Taliban may have once banished music from Afghanistan... but music lives on. In the hearts of Afghans.... in the voices of its leading exponents, even beyond its boundaries. Like US based Ustaad Eltaf Hussain Sar-a-Hang who upholds Kabul branch of Patiala gharana of Hindustani classical music. But then questions Eltaf, in India to be honoured at a function in Puri Orissa, ‘can music which is mediation, reverence, which is at once ibaadat and ishq is above all direct communion with God ever be erased? So as music reverberates once again in his ‘watan', as ministry of culture Afghanistan extends him a warm invitation to perform in his home country, which he hasn't seen for fifteen years, he takes a trip down the memory lane. From court musician in King Zahir Shah's court to globe trotting vocalist who divides his time between U.S. and Canada, much has changed. But, not the essence of his music or of his gharana. Here he is sharing his musical insight. Excerpts from an interview:

Q) What kind of a relationship do you share with India?
A) It's a deep bond, which runs beyond music. Of course my father late Ustaad Muhmmad Hussain Khan kept alive the style of renowned Aashiq Ali Khan. I too came to India on a scholarship for four years and mastered the finer nuances of Patiala Gharana from Professor Deodhar, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan... but, the love I nurse for India my mamalket-e-doon (i.e. second home) is so profound that no power on earth can ever shake it.

Q) Is Patiala Gharana of Afghanistan any different from the one that prevails here in India?
A) No there is no discerning variable except that my father composed some wondrous ‘bandeeshis' in Persian. Also our ‘Pahari' compositions carry the flavour of our land. Would you believe it that Afghani folk music has strong elements of Indian Raagas. Hazara tribe sings a particular composition, which bears an uncanny resemblance to raga Durga. But then we all know boundaries have crept only in recent times. Music was always meant to connect not divide.

Q) Do you regret all that has happened in your nation?
A) Frankly I am an apolitical person with zero knowledge of the ways of politics, yet, I know that who so ever these people represented they certainly didn't stand for humanity.

Q) Having been forced to live out of your country how do you look back at your journey?
A) Well though the yearning to return to roots beats strong within my heart. Still on hindsight I don't lament moving out. For the exposure of all these years, the platforms on which I have performed, has been a tremendous experience.

Q) So it is true that music lovers across seven seas are greater connoisseurs of music?
A) Smiles – I wouldn't commit on that... my most enthusiastic audiences still comprise of Afghanis. I was overwhelmed when I saw these five-year-old purchasing albums of my father.

Q) Tell us more about your father?
A) Though he was hailed as ‘Sartaj-e-Mausiqi (the king of music) he never considered himself a maestro. Rather, he always professed—alas! I have chosen a vocation in which I can't even become a solider let alone a general. Even I endorse what he believed in -- that to master classical music one needs a lifetime of three centuries.

Q) But what's so special about Indian classical music?
A) You tell me what's so special about purity, about knowledge. Indian music is sublime, pure, ethereal, spiritual... simply divine.

Q) And Patiala gharana?
A) Matchless with its imaginative expanse... its freedom to soar... its mellifluous melody is so beautiful that you can even hear the tabla sing then its laykari and above all ability to capture emotions are inimitable.

Q) How important is it to capture the mood of Ragas?
A) Most vital..., contrary to what many may think, ragas are not just rendition of technique or systematic exposition of notes... music comes from within. Learning has no meaning if it can't translate music into a moving emotional experience.

Q) What according to you is the strength of your music?
A) That's for critics to say... but, I guess I have a strong voice... when I sing I don't need a mike. No, I do not shout. But my voice can easily be heard across the auditorium.

Q) What is your future plan?
A) As a rule music and personal ambitions don't gel together but, yes I would like to open a school in the memory of my late father. Plus whatever little I have, I desire to spread it amongst my disciples. And, finally I am fired by an obsessive zeal to always - always sing well.