September 17-23, 2000

 

Unique medicine man


He is a doctor who treats people to the melody of music. A unique combination of a medicine man and a musician make Dr. Mustafa Raza an altogether different personality. The Gita, the Bible, Samved, Buddhism! You name it and Mustafa Raza has read it. The only son of Ustad Ahmed Raza Khan, he wanted to be a doctor and was in the final MBBS year when o the constant pleas of his father to save the tradition of their Patiala and Moradabad Gharana, he took to learning the art of playing the Vichiterveena under the illustrious father's guidance. " I shaved my head so that I may not go out of the house and instead concentrate entirely on of riyaz, he said. In three years, he mastered the art and today he is the first to make this oldest of Indian Classical instruments popular all over the world. He completed his studies, went on for an MD Alternative Medicine and ended up playing ragas and gayaki on Vichiterveena.

Talking about this unique veena as the name signifies, he said that in the Samved it is also referred to as Shiv-veena and is of three types. In the South there is the Siearsati veena and in the North there are the Rudraveena and the Vichiterveena. The instrument is played with a batta and mizrab and the strings are not pressed with fingers. The uniqueness lies in the fact that there are no frets in this veena. It has three supporting strings four main, two chikarees and the tarabs are fifteen in number.

Mustafa Raza is a widely traveled man and has shagirds all over the world. His passionate concern regarding the need to preserve the dying tradition was much visible in his desire to make people aware of the Vichiterveena being an ancient part of our tradition and hence in need recognition. He has held concerts in 18 countries. "The Art of the Indian Veena-a CD with a complete recording of raga Ahiri was adjusted first among the top ten music CD's in America.

" Had I take up medicine as my profession? I would have been lost in a crowed of the millions of unknown faces around the globe. The world of music has given me not only fame and money but also immense satisfaction," says Mustafa. So, its never too late to hear the voice of the inner river within us; for it is this very voice that shows the direction the heart wants to see!

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