Bismillah Khan enthralls distinguished audience

When Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan's shehnai echoed in Parliament House, it helped a very distinguished audience forget politics and the heat of the day in the temple of democracy.

After lighting of a lamp to inaugurate the evening, Khan was felicitated by President A P J Abdul Kalam [ Images ] and other dignitaries.

Describing Delhi [ Images ] as an oonchi jagah (influential place), the octogenarian expressed his love for Benaras saying, "It is full of ras (music)."

Khan and Ghosh began with Kajri, generally played at night, on a rainy day.

"I am a devotee of melody. It's just a sound. But when you hear it, you forget everything," a frail Khan, seated in a wheelchair, said in his simplistic manner.

As the sun set outside, the magnificent auditorium in the Parliament library reverberated with Ras Barse, a jugalbandi between Khan and his adopted daughter, vocalist Soma Chakravarty Ghosh.

Besides the President, the mesmerized gathering included Lok Sabha Speaker [ Images ] Manohar Joshi [ Images ], Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh [ Images ], Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi [ Images ], Union ministers and MPs.