New Delhi: In an Instagram reel on 5 October last year, music maestro Ustad Rashid Khan was seen taking a bow to thunderous applause from an audience in Boston, USA.
That reel, captioned “Boston Dairies”, turned out to be his last. Just over three months later, on 9 January, Khan, the man with the mellifluous voice popularly known for songs such as ‘Aaoge Jab Tum’ from the 2007 Bollywood movie Jab We Met, ‘Albela sajan ayo re’ from the 1999 film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and ‘Bol ke lab azaad hain tere’ penned by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and used in the 2018 movie Manto, passed away after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 55.
Soon after his passing, his reels on Instagram began to rapidly gain more views. On that particular reel from 5 October, condolence messages poured in from fans not just in India but across the globe, with many paying homage to his artistry.
Born in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, and the great-grandson of Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan, founder of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, Rashid Khan began his musical training at age 14 under the tutelage of his maternal grand-uncle Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan.
Rashid Khan, who counted the musical greats Ustad Amir Khan and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi among his influences, was a recipient of two of India’s highest civilian honours — the Padma Shri in 2006 and the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
But the maestro also quickly understood the power of social media — one of India’s most Instagram-savvy musicians, he would offer his fans glimpses of not only his performances but his life.
Those reels are now a treasure trove of unfiltered memories of his travels, performances, celebrations, and more. They also offer a glimpse of what his last few months looked like.
For instance, in a reel that he posted last July, the maestro can be seen sitting in the comfort of his Kolkata home, wearing a green T-shirt and a pair of trousers, and singing Kishore Kumar’s ‘Mere naina sawan bhadon’ from the 1976 Hindi movie Mehbooba. That reel has 21,697 likes, with fans admiring his exceptional artistry.
Likewise, a reel posted on his birthday on 1 July last year was another glimpse of the ustad’s life — a montage of black and white photos of his childhood, musical concerts, and marriage interspersed with clips of his present-day home, especially his music room. This reel, which has Khan soulfully singing ‘Thak ke sojati hai har raat sulane mai jinhe’ playing in the background, had over 5 lakh views and around 22,000 likes.
Another one of him surrounded by friends and singing ‘Jaagu saari raina, Balma’ in raag Lalit on the roads of Woodbridge, New Jersey, USA, garnered over 2 lakh views.
Through these reels, Rashid Khan invited his audience to share his life. Now, however, they’ve become cherished records of a man whose musical talent could never be confined to just concert halls.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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