Kolkata: Late musician Ustad Rashid Khan's corpse will travel to his hometown Budaun in Uttar Pradesh for the funeral. His body is being currently kept at Rabindra Sadan following the gun salute arranged by the West Bengal government.
According to a top police officer, Khan's body will be flown to his native town as wished by his family which had requested the state government in this regard. The government is leaving no stones unturned to ensure his body reaches Budaun without any hitch.
After this, the body of the music maestro will be taken to his Naktala residence. From there, it will fly to Uttar Pradesh by an evening flight. The last rites of Khan will be performed in his native Uttar Pradesh.
His funeral was scheduled to take place at the Tollygunge cemetery, but later the decision was altered after family wishes. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the gun salute ceremony at the Rabindra Sadan. The ceremony was attended by a host of top leaders along with celebrities of all walks of life.
Rashid Khan passed away at a city-based hospital at 3.45 pm on Tuesday. The 55-year-old musician is survived by wife, son and daughter. The chief minister announced the decision of his demise and also stood by his family.
The music maestro was not responding to the treatment since Tuesday morning. Kept in ventilation, Khan was also being fed through a rice tube. He was undergoing treatment under the supervision of medical practitioner Sudipta Mitra besides a team of doctors from the Medicine and Cancer Department.
Rashid Khan was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer for a long time. He was admitted to the hospital on November 21 due to excessive bleeding in the brain.
Apart from his several heart-touching music, his 'Ayoge Jab Tum Sajna' from the film 'Jab We Met' composed by Sandesh Shandilya caught the right chord among the music lovers and became a name in the Bollywood circuit.
Rashid Khan earned praises for singing songs from Bengali films as well as several Hindi films. The list includes 'My Name is Khan', 'Raaj 3', 'Bapi Bari Jaa', 'Kadambari', 'Shaadi Mai Zaroor Ana', 'Manto'.
Rashid Khan was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2006. Then in 2012, he received the Bangabhushan from the West Bengal government. Ustad Rashid Khan was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2022. His death marks the end of a prominent musical journey of the country.
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