Feature: Sarod Maestro USTAD AMJAD ALI KHAN Presented With Lifetime Achievement Award

The real treasure of India, lies in its classical heritage. As the new India zealously moves towards all things contemporary, there is also a silent revolution -- that of honoring and preserving its ancient crafts and culture.

Holding up one such tradition was an evening organized by Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra -- a premier institute aimed towards preserving India's ancient music and dance. Past Saturday, the institute's prestigious Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Life Time Achievement (2018) was presented to none other than Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is one of the most renowned faces of Hindustani classical music not just in India but around the world. For most Indians, Ustad remains the sole preserver of sarod in the country. The musical legacy of sarod for many begins and ends with Ustad, such has been his prowess over the musical instrument. The ceremony was held in the capital at Kamani Auditorium. The award is named after the founder of Bharatiya Kala Kendra. The institute was founded back in 1952 by Padma Shree awardee Smt. Sumitra Charat Ram.

Ustad ji represents the sixth generation of a family of distinguished Sarod players. He has taken his art to every nook and corner of the world during the last fifty years, winning a large following for himself and for Indian classical music. He is equally respected by the pundits of music as he is popular with the youth and the lay audiences in India.