Before Cassius Khan’s music teacher passed away in 2004, she had one wish – that he keep her name alive.
For the last five years, the New West resident and his wife Amika Kushwaha have done exactly that.
The Mushtari Begum Festival (named after Khan’s guru) returns to the Massey Theatre on Sept. 24 for the fifth year in a row. The evening showcases Indian classical music and dance through a variety of performances, including some by the husband-wife duo.
Khan told the Record one misconception people have about the genre is that it’s boring.
“They think it’s very la la land, or very ambient kind of music, but it’s not. It’s very exciting, very thrilling. All the musicians who come have a very high skill level. They play their instruments with a lot of vigor,” he said.
Khan, who plays the tabla, explained that Indian classical music and dance is split into two categories – north and south. The genre in the northern part of the country is vastly different from the south, he said.
Representing the south this year will be Abhishek Iyer, a master of the mridangam drum, and Kaushik Sivaramakrishnan with the Carnatic violin. Khan’s tabla is from the north, as is the sitar, the most-recognizable instrument from that region (George Harrison of the Beatles played it). Sitar maestro Sharanjeet Mand will also be on stage.
A special guest will also be making an appearance, noted Khan. Salil Bhatt, who invented and plays a 20-string slide guitar known as the satvik veena, will be flying in from India for the event.
“He inaugurated our festival in 2012, so we found it to be fitting to have him again for 2016 for the five-year anniversary,” Khan said.
Kushwaha, who has danced since she was six years old, will be performing a form of dance called kathak, in a duet with Khan.
“Whatever the tabla plays, the kathak dancer basically makes those notes come alive through dance. It’s a very beautiful interaction. There’s dazzling footwork, stunning pirouettes and a lot of amazing body movement,” he said.
The Mushtari Begum Festival originally launched as a way of “revitalizing and reenergizing” the genre, according to Khan, who said Indian classical music in Canada has seen “a major decline.” He added often times, world musicians don’t have a platform to perform and show off their craft.
“This makes it very difficult for musicians in the professional field, like myself, to present our art and survive in this country.”
Most importantly, though, he wanted to keep his promise to his guru.
“It took a number of years, but I’m doing it now,” said Khan.
The Sept. 24 show at Massey Theatre, located at 735 Eighth Ave., gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $29.50 for adults and $14.50 for seniors and students (plus patron fee and service charges). Children under eight years old get in for free, but require a ticket. Please call the box office at 604-521-5050 to arrange. For more information and to buy tickets, visit masseytheatre.com.
