Indian Classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj first tried his hands at tabla, but following a "humiliating incident" he switched to singing.
"I was 14 when I faced a humiliating incident which I could not withstand. On Janmashtami, I told my elder brother that I won't play tabla henceforth," Jasraj told reporters here.
"The next day, my elder brother started teaching classical singing," the 86-year-old singer said.
The classical music maestro, however, did not disclose the incident.
"That time was different. In the present scenario, I would have withstood the humiliation rather than giving up playing the tabla," he said.
Pandit Jasraj said rapid changes have taken place in the music world, but the importance of tabla has remained intact.
"When I started singing, hardly 200 people would attend classical music functions. Nowadays, 10,000 people (huge crowds) flock to hear classical music," he said.
The singer went on to describe the present time as the "Golden age of Classical music".
