan describes the sense of responsibility he felt as a child towards his family's legacy and the workings of the guru-shishya tradition in classical music.