Bismillah Khan

Ustad Bismillah Khan Bharat Ratna
Khan at a music concert (1964)
Background information
Birth name	Qamaruddin Khan
Born	(1916-03-21)21 March 1916 Dumraon, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India
Died	21 August 2006(2006-08-21) (aged 90) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Genres	Indian classical music
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Shehnai
Members	Afaq Haider, Savita Anand, Ajitesh Singh
Past members	Zamin Husain Khan

Ustad Bismillah Khan (born Qamaruddin Khan, 21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006), often referred to by the title Ustad, was an Indian musician credited with popularizing the shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument. He played it with such expressive virtuosity that he became a leading Hindustani classical music artist. His name was indelibly linked with the woodwind instrument. While the shehnai had long held importance as a folk instrument played primarily by musicians schooled in traditional ceremonies, Khan is credited with elevating its status and bringing it to the concert stage.^[1][2]

Khan was a devout Muslim but performed at both Hindu and Muslim ceremonies and was considered a symbol of religious harmony. His fame was such that he was selected to perform for the ceremony at Delhi's historic Red Fort as the Indian flag unfurled at the hour of India's independence on 15 August 1947. His music was played (in Raag Kafi) on television every Independence Day. He turned down invitations to perform in other countries before 1966, when the Indian government insisted that he play at the Edinburgh International Festival. This gained him a following in the West, and he continued to appear in Europe and North America thereafter.^[3]

In 2001, Bismillah Khan was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, and the country observed a national day of mourning following his death in 2006. He became the third classical musician of India after M. S. Subbalakshmi and Ravi Shankar to be awarded the Bharat Ratna.^[4][5]