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Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away early Monday morning after a cardiac arrest. He was 90.
I hadn't heard about him till today!.Infact when his funeral was being shown on tv, even young people in the company cafeteria showed their respects.
Khan was the third classical musician after Pt Ravi Shankar and M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country.
He also had the distinction of heralding in India's Independence, mesmerizing audiences before the start of Pandit Nehru's speech and the unfurling of the tricolour on August 15, 1947.
With the government declaring a one-day national mourning in view of the legendary musician's death, flags were flown at half-mast in all the government buildings.
A day of state mourning was also declared in Uttar Pradesh state and schools, colleges and offices there remained closed for the day.
President APJ Abdul Kalam condoled the death of the shehnai maestro by saying "if he belonged to Benares, his music belonged to the world.In his music, Bismillah Khan is incomparable and in his personality, if there was and is an idea of India, Bismillah Khan embodied it."
I was touched by how India honored one of it's illustrous citizens and i wanted to share this with you all!.