LONDON: Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was on Friday granted a UK visa to travel to London to perform at the Darbar Festival, a week after his earlier application was turned down.
Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who assisted Khan during his second visa application, said, “I am delighted that Amjad Ali Khan’s visa has now been granted. Britain adores the music of Amjad Ali Khan and I am so pleased we will be able to hear it after all.” Vaz thanked the staff of the British High Commission in New Delhi for dealing with the “issue promptly once the technical problem had been identified.”
He added, “We need a long hard look at the immigration rules so that they are seen to encourage Indian people to visit and work in the UK. This is especially so after Brexit. The UK must always be seen to be open to the rest of the world” Khan, who has performed in Britain often since the early 1970s, is due to perform at the Darbar Festival in Southbank Centre here on September 17 and 18 According to the programme, he will reflect on his 50-year career during a “candid conversation” accompanied by his wife, Subhalakshmi Barua Khan.