New Delhi, January 18: Legendary musician and a doyen of Indian classical music Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, breathed his last at the age of 89 on Sunday afternoon at his residence. He was an acclaimed figure in the world of Indian classical music.
Mustafa Khan's daughter-in-law Namrata Gupta Khan broke this news via social media. She wrote on Instagram, "With a very heavy heart, I inform you all that my father, -in-law the pillar of our family and a legend of our nation, Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab has left for his heavenly abode few mins ago (sic).”
"He was fine in the morning... but during his massage, he vomited. His eyes were shut and he was breathing slowly. I tried connecting to doctors but by the time they came, he had already died," Namrata said.
Ghulam Mustafa Khan was one of the finest Hindustani classical vocalists. He was born in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh. His mother was the daughter of the legendary vocalist Ut Inayat Hussain Khan, the court musician in Nawab Wajid Ali Khan’s court. He got his basic classical music training from his father and later studied music under his cousin, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
He started performing at the age of 8. He made his debut in the music industry from Marathi, ‘Chand Pretticha’. From 1957, he started singing playback for Marathi and Gujarati films. He started with Mrinal Sen’s ‘Bhuvan Shome’ and sang ‘Sajanaa kahe nahi aaye...’ for ‘Badnaam Basti’ under the same music director, Vijay Raghav Rao.
Khan’s musical brilliance was also witnessed in the song Jhoola kinne data from the movie Umrao Jaan. In a German documentary shot in Rajasthan Khan has played the role of Baiju Bawra, where he sang for himself.
It should be noted that he has mentored all the leading singers of the Hindi film industry. He remained an eminent guru to many leading musicians including Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, A. R. Rahman, Ut Rashid Khan (also his nephew), Waheeda Rehman, Geeta Dutt, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam, Alisha Chinoy, and Shilpa Rao. Khan’s contribution to the field of music is immense.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, followed by Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018. In 2003 he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance, and Drama.
Khan had suffered a brain stroke in 2019 that left one side of his body paralysed. President Ram Nath Kovind paid tribute to the late musician by penning a heartfelt note, "In his passing, the music world has lost not only a doyen but also a mentor for the young generation."
Mourning Khan's death the Prime Minister said, the musician's passing away has left "our cultural world poorer".
Home Minister Amit Shah wrote he was 'anguished' after he received the tragic news.
Members of the music industry also mourned the loss of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan and some paid tribute to him by sharing their best moments with him.
