Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh Dr T Subbarami Reddy presented a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to Ustad Bismillah Khan in New Delhi on Tuesday and said he would send his salary and allowances as member of Parliament to the Bharat Ratna recipient in Varanasi every month.
"Ustad Bismillah Khan has been a symbolic artist for Sarva Dharma Sambhav and has been a messenger of love for decades and deserves honour and respect. For the first time in the history of Parliament, the Ustad will give a performance for MPs on August 7 along with his adopted daughter Mrs Shoma Ghosh. This is a rare honour both for Parliament and the Ustad himself," Reddy, who has played a major role in organising the event, said.
Later, at a press conference the Ustad took his critics to task.
Some of the leading exponents of Hindustani classical music had ridiculed the Ustad for asking the government for a petrol pump.
"I ask those who have criticised me to come and talk to me provided they have the courage to do so. What wrong have I committed if I have asked for a petrol pump for one of the members of my family. After all they have to earn their living," he said.
He lamented the fall in the standards of Bollywood music.
"It is not even worth talking about. Can they give a performance for one-and-a-half hours at a stretch like me," he asked.
He paid rich tributes to Bade Gulam Ali Khan and Begum Akhtar for their contribution to Hindustani classical.
"One night I woke up to listen to Begum Akhtar and my wife got a bit annoyed. I listened to Begum Akhtar's gazals and said wah! My wife reacted sharply I told her she should go back to sleep because she knows nothing about Hindustani classical," he said.
Asked if he would perform in Jammu and Kashmir if the state government requested him, the Ustad said he had some conditions and anyone who fulfilled them could organise a show for him.
"My first condition is to settle the money for the performance and take the whole of it in advance. I have performed in Kashmir a number of times when I was working for All India Radio before Independence," he said.
Time and again he stressed that he was proud to be an Indian.
"I am happy if I get two chapatees and chatni. I am proud to be an Indian."
He praised Dr Ghosh for her outstanding performance as kazari singer.
"Whenever I met her she called me baba. I did not know who she was, but the way she said baba, I felt someone of my own was calling me. I told her she would be my adopted daughter. It is a pleasure to play shehnai with her while she sings. My sons are also coming up in a big way and soon you will hear about them. It is my appeal to music lovers that they should give upcoming singers and music players a chance. They will prove themselves only if they are given a chance," he added.
Asked why, being born in Bihar, he preferred to stay in Varanasi, he said, "Because it is at this place that I grew up with my father and it is here that I learnt the notes of shehnai," he said.
He asked the Centre and state governments not just to honour musicians, but to also take care of them once they were past their prime.
Asked if he was annoyed with the government, he said, "Why should I be? They have responded promptly to my needs. I hope they do the same in case of other ailing artists as well."
