Bhopal: The golden voice of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan may not be heard again, but it will ring in the ears of thousands. Even time shall not be able to drown it.
The passing away of Ustad in Mumbai on Sunday has saddened the artistes in Bhopal. Many of them have had a long association with Ustad who belonged to Rampur Sahaswan Gharana.
He loved the ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’ of the City of Lakes as well as its greenery. He loved Bhopali Batuaa and the city’s language. He had performed in Ravindra Bhawan, Gandhi Bhawan and in Hindi Bhavan. He performed in old Bhopal.
In 2008, the Madhya Pradesh Government conferred Tansen Samman on him.
This is what artistes in the city told the Free Press Journal:
'Ek yug ka khatma hona'
Farooque Lateef Khan, Sarangi player, said:
"Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan had long association with Bhopal. He visited the city many times, because most of the relatives of his in-laws’ side lived in old Bhopal.
He loved the city’s greenery, lakes and ‘Bhopali Language’. He was a very good friend of my father Ustad Abdul Lateef Saheb. They always performed together in Ravindra Bhavan, Hindi Bhawan and Gandhi Bhavan.
At that time, Bharat Bharat Bhavan was not built. They also performed at a SPIC MACAY’s event at MANIT (then MACT). He also performed at Bharat Bhavan and said, ‘he feels like he is performing at Albert Hall’.
"I think, after the death of my father, he didn’t perform in Bhopal. Since I live in Mumbai I used to visit home. He always appreciated me and used to say first try to become a good human before becoming a good artist. He had a god-gifted voice. Unka Jana ek yug ka khatma hona jaise hai..."
'Irreparable loss to Hindustani classical music'
Umakant Gundecha, Dhurpad vocalist, said:
"We had met and heard him many times in Bhopal as well as outside the city. In 2017-18, we met at a concert, organised by Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma at Nehru Centre, Mumbai. He was chief guest in the event and appreciated our performance a lot. They also performed in the same concert in Ahmadabad. He was Khalifa of Rampur Sahaswan Gharana. We had very sweet memories with him. He was a great artiste but very humble. It is an irreparable loss of Hindustani classical music."
'Extensive contribution to Bollywood...'
Pt Kiran Deshpande, singer and tabla player, said:
"Ustad had visited Bhopal and performed in Bharat Bhavan. He was seven years older to me. I love his singing. I got a chance to perform with him in Tansen Samaroh in Gawalior in 2008. Though he belonged to Rampur Sahaswan Gharana he had intensive study in classical music. Even he learnt Samved singing from Aacharya Brihspati in Delhi. Since he used to live in Mumbai, his contribution to Bollywood was a lot. He trained the singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. It is a big loss for us."
'He loved the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb'
Suresh Tanted, Founder, Abhinav Kala Parishad, said:
"Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan had performed in the ninth Basantutsav Sangeet Samaroh, organised by Parishad in1978 at Ravindra Bhavan. He used to love the city a lot especially it’s ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’. Besides, he used to love the audience of Bhopal as well as ‘Bhopali Batuaa’. Bhopalites also loved him and listened to him, as he performed in Bhopali style."
'He performed on Bharat Bhavan's foundation day'
Prem Shanker Shukla, Chief administrative officer, Bharat Bhavan, said:
"Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan performed on the foundation day of Bharat Bhavan. I am unable to recall the exact year, but I heard him singing. He was also invited in 2014-15 but he was unable to come due to health issues."
