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Infusing
new life into sarangi
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MUSIC
KNOWS no boundaries. In fact, it has the power to diminish
the man-made political boundaries and no one, not even military
dictatorship can control dictate its message of universal
love and brotherhood. The classical notes resonating from
the Sarangi of Kamal Sabri showed this in ample ways when
he went to perform in the second World Music Festival organised
of Rafi Peer group in Lahore, Pakistan recently.
Stalwarts like Ustad Fateh Ali, Ustad Ghulam Ali, Iqbal
Bano and Farida Khanum attended the concerts running over
10 days where artists from UK, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark,
Thailand, Italy, Malaysia and Indonesia and come to perform.
His nimble fingers played so well during the festival held
at Alhamra, Qaddafi Stadium that the audience was simply
spellbound. The music critic of one of the leading Pakistani
dailies "The News summed up his performance as nothing short
of a dazzling experience. "His playing gave me goose pimples
like the Thoughts and Beats CD of Ustad Sultan Khan and
Ustad Zakir Hussain, "wrote and critic. By the time Kamal
returned home late in March, Pakistani audience had become
his fan.
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A resident of Asiad village in
south Delhi, Kamal hails from Sainia Gharana of Rampur in
Moradabad that has been living sarangi for past seven generations.
Son and disciple of Padamashree Ustad Sabri Khan, who brought
sarangi in the limelight as a main instrument of vocalist,
Kamal at a young age of 24 years has created a niche for throughout
the world.
Infusing a new life
into this extremely delicate and mellow instrument consisting
of 40 strings, Kamal has done extensive tours in UK, France,
Scandinavian countries, Pakistan and South America to revive
the interest of the audience in sarangi. The doyen in the
making has been awarded the tile of Young Maestro by the Indo-Sri
Lankan Cultural Council. Having performed at the Sab Rang
Sangeet Sammelanm, Haridas Festival and the Heritage series
of concerts under the aegis of Indian Council for Cultural
Relations (ICCR), he is also the recipient of the Best Instrumentalist
award and the Surmani award.
The recent visit to Lahore has given Kamal all the more reason
to promote sarangi. " In a baithak held at the house of the
noted Tabla Player of Pakistan, Ustad Tofu Khan I heard him
saying that sarangi is dying, But my performance gave him
hope. I want to transform that hope. I what to transform that
hope into reality. It is the chief aim of my life," says Kamal
who is a humble example of Guru-Shishya parampara in today's
cutthroat competitive world.
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