Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (TOI file photo)

SAN FRANCISCO: The recent atmosphere of intolerance in India is a passing phase, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan said in an interaction with journalists. "Everything changes with time and this too will," he said.

Khan said the rise in intolerance was due to politics. "In my view, if a Muslim becomes a politician then he isn't a Muslim at all. It is the same with a Hindu. Then politics becomes their religion. I have no complaints about that too. Our world is totally different," he added.

The sarod maestro said that at the same time, it was true that India had made him who he was. His son, Ayan Ali, added that the popularity of stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan showed common people were not intolerant at all. Khan and his sons said they had never personally faced intolerance. "Our religion is of 12 notes," said Aman Ali, Khan's younger son. The trio spoke to journalists on the eve of the HCL Concert in San Francisco. They had performed at another HCL Concert in Carnegie Hall, New York City, earlier this month.

On changing trends in music, the Ustad said there was a time when classical music performances lasted all night, but that is no longer possible. "We see ourselves as entertainers. There's no point in extending a single raga over an hour when people are starting to leave ," he said.

(Alok Tiwari was in San Francisco on the invitation of HCL Technologies)

