Sitar maestro Ustad Raees Khan passes away

Legendary sitarist Ustad Raees Khan passed away on Saturday. He was 77.

The classical music maestro breathed his last in Karachi. According to reports, he had been ill for some time.

Ustad Raees was born in 1939 in Indore, India in a family of musicians. He belonged to the Mewati Gharana of Indian classical music. His maternal grandfather Inayat Ali Khan was also considered one of the finest sitar players in the subcontinent.

With classical music in his blood, he started playing sitar from a very young age. He was also an accomplished vocalist and would often sing a composition to accompany the raga he was playing.

Apart from solo performances, Ustad Raees brought some of the finest pieces of classical music on stage through collaborations with legendary shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan.

One of his most memorable contemporary performances is Hans Dhuni in Coke Studio season 7.

Ustad Raees leaves behind his wife, the renowned singer Bilqees Khanum, and four sons. His son Farhan Raees is also a revered musician and excels in his ancestors’ tradition of sitar playing.

Ustad Raees had also been awarded Pride of Performance award by the government in 2005.