Bismillah Khan’s 5 shehnais stolen from son’s home

The shehnais were stolen from the residence of late maestro Bismillah Khan’s son while it was locked for a few days.

Five shehnais and some other memorabilia of late Bharat Ratna Utsad Bismillah Khan were stolen from his son’s residence when the family was out of town, police said on Monday.

Shehnai player late Ustad Bismillah Khan’s five shehnais went missing from his residence in Varanasi.(HT File Photo)

Kazim Hussain lodged a police complaint Sunday night when they returned after four days and found several of his famous father’s presents, including the five silver shehnais, missing from their Dalmandi area house.

“One of these shehnais was very special. My father used to play it on the fifth and seventh days of Muharram,” Hussain said.

Ustad’s son Kazim had preserved these items as legacy of his father who had been gifted these items by his fans. (HT Photo)

Other than being shehnai’s best known exponents, Bismillah Khan, a Shia Muslim, also represented what came to be known as the Ganga-Jamuni Sanskriti (harmony between Hindu and Muslim communities).

The lock of the main gate was broken. Forensic experts and a dog squad had visited the house.

“It is true that the shehnais were stolen from the house. We are investigating the matter,” senior superintendent of police Nitin Tiwari said.

The shehnais were gifts from former prime minister Narasimha Rao, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, senior Congress leader and former union minister Kapil Sibal and a former disciple.

Kazim had shifted his father’s gifts from his ancestral house in Hadha Sarai, police said.

The family has been demanding a museum to preserve his memorabilia since his death in 2006. They were now left with Bismillah Khan’s Bharat Ratna medal, Padma Shree and some other mementoes, news agency PTI quoted his grandson Razi Hassan as saying.

(With agency inputs)