Justin Bieber Insults India Great Musical Heritage, Snubs Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s Gift

Justin Bieber came played and fled,  leaving behind a trail of embarrassing questions for the organizers, the first of which they must answer immediately:  was it worth those thousands of rupees (ticket prices were as high as Rs 80-90, 000) only to see Ms Bieber miming his songs on stage?

Vishal Dadlani whose on-stage powerhouse performances are well-known in India’s live entertainment circles,  feels it is improper for any artiste to cheat  a live audience.

Says  Vishal, “Lip-synching in a live performance  is  NEVER okay.But Bieber’s fans seem cool  with it.So who am I  to diss it?”

And besides, does Bieber care about Indian sensitivities? It doesn’t seem so. The way he upped and left suddenly after the concert left a very sour taste in even the most diehard Bieber fans’ mouths.

Worse still was Bieber’s absolute disregard  for Indian sentiments. He refused to meet anyone for a one-on-one and stubbornly turned down all attempts to organize any after-party.Apparently Jacqueline Fernandez who was Bieber’s backstage hostess was barely acknowledged by the Great American representative of the performing arts.

But the worst insult was to one of India’s most revered classical  musicians the Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan who planned to gift a specially designed Sarod to Bieber, constructed specially to be played by a left-handed musician as Bieber,  Khan Saab, discovered was a lefty.

Said the Ustad enthusiastically, “He’s a role model for the millennial generation and it’s so wonderful to see the love that he has generated. Since it  was his first visit, the Sarod was a welcoming gesture as an Indian artist.Justin Bieber’s concert organizers White Fox India suggested it and I thought it would be great to make him strum asarod. Most guitarists fall in love with Sarod as it’s a same family of strings! Steven Tyler, Joe Walsh and Derek Trucks all own Sarods. I don’t know Justin Bieber’s  songs particularly but  he has a very appealing voice from what I’ve heard. It was a more travel friendlySarod. More of a memento but it is a left handed sarod since I understand he’s a left handed guitarist. Hope he enjoys strumming it!”

But alas, the gift remained unattended, unacknowledged.

A  source close to the development says, “I very much doubt if Khan Sahib’s gift actually reached Mr Bieber’s hands.Even  if it did, it meant nothing to him. He showed no regard for India and Indians. And I am not talking about smiling at underprivileged children.”

When asked if his thoughtful gift to Bieber was acknowledged UstadAmjad Khan responds, “I think that the folks at White Fox India will know the reaction to the various gifts  Justin Bieber  received.”