?Dev Deepawali? celebration dedicated to Bismillah Khan

In a bid to highlight the cultural heritage of Varanasi, the Kendriya Dev Deepawali Mahasamiti will dedicate the celebration of ?Dev Deepawali? to Shehnai maestro and Bharat Ratna Late Ustad Bismillah Khan at Balaji Ghat on November 5.

In a bid to highlight the cultural heritage of Varanasi, the Kendriya Dev Deepawali Mahasamiti will dedicate the celebration of ‘Dev Deepawali’ to Shehnai maestro and Bharat Ratna Late Ustad Bismillah Khan at Balaji Ghat on November 5. The Dev-Deepawali celebration has been named as ‘Virasat—Balaji, Bismilah and Benarass’. Ustad Nayer Hussain Khan, son of Late Ustad Bismillah Khan, will pay his tribute to Bismillah Khan by rendering shehnai at the Naubat-Khana of Balaji temple. Nayer said it was a great oppurtunity for him at Naubat-Khana where his father used to practice Shehnai in his young days.

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President of organising committee, Pt Narayan Guru, vice-president Prabhat Sharma and general secretary Vageesh Dutt Mishra said a tableaux of Lord Balaji, decorated with 20 kg butter, will also be presented. They said a religious procession ‘Dev Barat’, would also be taken out on the occasion. The steps of Balaji Ghat will be decorated with 11,000 diyas on the occasion, they said and added that a grand cultural event would also be organised at the pontoon-based stage on river Ganga at Mehta Ghat.

The cultural event will also start with the Shehnai recital by Ustad Nayer Hussain followed by several other functions such as fusion of Indian and Western music and dance items.

The programme would conclude with a melodious rendition from noted singer Mahua Banerjee. Bhojpuri filmstar Manoj Tiwari, musician, Satish-Ajay and Bhojpuri movies director Mahesh Pandey will also be felicitated on the occasion, organisers said.