VDA stops demolition of shehnai maestro’s house

Varanasi: The Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) has stopped the demolition of shehnai maestro ‘Bharat Ratna’ Ustad Bismillah Khan’s house by his family members, who want to develop the property as a commercial complex, amid calls for conservation of the house as a ‘national cultural heritage’.
A team of VDA consisting of zonal officer and junior engineer had visited the maestro’s house (CK-46/63) in Hadaha Sarai locality on August 17 for inspection. According to the VDA inspection report released on Friday, the room on the second floor was demolished by Mohammad Shiftain, the grandson of the Ustad and son of late Mehtab Hussain. Presently, Shiftain resides in the house.
It also came to light that there is a property dispute among the family members. Khan had five sons.
“Since it is a case of a private property, the VDA team verbally and through notice directed the family members to get permission from the municipal corporation as per rule for the demolition of the building if it is in a dilapidated condition. They were also directed to get the map approved from the VDA before starting any new construction,” said VDA officials.
Days before his death anniversary on August 21, the upper floor room of the maestro’s house, where he lived and did ‘riyaz’ (practice), was demolished by his kin to develop the house as a commercial complex. The other members of the family raised objections to it.
Many youth organisations also raised the issue saying that it is the duty of the Central government and cultural ministry to conserve the belongings of the maestro.
In a joint press statement, the state secretary of All India Democratic Student Organisation (AIDSO) Dilip Kumar, state secretary of All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) Makardhwaj and state secretary of All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan (AIMSS) Vandana Singh demanded that the Central and state governments should protect the house. “It should be developed as a shehnai training centre,” they said, “adding that the family members should be rehabilitated somewhere else and given financial assistance.”
Khan’s foster daughter and singer Soma Ghosh and former MLA and Congress leader Ajay Rai also demanded government’s intervention saying that the government should come forward to conserve his house as a museum.