NEW DELHI/VARANASI, 22 August 2006 — Bismillah Khan, one of India’s greatest musicians whom the country honored with its highest civilian award, died in Varanasi early yesterday. He was 91. The shehnai virtuoso was taken ill around 10 days ago and admitted to the Heritage Hospital Aug. 17. His death came at 2.20 a.m. in the town that had been his home for decades. India declared one day of state mourning for and the national flag flew at half mast.
Doctors attending on him said he had been admitted on account of “electrolyte imbalance”, even as all his vital organs were functioning normally. “He had shown improvement over the past two days, but continued to feel very weak,” Khan’s personal secretary Syed Javed Ahmed said. Said Siddharth Rai, the hospital vice president: “Bismillah Khan’s ailment was simply age-related. He did not suffer from any kind of disease.”
Khan was among the very few Indians who had the distinction of receiving all the national awards — Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and the highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna that he got in 2001.
He is survived by five sons, three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. All government offices and schools in Uttar Pradesh were declared closed yesterday as a mark of respect to Khan who was given a state funeral.
Khan, who carried the honorific of an “ustad” (guru), died an unhappy man as he felt that the government did not honor him sufficiently for his services to the arts.
Even last week he said he was grateful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for releasing a special grant of Rs.250,000 for his treatment, but was pained that the government continued to ignore his request for a cooking gas distributing agency for one of his grandsons.
Meanwhile, in a break from usual practice, Manmohan yesterday came out of his office in Parliament to pay his tribute to Bismillah Khan. The prime minister usually issues statements to condole any death. But yesterday he spoke to the media outside the Parliament gate. He paid glowing tributes to Bismillah Khan, saying his legacy would continue to inspire generations. “This is truly a sad day for the world of music. A legendary person, Bismillah Khan, is no more with us. His passing away brings an era to end,” Manmohan said.
“He was a phenomenal exponent of the composite culture of our country. I join millions of his admirers and friends all over the world in mourning the passing away of this great personality, whom the nation has honored with the highest civilian award of Bharat Ratna,” Manmohan said.
