'Shehnai Academy' after Bismillah: Mulayam

Varanasi/Lucknow, Aug 21: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today announced setting up a 'Shehnai Academy' in memory of shehnai maestro and Bharat Ratna recipient Ustad Bismillah Khan, who died early today at Varanasi.

The CM also announced to constitute a Rs 5 lakh 'Sangeet Ratna Award' in the name of the shehnai exponent after placing wreath on his body. Mr Yadav said the Academy would be set up at a cost of Rs one crore in the state capital.

After paying condolence and meeting the Ustad's family members, the CM said a memorial would be constructed in Varanasi to allow youth a glimpse into the ideology of the great musician.

Claiming that Bismillah Khan was beyond any felicitation for his contribution to the society, music and country, Mr Yadav said it was his great achievement to give shehnai a status of classical music.

The CM hoped the Bismillah Khan legacy would continue and his two sons Naiyar Hussain and Jamin Hussain, who are also shehnai exponents, would make the music more popular.

Earlier in the state assembly, expressing his condolence, Mr Yadav said the Ustad was a symbol of country's unity and integrity.

''We have lost a great exponent of rare music and a person, who worked as a bond for country's culture and traditions,'' he added.

The CM also reminded the house of the Ustad's shehnai recital at Red Fort on August 15, 1947, when the country became independent.

UNI

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