Q: What is it that goes into the making of a great artist such as you – talent, hard work, or something else?
A: Of course, both talent and hard work are essential. However, an artist must know and understand his limitations and within that he must try to maximise whatever he has. Now, understanding of his limitations must not bog him down. It is the ego of the artist that gives him confidence. The artist must know the role that his ego plays in his music and his performance. He must know how to strike right balance between his humility and his assertiveness to achieve the maximum.

Q: The artists of the ICM or rather their approach to music generally divides them into two classes – the artists like Ustad Amir Khan who sing or play for their own selves, and those, such as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who sing or play for people or audience. On which side of this divide do you think you stand?
A: Well, in the first place I do not subscribe to this division or classification at all. To say that Amir Khan Saheb sang only for himself and that he never thought about his audience, or that Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb never gave consideration to what he liked is senseless. Perhaps, what Amir Khan Saheb meant when he said that he was singing for himself was that he was trying to achieve perfection in his music. But I am sure that he knew that people came to his concert to listen to his music and to be entertained and not to watch him meditate on the stage. No matter how big or small an artist is, he has to keep in mind what people like and dislike.

Q: In comparison to other great artists your disposition appears quite unconventional. You do not allow people touch your feet and even call you Ustad. Why?
A: Because I am not an Ustad. I am only a student. Look, I am not putting on an act of being humble. The point is if you call my guru and father (Ustad Allarakha) an Ustad and in the same breath also call me an Ustad, then who is the true Ustad. If Ravi Shanker is Pandit and Ali Akbar Khan is Ustad, then Zakir Hussian cannot be an Ustad. As long as these great artists are Ustads, I am a student and will remain a student. This is the reason why I ask people not to call me an Ustad.

Q: In the past, you created a very successful and popular fusion band (Shakti) with John Mclaughlin, L. Shanker and some other Indian and foreign artists. Nothing even nearly as magical as that has happened in the so-called fusion music since then. What do you think is the reason for that?
A: I think that has something to do with the state of our country. In all spheres of life, including politics, business and culture, we are passing through a period of transition and transition brings about changes that do not last long. We have talented artists and I am sure things will change for the better in future.