Mukesh Khosla

The new generation of the music gharanas is ready to take over the 21^st century. Wasifuddin Dagar is the 20th generation Dhrupad singer; Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash are seventh generation; Salil Mohan Bhatt is tenth generation; Anoushka Shankar has strong music antecedents and so does Rahul Sharma.  All these youngsters, while striving to live up to the family's name,  face the daunting task of popularising classical music to a young audience that is getting weaned away by pop and film music....

Amaan Ali Bangash [Background] and Ayaan Ali Bangash [foreground] - seventh generation of the Bangash music dynasty.

In his Wrangler jeans and Reebok T shirt he could be mistaken for one of the college lads who spends a better part of his day with friends - missing lectures, driving fast cars and partying. At home his room resembles a music shop, with a vast repertoire of cassettes, CDs and posters of pop stars adorning his walls. But he is no ordinary boy. Amaan Ali Bangash, older son of the famous sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, and grandson of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, bears the great responsibility of carrying the baton of musical tradition that his father has passed on to him. He and twenty-one year old younger brother Ayaan are being groomed as the seventh generation of the Bangash dynasty. Their six generations removed forefather, Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, a horse trader from Afghanistan who frequently came to India, played the rabab and was drawn to Indian classical music. He settled in Rewa where his son, Ghulam Bandegi Khan studied Indian classical music. Bandegi Khan modified the rabab into the melodious and more intricate sarod, which has passed down generations to Amjad Ali Khan and now to his two sons. The onus of carrying on the family tradition is reflected in Amaan's somber countenance. His routine involves eight hours of daily practice to measure up to his sacred lineage.

Amaan was clear about his future while still in school. He studied at Modern School, Delhi, but unlike many of his classmates he had his goal marked out clearly. For him the school bell meant going home to rigorous sarod training. Such was his single mindedness that he refused to join a regular college and opted for a correspondence course instead. " I thought I could use these three years better," says Amaan.

Amaan and brother Ayaan have been accompanying their father to music festivals in India and abroad. Both Amaan and Ayaan have played in prestigious locations such as the Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, St. James’s Palace and Barbican Centre. They have also played, together with their father, at a special concert for HRH Prince Charles at his High Grove residence. Amaan was awarded the Soorya Award in Trivandrum in 1996, and the following year the Prime Minister of India awarded him ‘The Best Young Musician of the Year’ Award.

Children of an inter-faith marriage, Amaan and Ayaan are devoted sons and disciples. Their mother Subhalakshmi Khan gave up her career in Indian classical dancing to devote herself to her family.