Ustad Bismillah Khan India's most popular & respected musicians:SN

Add as a preferred source on Google

The Sangeet Natak Akademi mourned the death of Shehnai-maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, who passed away at Varanasi early in the morning.

Describing Ustad Bismillah Khan as the country's most popular and respected musicians, the Akademi, in a condolence resolution yesterday, said,''An instrumentalist of exceptional abilities, he developed a highly individual style and had elevated the Shehnai to its present position in Hindustani music.'' The resolution noted that the music maestro achieved an iconic status in the world of Indian music by performing at the celebrations marking India's Independence in 1947, preceding the speech by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and again on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of India's Independence in 1997.

During his lifetime, Ustad Bismillah Khan received several awards and honours for his dedicated service to music. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award was conferred on him in 1956, the Padma Shri in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in 1968 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1980.

The Banaras Hindu University conferred on him an honorary doctorate and the Visva Bharti University honoured him with its Deshikottama title (D. Litt.). The Ustad also received honours and felicitations from various countries across the world including the title 'Talar Mausiqee' of Iran.

For his eminence in the field of music and his contribution to enrichment, Ustad Bismillah Khan was elected Fellow (Ratna Sadasya) of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1994 and in the year 2001 he was decorated with the highest national honour Bharat Ratna by the Government of India, the resolution said.