Patna: The Indian railways will pay tribute to shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan who was born and brought up in a small town in Bihar before he settled down in Varanasi.
The shehnai is a musical instrument made out of wood.
Khan was born in Dumraon in western Bihar’s Buxur district. The railways are erecting a picture of the musician on the wall of the Dumraon railway station.
For the past two months, the artists have been giving the finishing touches to the picture, which has become the centre of attraction for passengers as well as the passers-by.
In the image, the late musician is seen wearing his trademark cap tilted to one side, playing the instrument that brought him global fame and eventually earned him India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 2001. He is only the third musician after MS Subbulakshmi and Ravi Shankar to be accorded the honour.
The railways’ train announcement system has also been playing Khan’s memorable tunes in between its announcements.
But, the Passengers’ Welfare Committee (PWC) is still not satisfied with the railways’ initiatives and wants more.
“Just erecting a picture of such great musician on the station wall in not enough. His life-size statue too should be placed in the station campus,” demanded Rajiv Ranjan Singh, PWC president.
Khan was born as Qamaruddin Khan on March 21, 1916 in a traditional Muslim family of musicians in Dumraon town where he spent his early childhood. He was the second son of Paigambar Baksh Khan and Mitthan. His grandfather Rasool Baksh Khan exclaimed “Bismillah” at his birth and Qamaruddin Khan came to be known as Bismillah Khan.
According to locals, Bismillah Khan’s ancestors were court musicians.
His father was a shehnai player in the court of Maharaja Keshav Prasad Singh of Dumraon. When he was around six or seven, Bismillah moved to his maternal grandfather’s home in Varanasi. His uncle, Ali Baksh Vilayatu, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple, was his guru.
Two Bihar chief ministers and a host of politicians have promised to develop Bismillah Khan’s birthplace but beyond tokenism, there has been nothing concrete on the ground, local residents rue.
