Reenat Fauzia: A passionate sitar player

Reenat Fauzia

Reenat Fauzia is one of the noted sitar players of our country. She has been playing sitar for over 25 years now. Fauzia's first CD titled “A Touch of Love” was released in 2004. “I think that was the first CD on sitar in our country. The CD gave me much popularity and people began coming to me to learn the sitar.”
Fauzia's second CD was released in 2007. “The CD was dedicated to my grandfather Ustad Ayet Ali Khan. The CD included the musical notation of my grandfather, my Ustadji (mentor) and me,” adds Fauzia.
The sitar player began to learn the musical instrument when she completed her SSC.
Fauzia was born to a noted cultural family which has played a significant role in our cultural arena. Her father Mobarak Hossain Khan is a music researcher, and a musician of repute. He plays the surbahar, a string instrument.
Fauzia's paternal grandfather Ustad Ayet Ali Khan was a famous musician of the subcontinent. Ustad Alauddin Khan was the younger brother of Ustad Ayet Ali Khan.
“ I was very busy with my studies. It was my only passion. After completing my SSC examination, I managed to get some leisure time. At this stage, I requested my mother to buy me a sitar. I started learning sitar from a book by Ustad Abed Hossain Khan. The book has detailed information on the sitar. In fact, the book has greatly helped me. I took my basic education from Ustad Sahadat Hossain Khan, a veteran sarod player of our country. I learned several delicate techniques and methods from him,” says Fauzia.
Afterwards, Fauzia took lessons from Ustad Khurshid Khan, who was also a teacher of Chhayanaut. “It was his suggestion that I seek admission at Chhayanaut. This is where I received my formal education. Though sitar is a vital musical instrument in our subcontinent, not many people are keen to train on it. It is however quite popular as a musical instrument in solo performances. As a sitar player, I feel very proud of that,” concludes Fauzia.