Says Ashok

" The publishers had approached me to write a book about Indian Classical Music. I told them that I had only nodding ( and dozzing) acquaintance with the intricacies of classical music. But they insisted and I struck a deal with them saying that I shall write about musicians instead, and through the human angle that might emerge, the reader will get a fair picture of Indian Classical Music itself. It was a daunting experiment but probably since there was nothing quite like this in the market, the book was well received. It has separate chapters on many of the top music celebrities in it (3 Bharat Ratnas and a cluster of Padma Vibhushans and so on.), including both Hindustani and Carnatic musicians. I wrote about each of them as I saw their life so far, and there's a portion where I have put in some direct conversation between us as well. Since they are supposed to be 'Living  Legends' I could not include those like Bade Ghulam Ali and Amir Khan, who could possibly meet me only in the other world.

So that's "Music Makers...Living Legends of Indian Classical Music". A bulky, coffee-table book full of photographs, both archival (Like there's one which shows Ravi Shankar with Marlon Brando !) and many recent ones taken by me. Some of our Bombay friends have seen the book. It is available (as claimed by my publisher) at leading book stores in many major cities of the world as well. Sales, I gather, are not as spectacular as yet, as initial responses and reviews would indicate. Times of India, for example, has called it "...Classic stuff...Truly a collector's treasure...." And Business India wrote : " The brief and insightful portraits of these living legends paint a vivid and timeless portrait of Indian Classical Music itself...certainly, a must read..." Curiously enough, precisely what I had set out to achieve."