Bismillah Khan: A dream unfullfilled
He enthralled audiences with a superlative performance at the 17th century Red Fort on India’s first Republic Day, but Ustad Bismillah Khan had one last dream — to perform at the India Gate before he passed on. Sadly, that wish remains unfullfilled following is death on Monday morning.
For a man who mesmerised generations of Indians with his mellifluous music, fate willed that he would not participate in a memorable concert with India’s Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar at India Gate on August 9.
The event was cancelled due to security fears.
Single-handedly responsible for making music from the shehnai famous through over six decades of dedication to the art, Ustad Bismillah Khan had at one time charged the government of the day with denying him an opportunity to play at India Gate because he was a Muslim.
But later on, during a time of self-introspection as he got older, he said: “Music has no caste. I have received love and affection all over the world. The government has given me all the four highest civilian awards in the past five decades.”
Khan was born on 21 March, 1916. His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he was trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux ‘Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple.
Where others saw conflict and contradiction between his music and his religion, Bismillah Khan saw only a divine unity. Even as a devout Shia, he was also a staunch devotee of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music.
During his long and fruitful career as an artiste, Khan enthralled audiences at performances across the globe. He was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the Tansen award as well as the Padma Vibhushan. — ANI
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