No hard feelings, but to each his own
ANJANA RAJAN
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Meet violinist Asghar Husain, a musician who decided to carve his solo identity against all odds.
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TOWARDS ARTISTIC SATISFACTION Violinist Asghar Husain in concert
Asghar Husain hails from a family where music is a tradition. It was only natural that he took up an instrument too.
Though his father, Ustad Anwar Husain, was a known tabla artiste, Asghar began to learn the violin at the age of 10. It was Ustad Gauhar Ali Khan who initiated him into the art. Later he trained under Ustad Zahoor Ahmad Khan of the Delhi gharana. And though Asghar finds satisfaction in having spent over two decades in the professional field, during which he has accompanied stalwarts in the classical vocal arena besides giving solo performances, there is no limit to learning. Currently he is under the guidance of vocalist Ustad Iqbal Ahmad Khan, doyen of the Delhi gharana.
Under his current guru, Asghar has been able to blend the gayaki ang and tantrakari ang to his playing. But honing his technique has always been a priority with this violinist who has spent most of his life in Delhi.
"I spent some time at the Delhi School of Music, where I learnt Western classical music," he recounts. "After all, I play a Western instrument.
We may have Indianised it over the centuries, but the fact remains it is an instrument of the West, therefore learning the original technique helped me immensely. The bowing, even the way of holding the instrument, is different."
Perhaps it was this quest for perfection that led Asghar to decide he would not remain an accompanist and would instead build a solo identity for himself. "I have played with some of the greatest musicians, and they always treated me with the greatest respect. It is not that I had any problem in accompanying another artiste," he clarifies, adding that he played the violin for the eminent duo Nazakat and Salamat Ali for five years. He also played for stars like Penaz Masani and others in his early years.
"It is just that I preferred not to be known as `so-and-so's violinist'. People who can be both accompanist and soloist are actually very gifted, but the mindset of organisers and others is, if that person is an accompanist, the likelihood is, he is not `good enough' to be a soloist. It's not right, but that's how it is. So I decided I would strive to be a soloist as far as possible, though even now I wouldn't outright refuse to accompany some artistes."
Economics
Asghar realises often it is the "bread and butter aspect" that makes artistes opt for accompanying assignments more often than they might prefer. But in his own case he says he feels blessed to have been able to manage, with solo concerts, jugalbandis with other musicians and recordings in India and abroad over the past several years. He is also a composer, with a number of albums to his credit. Among the latest are two from Music Today's series Amazing India.
"I have done the albums on Khajuraho and Taj," he explains. Besides, there is T-Series' Raga Rendezvous, and a number of albums for which he has done the musical arrangement.
He has also composed music for TV serials like Doordarshan's "Azaadi ke Pachaas Varsh", "Ek Tha Rusty" and others. "I have just composed the title song for a serial on Majaz Lakhnavi," he adds.
All in all, says Asghar, it may be difficult to carve a viable career as a solo violinist.
But he is clear about one thing.
"I didn't want to be a tailor's needle, tackling every kind of cloth!"
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Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
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Thiruvananthapuram
