Every year Ustad Zakir Hussain Khan puts on a free full day program in memoryof his father at Shanmukananda Hall in Mumbai. I came back from there this morning. Although i arrived at 9:00 a.m. I had already missed the sarengi duet (dilshad and shabir) and the alap of Ustad Shahid Parvez. Unfortunate but at least I witnessed the brilliance of Shahid Parvez and Zakir Hussain. They are both amazing and the sound system and mood were excellent. The next program wasn’t until 11:30 and I didn’t feel like waiting. As every year I am sure Zakir bhai has put together a special program. The evening program- the fusion jam session – is packed to capacity- and I am without a pass. I usually avoid these jam sessions but the advertised artists along with zakirbhai are u. srinivas and niladri kumar. I should be good. It is very impressive to see Shanmukananda Hall full on a Friday morning with an enthusiastic audience for a classical only program. It is all thanks to the generosity in kind and spirit of Ustad Zakir Hussain. Could this great human being be persuaded (by some miracle) to run the Sangeet Natak Akademi, All India Radio, NCPA, and SRA? ( That dream includes Smt. Shubha Mudgal). Nice that along with honoring his father, Zakirbhai also had large garlanded pictures of the late Jagjit Singh and Ustad Sultan Khan. Late morning usually the program features some Indian percussion that is not so well-known. I remember a few years ago drummers from Kerala who created an electrifying atmosphere. Last year I believe there was a relatively obscure old tabla player. Last year Asha Bhosle participated in the jam session. Someone said it was awful. I hope that wasn’t the case. Still, to include that great singer is wonderful.
