Kolkata musicians mourn Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan's demise

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, the legendary Indian classical musician and Padma Shri awardee passed away on Sunday, January 17, at the age of 89 in Mumbai. The musician suffered a brain stroke in 2019 and the left side of his body was paralysed. Since then, the musician, who belonged to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana, was not keeping well. The music fraternity was extremely upset to learn about the demise of

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan

and took to social media to share their grief. From Lata Mangeshkar to AR Rahman, took to Twitter to share their reactions.

Singers and musicians from Kolkata too spoke to us and said that the demise of the legendary musician is indeed a huge loss in the Indian

classical music

sphere. Here’s what they said:

Pt Barun Kumar Pal (Hansa Veena exponent senior disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar): My association with Ustad ji dates back to the early 1980s when we toured together to the UK for a

concert

and stayed at singer Dr Aparna Ghosh’s residence there. I have never seen such a versatile performer like him. Be it classical ragas to bhajans to even film songs, he would mesmerise everyone with his mellifluous voice. Ustad ji was a very down to earth person. He always encouraged and inspired me as a musician. Some years later, we were also the first organisers to host Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan in Kolkata for a concert. Our relationship was more than family. While staying in Nizam Palace in Kolkata, he listened to my national programme on radio. And after it was over, he was so pleased that he came to our house that same night with a radio hanging in his hand. We had some wonderful time together. I will always cherish the moments spent with the great musician. He inspired and acknowledged me in my live concerts in Mumbai and Kolkata with his presence. Let the soul of such a great artiste rest in peace.


Pt Subhen Chatterjee (percussionist): Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan sahab was not only one of the greatest Ustads of north Indian classical music, but was also the Khalifa (or the head ) of the famous Sahaswan Rampur Gharana, which included great singers like Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (

Ustad Rashid Khan

's grandfather) and many others. So, with his passing away a great legacy of north Indian classical music is lost. I am deeply saddened by his demise.


Aneek Dhar (singer): It’s truly a sad moment for all of us who love classical music and respects the genre. Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan is an inspiration to all of us and losing him forever is a shock, which is unbearable. I am fortunate enough to have known and worked along with his sons, Qadir sir and Mortaza sir, during my stint in a reality TV music show and I have no words to explain my grief today. Ustad ji’s guidance and discipline had helped us a lot in our ways of understanding music and delivering our best on stage or recordings. He will be in all of our hearts forever. Their family has been a support to me and many artistes, who came to Mumbai to pursue their dreams in music. My deepest condolences to them.


Pt Tanmoy Bose (percussionist): It would be meaningless to repeat that Khan sahab was a great musician. “But he was equally a great person,” he said. “We used to call him Baro mama, because of his relation with Rashid Khan. Whenever we would go to Mumbai, we would meet him and stay with him,” said Tanmoy adding that he performed with Khan in London in The 80s.