Jodhpur, RAJASTHAN :
The Padma Bhushan awardee, who hailed from Jodhpur, died of kidney failure in Mumbai.
Sarangi maestro and classical singer Ustad Sultan Khan, the soulful voice behind hits such as Piya basanti re and Albela sajan, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday after kidney failure.
The Padma Bhushan awardee, 71, who hailed from a family of sarangi players in Jodhpur, was on dialysis for the past three months and died on his way to the hospital, family sources said.
Khan is survived by his second wife Bano, son Sabir – also a well-known sarangi player – and two daughters. His funeral will take place in Jodhpur on Monday.
Credited for reviving the sarangi, Khan is famous for his extraordinary control over the instrument and his husky voice. He started performing at the age of 11, and later collaborated at the international level with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, on George Harrison’s 1974 Dark Horse World Tour.
Khan’s was a family of sarangi masters from Rajasthan. He was initially tutored by his father, Ustad Gulab Khan. Later, he trained under Ustad Amir Khan, a classical vocalist of the Indore gharana. After establishing himself as a sarangi player, Khan worked with Bollywood musicians, such as Lata Mangeshkar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, apart from collaborating with western musicians, such as Ornette Coleman, George Harrison and Duran Duran.
Apart from the Padma Bhushan, Khan won numerous musical awards, including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (twice), the Gold Medallist Award of Maharashtra and the American Academy of Artists Award in 1998.
Khan was also a member of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science with Zakir Hussain and American bassist Bill Laswell.
The news of Khan’s death came through a post by music composer Salim Merchant (of Salim-Sulaiman fame) on Twitter.
“I lost my ustad – Ustad Sultan Khan, my guru my friend my idol. He passed away this afternoon. We will never have a sarangi maestro like him,” he tweeted.
Eminent sarod player Amjad Ali Khan also condoled his death, saying it was a great loss to the music world. “I am deeply saddened at his demise. He gave a different meaning and dimension to the sarangi ,” he said.
Among the other musicians who expressed grief were music director Vishal Dadlani, and singers Shreya Ghoshal, Abhijeet Sawant and Shaan. “Just heard about the loss of our dear ustad sa’ab :(I had the gr8 fortune and honour of working with him. Too saddened,” Ghoshal tweeted.
Actors Akshay Kumar, Rahul Bose and Dia Mirza also wrote on Twitter. “This has not been a good year what with so many great personalities leaving us. My thoughts and prayers with his (Khan’s) family,” Akshay said.
“He played on the soundtrack of my directorial feature, Everybody Says I’m Fine! Ustad Sultan Khan saab had a huge heart and an impish sense of humour,” Bose recalled.
source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> News> West / by India Today Online, Mumbai / November 28th, 2011
