news details |
|
|
| Amid family intrigues, Bismillah Khan died a lonely death | | |
New Delhi, Oct 8
Buried under layers of dust and a huge slice
of history, Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan has left behind a string
of questions unanswered about his death and an intriguing tale of
the greed of his family members, claim his monograph's authors.
''The Ustad was taking his last breath, and a son was plotting to
transfer his father's bank balances and property worth Rs 1.60 crore
to his account. Even fruit juice was denied to him by family
members. The maestro was aware of the shabby treatment of his family
members,'' according to journalist couple Shivnath and Neena Jha, who
wrote the monograph.
''Not only that, one couldn’t even meet the Ustad without
'obliging' his sons and private secretary,'' they allege.
Neena and Shivnath Jha have authored the monograph on Ustad
Bismillah Khan, which was released by the shehnai maestro on March
25 and later launched on September 17 to coincide with his
‘Chaliswan’ or the 40th day of mourning.
With his entire world cramped in a dingy 8x10 feet room on the
second floor of the house located in Sarai Harha in the temple town
Benaras, Khan Saheb had become the victim of ‘heartless’ treatment
of his family.
And the legend died a forlorn death without fulfilling his
lifetime desire of playing shehnai at the historical India Gate in
the national capital.
Ustad Bismillah Khan owned property worth Rs 1.60 crore, including
a bank balance of Rs 56 lakh, but it was controlled by one of his
sons, they claim .
''It all started on August 22, a day after Ustad Bismillah Khan
took his last breath. His private secretary Javed, however, managed
to prevent the media attention on the bitter family wrangling by
bringing together all family members,'' Mr Shivnath Jha told UNI.
Khan Saheb was even denied food of his choice during the four
months of illness before his death while his sons and other family
members cast a greedy eye on his properties and bank balances. Even
fruit juice had become difficult to come by as the family members
wrangled for a pie in the family patriarch’s property.
''Property and cash money which Ustad had earned during the past
eight decades were the main problem. He had not made any will or
distributed the property and bank balances amongst his children
during his lifetime. Every one wanted equal share, but it was not
possible as it was controlled by one of his sons," Mr Jha said,
quoting a family member.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
