Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia on writer Taslima Nasreen’s X post: No one forced me to perform, leners motivate me

: Aug 29, 2025 11:23 am Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia recently performed at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium and writer Taslima wrote on X: He can no longer truly play. Read on  Till when should an arte be allowed to play live on stage? In a world where sports fans often butt in pronouncing the retirement of athletes, now the discussion has shifted to deciding the stage life of classical artes it seems. Writer Taslima Nasreen had expressed her concern for Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s age during his recent live performance. (Photo: X) What happened?Writer-physician Taslima Nasreen recently attended the Amar Jyoti 2025 event at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium, where legendary flaut Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia performed live. But, witnessing how age has caught up with the senior arte, Taslima took to X and wrote a long post sharing her sentiment: “He can no longer truly play. His hands tremble; the flute will not stay steady.…” Read the full post Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen here. What is the arte’s response?The classical arte, in question here, has however responded to the writer’s post saying, “Hum log kisi ke force ko nahi sunte. Humara jo dil kehta hai, hum karte hain. Mai apne dil se perform karta hun, jo humari ichha karti hai. Woh prem hai, achha vyahar hai (logon ka). Log kuchh kehte hain toh woh bhi baja deta hoon. It’s not that I’m rigid and will only play one thing.” “Giving joy to others, I enjoy more,” adds the 87-year-old, refuting any claims that he was forced to play live for an audience at such a senior age. In fact, he feels that “The leners give me encouragement and keep me motivated. Also, what makes me feel full of life is when I len to good music.” What has stirred the X debate?Taslima’s post left X users at loggerheads as several feel that the arte was actually coerced into agreeing to perform live at such an age. Whereas the other side feels that besides the arte no one else should be deciding the length of an arte’s stage life. One user wrote: “Pretty shameful!!! Not sure why he agreed…” whereas another questioned Taslima’s intent commenting: “Why post the video? Surely not flattering.”