Hyderabad: Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s tomb being restored
Hyderabad: One of the most revered exponents of Hindustani music, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, is being remembered by the city where he breathed his last in 1968 and where his resting place has been for several decades, though unknown to many.
The Padma Bhushan awardee, whose birth anniversary, April 2, and death anniversary, April 25, are round the corner, has been resting in one of the oldest graveyards in the city, the Dairah-e-Mir Momin. He had died in the Basheerbagh Palace. Now, his tomb, a small white one with green metal ornamental doors, is undergoing a restoration, according to Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development).
“On the occasion of his death anniversary (April 25th), restoring the grave tomb of Padma Bhushan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saaheb, the greatest classical exponent of Patiala Gharana at the Dairah-e-Mir Momin, Sultan Shahi, Hari Bowli Road…” Arvind Kumar tweeted on Sunday.
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who returned to India after his hometown of Kasur went to Pakistan after the partition, chose to settle in Hyderabad after living in other cities including Mumbai. He died here in 1968 after a prolonged illness that had left him partially paralysed in the last few years of his life.
One of the most known ambassadors of the Patiala gharana, he continued to sing and perform in public with the support of his son, Munawar Ali Khan, until his death. There is also a street in Basheerbagh that is named after him as the Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Marg.
For the uninitiated, there are several videos of the great singer on YouTube, including the two famous ones he sang for the classic Mughal-e-Azam, ‘Prem Jogan Ban ke…’ and ‘Shubh Din Aayo…”, reportedly after being given a princely sum which was several times higher than what star singers of the day, Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were paid.
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