Thaindian News

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Noted Sarangi exponent and singer Ustad Sultan Khan passed away Sunday after prolonged kidney-related ailments, an associate said. He was 71.

“He passed away while on the way to the hospital. His mortal remains will be flown to Jodhpur Monday, where his funeral will take place amidst family members and friends,” a family associate told IANS.

A Padma Bhushan awardee, Khan gave his first performance at the age of 11, and has performed on an international scale with Ravi Shankar on George Harrison’s 1974 Dark Horse World Tour.

The news of his death came through a post by music composer Salim Merchant (of Salim-Sulaiman fame) on microblogging site 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,” Salim tweeted.

Khan hailed from a family of sarangi maestros in Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and was initially tutored by his father Gulab Khan. Later he trained under classical vocalist of Indore gharana Ustad Amir Khan.

A modest human being, Khan was down to earth and loved interacting with people and breaking into impromptu songs.

When this reporter met him in 2007 and later in 2009, he gladly sang the songs she requested. Secular in heart and mind, he was often seen participating in the Ganesh festivals at Borivli in northwest Mumbai.

He often conducted the ‘aarti’ at the Ganesh pandal along with local residents. He often concluded with a bhajan or a prayer to please Lord Ganesh.

Apart from Padma Bhushan in 2010, Khan also won many other awards like the Sangeet Natya Academy Award twice, the Gold Medalist 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.

His son, Sabir Khan, is also a well-known sarangi player.