“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," said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following a visit to the hospital.
The CM also dubbed him a “truly world famous classical Indian vocal artist" in a leghty condolence message shared via X (nee Twitter).
“A hugely respected vocalist with unparalleled genius in creating music, he made us proud by settling here and making Bengal his home. He and Soma, his wife, and son Armaan, and the whole family, were close to us and allowed us to be on their side in the maestro's last journey in life," she wrote.
Khan belonged to the 'Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana' and received his initial training from artistes such as Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan and Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. He performed his first concert at the age of 11 and was acknowledged as a musician by the ITC Sangeet Research Academy by the age of 26.
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He was born in Uttar Pradesh's Badayun — the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan — in 1968 and began training at an early age. His official website names the Padma Shri awardee as a ‘31st generation descendant of Mian Tansen’. Over the years Khan has been a recipient of the Banga Bhushan award and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
“Ustad Rashid Khan got our highest civilian award Banga Bibhushan and our Sangeet Mahasamman too. He was attached to several of our State cultural bodies in advisory capacity," Banerjee noted in her post.
(With inputs from agencies)
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