'Nothing less than Bharat Ratna for me'

varanasi: "i will accept no civilian honour except the bharat ratna," pt kishan maharaj, tabla exponent of banaras gharana, said, adding that padma bhushan and padma vibhushan hold no significance to him any more. talking to the times of india on monday, the septuagenarian maestro, who has been honoured with the padma shree in 1973, said that "imagine my position if the government decides to give padma bhushan to zakir hussain or any other artiste much junior to me." kishan maharaj's announcement, at a function here on sunday that he was thinking of not only returning the padma shree to the government but also of committing suicide in protest against the government's erroneous method of bestowing prestigious civilian honours to artistes, has sent shock waves among people across the country.though union hrd minister mm joshi, who was also present at the function, tried hard to pacify pt maharaj but the maestro remained unmoved. "if the government could award the bharat ratna to ustad bismillah khan and pt ravishankar why not to me?" the maestro questioned, claiming that "no tabla player in the world can match my skills." he also claimed that without his support birju maharaj, who was honoured with the padma vibhushan, could not become a perfect dancer. "i took the tabla to its zenith but get nothing in return," he said. kishan maharaj needs no introduction. he embodies the very best of the tabla tradition of the banaras gharana. the lanes of kabirchowra mahalla of varanasi have long reverberated with sound of his tabla. it was here that pt kishan maharaj picked up the fine nuances of tabla-playing from his uncle, vadya shiromani' pt. kanthe maharaj, at the age of six. he registered his presence in the world of music by performing at the akhil bharatiya sangeet sammelan at varanasi in 1938. he performed extensively all over the world. he has been honoured with several awards. meanwhile, chittaranjan jyotishi, noted vocalist and dean of the music faculty of banaras hindu university (bhu), who was also present at the unction, said that "pt maharaj's statement gives an impression that senior artistes are vying for the coveted award." he added that "i do feel sorry for pt maharaj as he has not received the due recognition so far. but it will be better if he stops making such statements in public."