UTTAR PRADESH / WEST BENGAL :
For the first time ever, Ustad Rashid Khan, exponent of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and a leading light of Indian classical music along with his three children, Suha, Shaona, Armaan, were part of a concert last Saturday , leaving everyone mesmerized with their performances.
While son Armaan followed in father’s footsteps with a classical rendition, all eyes were on the daughters, who looked like rockstars and sang like nightingales. While Shaona belted out a Bollywood hit, elder sister Suha lent her voice to a Sufi number! And from the applause, it was evident that they had nailed it.
If that is a not a break from tradition, we don’t know what is, we tell Shaona. But she counters that there is nothing extraordinary about that. “In our family , girls are not allowed to sing and perform. But both of us wanted to sing as it’s in our blood, and our mother supported us whole-heartedly . However, to our delight, baba is slowly warming up to the idea of us singing in public,” shares the 19-year-old, whose head of curly highlights were as much of a hit as her singing. For the record, her rendition of Judaai from Badlapur left the audience speechless.
We got to know that while 11-year-old Armaan is being trained by the maestro himself, Suha and Shaona were trained not under their father, but at his academy . “I felt blessed to perform on the same stage with my family ,” says Rashid’s elder daughter, 23-year-old Suha, who has embraced Sufi music. “I secretly dreamt of sharing the stage with my father. Finally it came true. I have always wanted to excel in Sufi music. Before this concert, I performed in public only once, when I was 15.That was also a special day . But sharing the stage with Shaona, Armaan and father, was beyond special,” adds Suha.
Saturday’s show was special for Armaan too, since this was his first solo act. “We would definitely want to do more concerts like this in future,” says, Shaona, who has also formed a band, named Asian Heat, with five friends. Let’s hope we get to see the Khan children and their dad together again on stage soon!
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Entertainment> Bengali / by Madhushree Ghosh / TNN / July 16th, 2015