91 kg cake for Bismillah Khan on 91st birthday

NEW DELHI, January 18, 2006 (IANS) Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan will be presented a 91 kg cake in New Delhi on his 91st birthday on Mar 21 by a young couple who say they want to focus attention on the government's apathy towards the musician who has been conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour. At a reception in New Delhi on that day, Khan will release a monograph on himself authored by the journalist couple, Neena and Shivnath Jha, who will present the maestro Rs.150,000 "to take care of him in the winter of his life"."Ustadji hails from Bihar and so do we. Till date, neither the Bihar government nor the people of the state have organised any public felicitation to pay their tribute to the living legend for his contribution to Indian classical music," Neena Jha said of the celebrations."Bismillah Khan is a one-man army engaged in propagating and popularising the Shehnai globally. He had broken through the musical 'chakravyuh' (maze) through a life of dedication, sacrifice and tenacity.This is the least we can do to highlight his work," Jha added of the celebrations.