Al Jazeera English - Witness: The Maestro's Daughters (Clip)
The sarod is a traditional Indian musical instrument similar to the sitar. In 2009, Ustad Afzalur Rahman, one of the world's best sarod players, passed away in the small village of Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh. His daughters, Ruba and TungTang, inherited their legendary father's musical talent but also, like him, they are blind. From a household filled with music, the sisters compose and play their own music as well as traditional instruments.
In their 30s and not married or educated, their music is their life - and now with their father's passing they need it to be their livelihood too. Their mother desperately worries for their future. Without their father, the girls have to make it on their own in a country that is still largely patriarchal.
Filmmakers Lynn Lee and James Leong spent time with Ustad and his daughters in the months before his death, and watch them as their family helps them plan a concert in Dhaka to introduce the maestro's daughters to Bangladesh.
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About Al Jazeera - Witness
Rageh Omaar presents Witness, a half-hour daily documentary series which features short, specially commissioned or acquired films gathered from independent filmmakers.
Each documentary reveals the unknown lives of ordinary people, following their lives, telling their stories and portraying the challenges that confront them. Our witnesses are people in a situation or those who have observed them first hand.
The films cover conflict, belief, the past and the future and as well as bringing new stories to light they showcase the talents of a new breed of multi-skilled, frontline journalist. In the studio, Rageh will further explore the issues raised in the films, with expert guests on the subject matter and the filmmakers themselves.
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