The Hindu : National : ‘He wanted to entertain people cutting across faiths’

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‘He wanted to entertain people cutting across faiths’

Madhur Tankha

— Photos: Sushil Kumar Verma & PTI

Family members of tabla player Nawab Khan, who died in Friday’s blast in Kabul — son Ashu, daughter Shiba, brother Moinuddin Khan and nephew Shafiq Ahmad at their residence in New Delhi on Saturday. At below, President Pratibha Patil consoles a relative of a victim at the airport.

NEW DELHI: A pall of gloom descended on the East Delhi house of tabla player Nawab Khan on Saturday as grieving relatives arrived to mourn him. He was killed in the terror attack in Kabul on Friday.

“This was my father’s first trip to Afghanistan. He was part of a three-member cultural troupe that was sent by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to give performances in various cities in Afghanistan. When I reached ICCR’s office on Friday evening I was informed of the terrorist attack in Kabul. All those who have orchestrated and perpetrated this gruesome attack are not followers of Islam. They are not even human beings,” Ashu, Mr. Khan’s eldest son, said at his West Guru Angad Nagar house.

“For artistes there are no boundaries as far as giving performances is concerned. Their work entails creating a bond between people of different faiths and countries. This was what my father was striving to achieve,” said Ashu, who works at a call centre in Noida.

He said the cowardly attack against the Indian community had robbed him of his father, the breadwinner of the family. “I will now have to take up the responsibility of supporting my large family that includes a six-year-old younger brother and five young sisters.”

Urging that the Centre provide a job to one member of Mr. Khan’s beleaguered family, artiste coordinator Santosh Mehta said the only ray of hope could come from the powers-that-be, as they had sent the musician to entertain people in a terrorist-infested country.

“As far as we are concerned, Khan has attained martyrdom. A gifted artiste, he was on a mission to entertain people cutting across different faiths. I don’t understand what the Taliban has achieved from this attack. They don’t even spare civilians and are clueless about the meaning of jihad,” he said.

Mr. Mehta, who stayed at the maestro’s home for two years, said he never felt for a moment there that he was from a different faith.

“Nawab Khan was like a brother to me. A magnanimous man, he could never stand the grief of others. At times he used to take out his shirt or shawl and hand it over to rickshaw pullers. He was fond of cooking chicken biryani, koftas and mutton korma. Even though he has left us, the taste of his dishes still lingers in our mouths,” Mr. Mehta said.

The news of her husband’s death was initially kept a secret from Mobina Begum. “We told her that the bomb attack had only injured her husband. Even the plug of the television set has been taken out but she has now realised that something is amiss,” said a relative.

“Just when my brother was packing his suitcase at the Park Resident guest house on Friday to leave for the airport, the bomb went off. The roof collapsed over him and he died instantly,” Mr. Khan’s brother Moinuddin said.

Son of the late Banne Khan, a sarangi player, Mr. Khan was part of a three-member troupe that included his relatives — israj player Allauddin Khan and sarangi player Kushif. Mr. Khan belonged to the Ajrada gharana.

A former resident of Suinwalan in the Wall City area, he had the distinction of playing along with famous Hindustani classical vocalists Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan.

ICCR president Karan Singh has expressed his anguish at Mr. Khan’s death and announced a financial package for the bereaved family.

“This would be the first time that a cultural troupe of the ICCR has been attacked by terrorists. To share the anguish of the family, the ICCR will offer a compensation of Rs.10 lakh. Since he was the only earning member of the family, his eldest son would also be employed by ICCR,” said Virender Gupta, Director-General of ICCR.

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