Sarod artistes Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash return to Singapore with a message of ‘universal togetherness’

Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, musicians and sons of the legendary sarod artiste Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, return to Singapore with their concert, titled Soul Strings, on September 9, followed by a performance in Bangkok.

Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali bangash, musicians and sons of the legendry sarod artiste Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali bangash, musicians and sons of the legendry sarod artiste Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Photo courtesy: Facebook/@ayaanalibangash

Speaking to Connected to India, the musician brothers speak of their “very fond memories” of a place where they last performed with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. It was January 2020, and there was talk of “something called COVID” — and then, as Ayaan says, “the rest is history”.

Their first experience of Singapore was as teenagers, in 1992, when they performed on stage at the World Trade Center. Many more performances in the island state followed, including several at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

The Bangash brothers return now to celebrate the world’s recovery from the pandemic — “it is like a second half for the planet” — and spread the message of “universal togetherness, peace, [and] harmony” through their music. About Soul Strings, Ayaan explains that he and Amaan would pair up with “two brilliant percussionists”.

Despite their many years of public performances, the brothers remain humble learners of music. Amaan, the elder, says that the honorific of “Ustad” should remain with musicians of the stature of their father, their true guru. The brothers still want to remain students of music, unwilling to let an honorific create a distance between themselves and their audience.

Watch the full interview on the YouTube channel of Connected to India.

 

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CtoI News Desk
CtoI News Desk – CtoI

Singapore-headquartered online media company targeting Indian Diaspora across Singapore, US, UK, UAE and India. Connected to India covers developments around NRIs. Covers arts, political, sports, finance, entrepreneurship, business, movies, dramas, entertainment and other news for Indians living worldwide.

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