The Hindu : 'I am old but my music is the same'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 07, 2003

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'I am old but my music is the same'

— Photo: S. Arneja.

Bharat Ratna and shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan addressing mediapersons at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI AUG. 6. The shehnai maestro, Utsad Bismillah Khan, and the well-known vocalist, Soma Ghosh, are all set to mesmerise an audience tomorrow through their jugalbandi concert, "Ras Barse", Harmony Through Music, at the Parliament complex.

"Whatever I want to say I prefer to say through my shehnai,'' the Ustad told a press conference here on the eve of the concert. The news conference was chaired by his host, the Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi.

The volley of questions by correspondents to the 87-year-old Bharat Ratna awardee were answered in his typical style of touching humility and simplicity.

The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Mr. Joshi, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Members of Parliament will be among the dignitaries who will attend the event to be held at the Balayogi Auditorium at the Parliament Library building.

Mr. Joshi said the Ustad had expressed his desire to give a performance for MPs and "we readily agreed".

"I want them to relax and take their mind away for a while from the humdrum of daily life," the Ustad said with a twinkle in his eye.

Ustad Bismillah Khan said that despite having been given many awards he did not have much money. "More than anything else I look for a platform to perform."

`Help artists'

He said he wanted the Government to give opportunities to artists and desired that his disciples be recognised.

"I want to thank everyone who has helped me and I request the Government to do something to help the artists in the country,'' he said.

The Ustad recently received help from various sources, including a grant of Rs. 2 lakhs from the Prime Minister after his ill-health and financial plight were highlighted by the media.

The Ustad, who had earlier expressed unhappiness at being neglected by the establishment, said he was no longer upset with the Government.

"I am not upset with the Government. Hindustan is mine and I am a Hindustani and nothing can change this," he said.

The Ustad, who was still weak and needed a wheel chair, said he was looking forward to his performance tomorrow.

"I am much better now. Though I am old and not as strong as I was before, my shehnai is the same,'' a frail-looking Ustad dressed in white kurta-pyjama and khadi cap said.

"Earlier I was not able to get up or walk. I was not able to play my shehnai," he said.

"In my heart I do believe what you are saying is true,'' the Ustad said when a reporter asked him whether the country was neglecting its artists.

The Ustad, however, was unfazed at the criticism by some artists on his demand for a petrol pump for his nephew. "I can only answer them when they come forward and speak to me," he said.

"My only request is that free me from the worry of earning my daily livelihood. If that happens, you should hear the sound of my shehnai... it will be a total different tune," he said pointing that if artists were provided economic help they could concentrate more on their art. — PTI, UNI

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