DD to showcase ‘Meeting a Milestone’ on Ustad Bismillah Khan

MUMBAI: As a mark of respect following the demise of Indian classical music legend and Bharat Ratna recipient Ustad Bismillah Khan, national network Doordarshan is paying tributes to the maestro by telecasting a documentary Sangemeel Se Mulaquat (Meeting a Milestone).

DD will air the documentary tonight at 10 pm. The 90-minute film has been produced by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), with direction and photography by Gautam Ghose. It is in Hindi and Urdu, informs an official statement.

The shehnai (Indian wind instrument) maestro passed away of heart failure today. The government has declared a day of national mourning.

The national flag flew at half-mast at government buildings while schools and government offices were closed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Ustad Khan lived and passed away in his hometown of Varanasi.

According to the statement, in view of this, the programmes scheduled earlier against the aforesaid time slots 10 pm to 11:30 pm on DD-1 will not be telecast. The Bioscope: serialized feature film Gautam Govinda (Part-1) will air at 11:30 pm on DD tonight.

Born on 21 March, 1916, into a family of court musicians, Ustad Khan started training at the age of six. A high point in his career was when he played shehnai at Delhi’s Red Fort on the eve of India’s Independence in 1947.

Ustad Khan was admitted to hospital last week after he complained of weakness.