Ustad Rashid Khan, a music legend, passed away today in Kolkata at the age of 55 from prostate cancer. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced his death, according to Press Trust of India.
“We tried our best but failed. He passed away at around 3:45 PM,” an official of the Kolkata-based private hospital where Khan was admitted said.
The chief minister who visited the hospital said, “This is a great loss for the entire country and the entire music fraternity. I am in a lot of pain as I still can’t believe that Rashid Khan is no more.”
Following a cerebral attack last month, the musician’s health took a turn for the worse. Initially, the 55-year-old from the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana was treated at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, however, he opted to continue his treatment exclusively in Kolkata at a later stage. Khan initially responded positively to the treatment, according to sources.
A native of Uttar Pradesh, Badayun Rashid Khan, a nephew of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, received his initial training from his maternal granduncle Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1909-1993).
The first person to recognize his musical abilities was his uncle, Ghulam Mustafa Khan, who provided initial training in Mumbai. However, the primary training was received from Nissar Hussain Khan at his residence in Badayun.
After delivering his first concert at the age of eleven, Rashid Khan also appeared at an ITC concert in Delhi the following year, in 1978. Following this, in April 1980, when Nissar Hussain Khan transitioned to the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (SRA) in Calcutta, Rashid Khan, at the age of 14, also became a member of the academy.
His experimental collaborations included concerts with Western instrumentalist Louis Banks, as well as blending traditional Hindustani music with lighter musical genres. Additionally, he demonstrated his versatility by participating in jugalbandis, where he shared the stage with sitarist Shahid Parvez and other musicians.
