Bismillah Khan died a lonely death

New Delhi, Oct 8: Buried under layers of dust and a huge slice of history, Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan has left behind a string of questions unanswered about his death and an intriguing tale of the greed of his family members, claim his monograph's authors.

''The Ustad was taking his last breath, and a son was plotting to transfer his father's bank balances and property worth Rs 1.60 crore to his account. Even fruit juice was denied to him by family members. The maestro was aware of the shabby treatment of his family members,'' according to journalist couple Shivnath and Neena Jha, who wrote the monograph.

''Not only that, one couldn't even meet the Ustad without 'obliging' his sons and private secretary,'' they allege. Neena and Shivnath Jha have authored the monograph on Ustad Bismillah Khan, which was released by the shehnai maestro on March 25 and later launched on September 17 to coincide with his 'Chaliswan' or the 40th day of mourning.

With his entire world cramped in a dingy 8x10 feet room on the second floor of the house located in Sarai Harha in the temple town Benaras, Khan Saheb had become the victim of 'heartless' treatment of his family. And the legend died a forlorn death without fulfilling his lifetime desire of playing shehnai at the historical India Gate in the national capital.

Ustad Bismillah Khan owned property worth Rs 1.60 crore, including a bank balance of Rs 56 lakh, but it was controlled by one of his sons, they claim . ''It all started on August 22, a day after Ustad Bismillah Khan took his last breath.

His private secretary Javed, however, managed to prevent the media attention on the bitter family wrangling by bringing together all family members,'' Mr Shivnath Jha told UNI. Khan Saheb was even denied food of his choice during the four months of illness before his death while his sons and other family members cast a greedy eye on his properties and bank balances. Even fruit juice had become difficult to come by as the family members wrangled for a pie in the family patriarch's property. ''Property and cash money which Ustad had earned during the past eight decades were the main problem. He had not made any will or distributed the property and bank balances amongst his children during his lifetime. Every one wanted equal share, but it was not possible as it was controlled by one of his sons," Mr Jha said, quoting a family member.

UNI