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Shehnai maestro and doyen of Indian classical music, Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away this year.

More than 10,000 people, comprising the family members, relatives and well wishers of the nonagenarian Sehnai player, participated in the funeral procession after offering funeral namaz at the Beniabagh park where the body was kept for the people to pay their last respects.

Vanity and flamboyance never touched him, Khan's lifestyle retained its old world Benares charm. His chief mode of transport was the rickshaw. A man of tenderness, he believed in remaining private.

Khan was perhaps single handedly responsible for making the shehnenai a famous classical instrument. He brought the shehnai to the centre stage of Indian music with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937.

The Government of India declared one day of national mourning on his death. His body was buried at Fatemain burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree with 21-gun salute from Indian Army.

Born on March 21, 1916, Khan was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001. He also had the distinction of being one of the few people to be awarded all the top four civilian awards.

He was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, the Tansen Award and the prestigious Padma Vibhushan.
Ustad left us but his shehnai would keep reverberating into the ears of millions. His music was a great leveler and unifier. He was one of the best examples of Hindu-Muslim unity in India.

Let’s hope the soothing sound of his shehnai will remind us of the commitment towards communal amity - the cause he epitomised.