Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has great fondness for Mumbai's music lovers. "I remember once I had to postpone a concert in Mumbai as my Sarod broke in transit from Delhi. Rather than being upset, they waited patiently for a day till my wife got another Sarod for me," says the Sarod maestro. CS caught up with this legend before his concert Spiritual Morning that takes place at the Gateway of India tomorrow:

Weather worries
Though I am looking forward to the concert, I am a little worried. The Sarod is not an open air instrument. Music lovers get a heavenly experience when they hear it in a closed auditorium like NCPA or Shanmukhananda Hall. But I am confident that the sheer beauty and ambience of Gateway of India will make it divine for the audience. I am hoping to deliver my best. What I am really excited about is playing with Ustad Zakir Hussain. We did our first concert together in 1974, and a few concerts thereafter. But in the past few years we haven't done a show together, so this is a rare occasion.

A heartfelt tribute
Another special thing is that this concert is dedicated to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. He was my guru-bhai. Panditji learnt music from several gurus including my father Ustad Haafiz Ali Khan Sahab. He lived with us for three years in Gwalior. Incidentally, I was in Pune when he passed away. I count myself fortunate to have received his blessings before his demise.

European attraction
I love listening to European classical music. Beethoven is my favourite musician. I also enjoy certain symphonies by Bach and Handel. Travelling to Austria seems like a pilgrimage considering that the nation has produced such great composers. I feel fortunate to have visited Beethoven's family home in Bonn, Germany. It's now a museum. That visit inspired me to preserve my ancestral home in Gwalior. We rechristened it Sarod Ghar. It houses instruments, photographs as well as family treasures of many other classical artists.