NGO to commemorate Bismillah Khan's 100th birth anniversary; plans concert to remember Shehnai maestro

A city-based NGO will hold a concert 'Yaad-e-Bismillah' on October 19 here to celebrate the birth centenary of Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna late Ustad Bismillah Khan.

Founder and trustee of Madhu Murchhana vocalist Soma Ghosh told that she and National Award-winning director Shubhankar Ghosh will perform at the musical programme, to be held at Nehru Centre in Worli, Mumbai.

Ghosh, 'foster daughter' of Khan, said she will perform with Shehnai and Sarangi and the evening will witness seven Shehnai players from across the nation, including Ustad Nazim Bismillah Khan, performing.

"Shubhankar Ghosh will present 'Yaad-E-Bismillah', a docu-drama film on the life and the 'guru-shishya parampara' of Ustad Bismillah Khan from his birth to his final journey, showcasing his belief in universal peace and God," said Ghosh,a Padma Shri awardee and leading vocalist of the Benaras Gharana.

Born in March 1916, Bismillah Khan breathed his last on August 21, 2006.

Ghosh said through her NGO she is currently in the process of setting up 'Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan Academy' in Varanasi for the preservation and propagation of "endangered Indian Instruments and Heritage tradition of Gharanas", for which Uttar Pradesh government has alloted one acre land.

She said her NGO, along with the Ministry of Culture, is organising such concerts across the country.

Recalling one of her performances with Bismillah Khan, Ghosh said, "Our last concert was for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. When I asked Baba (Bismillah Khan) what he wanted at this stage of his life where he had achieved it all, he simply said that all he wanted was 'more sur and more music'."

Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma, MPs Hema Malini and Udit Raj, Padma Vibhushan Pt Jasraj along with many other dignitaries will attend the event.