Nabeel Khan pursues his grandfather's dream of making Sarangi famous worldwide

Dubai, musician Nabeel Khan says he is leaving no stone unturned to make the dream of his late grandfather and legendary Sarangi master Ustad Sabri Khan come true: to take the sound of the classical Indian instrument Sarangi to every corner of the world.

Nabeel Khan, who belongs to a traditional family of sarangi players of the Moradabad Sainia Gharana, performed at a spectacular candlelight concert here on Sunday.

“My aim is to continue the dream of my grandfather, the legendary Sarangi master and Padma Bhushan award winner Ustad Sabri Khan Sahab, and spread the classical Indian Sarangi all over the world.

“I am trying my best to make it more popular and always try to make people aware of the peaceful and soulful sound of the sarangi. And I am confident that I will make this dream come true,” he told PTI after the concert.

The 25-year-old musician said he was happy to promote Indian classical music in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.

“I am the first sarangi player to pioneer this instrument in this region and I am very happy with the response of the audience and how much they love my music here and in western countries too,” he added.

Nabeel Khan belongs to a gharana whose musical roots go back to Mian Tansen, the great singer in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Along with his education, he was soon initiated into the rare art of the Sarangi instrument. Growing up in a family of great Sarangi players, Nabeel Khan quickly learned the Sarangi techniques under the guidance of his grandfather and was soon considered a Sarangi prodigy.

He began learning the stringed instrument from his grandfather at the age of seven. The Moradabad Sainia Gharana has produced many legendary sarangi players in India since the 15th century.

“I believe gharanas like mine are unique, but we have also evolved in a unique way. We have embraced the many benefits of the digital age and the technology that comes with it, but use it only to preserve our classical roots. This has helped us tremendously in making our music and art accessible to more people around the world,” said Nabeel Khan, the eighth generation sarangi artist in his family.

He is also aware of the international audience that comes together to hear his music.

“Whenever I travel abroad, like to the UK or other European countries, I meet a more international crowd. But the beauty of the UAE is that you meet different people from different countries. And yes, their love for our Indian classical music, which is so beautiful, has only come in the last many years,” he said, adding that he grew up with international students from different countries.

“I used to see foreigners coming to my house and learning Sarangi from my father Ustad Nasir Khan and my grandfather Ustad Sabri Khan. That's how I learned to teach Sarangi and we have over 100 international students worldwide. That's why they learn and listen to our Indian classical music.”

Commenting on the challenge of attention span posed by social media, Nabeel Khan said the days when people listened to Indian classical music for two to three hours are over.

Unfortunately, this time has now been reduced to one hour, he added.

“There are even 30-minute, 20-minute and sometimes 40-minute concerts. However, it's still better than listening to 30-second short videos. Right now, people seem to be more focused on social media reels and short videos.

“However, there are some talented Indian classical musicians, especially young musicians, who are doing great performances. So it is here to stay and I am sure people will continue to enjoy live sarangi and Indian classical music concerts.”

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications.