Alif Laila was initiated into the Indian Classical music by late Ustad Mir Qasem Khan, nephew of the legendary Ustad Alluddin Khan, in Dhaka , Bangladesh . There she imbibed the style of the Senia Maihar Gharana,(school of music). Influenced by many eminent Indian Classical musicians who have enhanced her abilities as a musician are teachers such as Partha Chatterjee and Pandit Krishna Bhatt, both disciples of late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, one of the foremost sitar player of all times. She also has the good fortune of having the blessings and guidance from “Sur Samrat”( the king of melody), Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.She has performed extensively since 1988 in Classical Sitar. In January 2001 she gave a solo recital in The National Museum of Bangladesh, where she was accompanied by the tabla virtuoso, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee.The titles of her CD recordings are, Devotion, The Inner Voice, (tabla accompaniment by Pandit Anondo Chatterjee) and Meditation with Sitar, a recording of Alaap, Jor and Jhala. In the words of her guru, Pandit Krishna Bhatt,” Alif Laila is one of the most impressive female Sitarists, who conveys the bhav (emotion) of ragas with profound sensitivity”. She has taught Sitar at the University Of Maryland and also teaches a number of students in...