Even with a lack of proper signages, late shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan’s home is not difficult to locate. Ask any person on the way and they will guide you to the Bharat Ratna awardee’s nearly 75-year-old home, placed at the end of a dark, narrow, serpentine alley lined with bangle and jewellery shops at Varanasi’s congested Benia Bagh.
The pink faded walls of Khan’s living room are covered end to end with his old pictures. In some, he has posed for the camera with his favourite instrument, while in some he is seen receiving awards from the famous. His daughter Zarina Begum, a woman in her 70s, shows around each of them with pride.
Talking about Khan and his love for Varanasi, Begum says the shehnai star was extremely attached to the city and would not leave it for any other. “Despite getting so many offers from other countries to shift his base, he insisted on living in Varanasi. He loved Ganga Maiyaa and playing his shehnai by the river. He never knew the city he left behind would change so much,” Begum says.
Khan’s grandson Naseer Abbas, who also plays the Shehnai and has performed at many concerts, says, “During those days, he used to play and practise at the Balaji temple, overlooking the Ganga. But, the city has changed over the years. If I do the same now, I would end up getting lots of free publicity.”
“Music was the only religion. It was his sadhna (meditation)which connected him to God,” he says, adding that Khan had attained enlightenment through his music.
Khan’s home is located in a dingy locality which houses more than 10,000 families. It is part of the Varanasi cantonment constituency, which has a significant 1.5 lakh strong Muslim population. Khan’s family is among the eight other families which abide by the Shia sect of Islam.
Poll pundits have predicted the Sunni votes, would go Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance, while Shia clerics have urged their community members to vote for the BSP.
But, Khan’s family members are not convinced. “When it comes to voting, we listen to everybody, but give the votes to the party we like. Our votes lie elsewhere,” Begum says, also indicating at the votes of the other 30 members of her breakaway family, which stays at another nearby house in the locality.
When asked if any politician has sought their votes in this heated up election season, Afaq Haider, another grandson of Khan, who also plays shehnai said, “Not one. Who cares about us now?”
Haider spoke of the days when governor Gopala Reddy, politicians like Motilal Vora and Salman Khurshid used to visit Khan at his home. “He ensured he fed everybody with love and respect who came to his home. They loved his food and music. But none cares about his family after he passed away in 2006,” Haider says.
The family’s anguish at the neglect is relevant. They say the maqbara or Khan’s grave at Faatman Dargah, for which Rs 29 lakh were sanctioned by the state government, remains incomplete after 11 years. “We were promised a statue of him in the city near the railway station so that tourists visiting the place get to know about him. We were also told a shehnai academy would be named after him in Varanasi. They are yet to see the light of the day,” Haider says.
Counting all concerts across the country, the existing shehnai members of the family perform in not more than three to four concerts a year. “We are not even invited in many,” Haider adds.
Begum says she misses the old Varanasi, when there were more open spaces in the city. “The city has grown, but left us with little spaces. You saw the approach road to our house. It has become so congested that no one can reach the other end of the road in case there is a sudden emergency ,” she says.
Amid all the neglect, the biggest loss to the family, was losing four of five Khan’s shehnais, after they were stolen last year. While they have managed to recover one, the others lie damaged and in police custody now. “It pains immensely to see his concerts on CDs where he played his instruments with so much love. I shed tears of blood,” she says and adds that she would have loved to learn and play the instruments if her religion allowed her to.
