Till we meet again

After two years of Zoom festivals, it’s oddly humbling to see the audience return to its seats 

As the 10th edition of Kalam, the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, wound to a close, Ustad Shujaat Khan started tuning his sitar.

The night was sultry without the hint of a breeze. But the marble arches of the Victoria Memorial glowed buttery gold in the night while pigeons, disoriented by the light, fluttered around. Shujaat Khan settled down on the grand marble main steps, preparing to play Raag Tilak Kamod.

Before he launched into the music, he thanked everyone who made the literary festival possible — the organising team, the curator of the Victoria Memorial, the sponsors.

And then he said he was especially grateful to the audience gathered in front of him.

“ Hum artist ke liye shrota Khuda hotey hain (for us artists, the audience is god ),” he said.

Two years of a pandemic have underscored that truth.

One for the album