Monday, August 21 2006 15:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Aug 21, 2006) paid glowing tributes to Bismillah Khan, saying the shehnai maestro, 'a great son of India', transformed the simple folk instrument into a renowned vehicle of Hindustani music.

"I join millions of music lovers across the world in mourning the demise of this greatest exponent of the shehnai," Manmohan Singh said of the grand old man of music who had been conferred the Bharat Ratna India's highest civilian honour in 2001.

"Ustad Bismillah Khan Sahib single-handedly elevated this simple instrument of popular folk music into a famous vehicle of Hindustani classical music," he said.

Khan, 91, died in Varanasi in the early hours of Monday after a brief illness.

The prime minister said Khan was 'a great son of India' on whom the people of the country had showered their love and affection by remaining his ardent admirers for more than half a century of his performing life.

"A true symbol of our composite culture, Khan Sahib, through his mellifluous rendering of the shehnai, showed us that while God may manifest himself in many forms, piety finds its true expression through music," he said.

Khan, Manmohan Singh said, was the recipient of numerous honours that an artiste can aspire for.

"In conferring our nation's highest honour the Bharat Ratna the Government of India merely echoed the sentiments of our people," he said.

He conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the maestro's family, disciples and his admirers around the world, and said, "May his music continue to bring peace and harmony to our lives."

Khan was born to a family of musicians on March 21, 1916, and performed in the court of then princely state of Dumraon, Bihar. He trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux Vilayatu, who played the shehnai at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

He started his music career in 1930 and had the rare distinction of receiving all the civilian national awards Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and then the Bharat Ratna.