Nation mourns passing away of ‘Shehnai maestro’
People from all walks of life condoled the death of Ustad Bismillah Khan, one of the country’s best classical musicians and a master exponent of Shehnai, who died of heart failure at the age of 90 early on Monday.
In his hometown Varanasi, hundreds of people gathered as the maestro’s body was taken out of his house for public homage.
“It’s a loss to the nation. He treated everyone as equal. He never believed in any casteism,” said Gurpreet Singh.
“I learn music and so I came here to pay homage to him (Ustad Bismillah Khan),” said Stesta.
A one-day national mourning has been declared in honour of the legend, who had the rare distinction of playing shehnai when the Indian Tricolour was unfurled at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi to mark the country’s independence from Britain in 1947.
National flags flew at half-mast at government buildings while schools and government offices were closed in Uttar Pradesh, where Khan lived.
Several leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh, President APJ Abdul Kalam and Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat condoled the death of the musician who is survived by five sons, three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Khan, who was suffering from age-related problems, was admitted to a hospital in the city last week after being on liquid diet for some days.
Born into a family of musicians who played for royalty, Khan was awarded the country’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 2001.
He transfixed generations of audiences across the world with his soulful rendition of classical music on the ’shehnai’, which is played during marriages as well as religious events.
The maestro had said the shehnai mattered to him more than anything. — ANI
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