Dubai, Aug 26: Musician Nabeel Khan says he is leaving no stone unturned in making his late grandfather and legendary sarangi maestro Ustad Sabri Khan’s dream a reality: helping the sound of the Indian classical instrument sarangi reach every corner of the world.
Nabeel Khan, who belongs to a traditional family of Moradabad Sainia Gharana of sarangi players, performed at a spectacular candlelight concert here on Sunday. “My aim is to pursue my grandfather, the legendary sarangi maestro and Padma Bhushan awarded Ustad Sabri Khan Sahab’s dream to spread Indian classical sarangi all over the world.
“I am trying my best to make it more famous and always try to show the people about the peaceful and soulful sound of sarangi and this is my belief that I will make this dream real,” he told PTI after the concert.
The 25-year-old musician said he is happy promoting Indian classical music in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. “I am the first sarangi player who pioneered this instrument in this region, and I’m very happy at the way the audience are responding and loving my music here and in western countries as well,” he added.
Nabeel Khan belongs to a gharana that traces its musical roots from Mian Tansen, the great vocalist in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. Alongside education, he was soon initiated into the rare art of the instrument sarangi. Growing up in a family of great sarangi players, Nabeel Khan grasped the techniques of sarangi swiftly under the tutelage of his grandfather and soon emerged as a sarangi prodigy.
He started learning the stringed instrument at the age of seven from his grandfather. The Moradabad Sainia Gharana has produced many legendary sarangi players since the 15th century in India.
“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 race, the technology that it has offered yet using them to only preserve our classical roots. This has been tremendously helpful in making our music and art accessible to more people across the planet,” said Nabeel Khan, the eight generation sarangi artist in his family.
“Whenever I go abroad like to the United Kingdom or European countries, I find more international audience, but this is the nice thing about the UAE that you find different people from different countries and yes, it is their love towards our Indian classical music, which is so beautiful, not from today since many years,” he said, adding that he has grown up seeing international students from different countries.
“I used to see all the foreigners coming to my home and learn sarangi from my father Ustad Nasir Khan and my grandfather Ustad Sabri Khan. That’s how I learnt how to teach sarangi, and we have more than 100 international students all over the world. That’s why they learn and listen to our Indian classical music.”
On the attention span challenge posed by social media, Nabeel Khan said gone are the days when people used to listen to two-three hours of Indian classical music.
Unfortunately, today that time is reduced to one hour, he added.
“There are even 30 minutes, 20 minutes, sometimes 40 minute-concerts. However, it is still better than listening to 30-second short videos. At the moment, people seem to be focusing more on social media reels and short videos. “However, there are some talented Indian classical musicians, especially youngsters who are performing great. So it is here to stay, and I am sure people will continue to enjoy live concerts of sarangi and Indian classical music.” (PTI)

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