Ustad Mohammad Ajmal Khan, the Table legend, has passed away on Friday (yesterday) due to cardiac arrest. Ustad Ajmal Khan died in Islamabad, where he had been living with his family for a long time. The funeral prayers also took place in the capital city.
Ustad Ajmal Khan was originally from Multan. The 62-year-old pride of performance recipient gave Pakistan and its culture some of the most beautiful treasures of music.
The classical music maestro rejected his Qawwal background and started playing the Tabla at the age of twelve when he was exposed to its charms on the radio. Later, his father, Bakshi Salamat Qawwal, bought him one to practice at home.
It was later in 1976 (when he was 19) when his mentor, Ustad Shaukat Hussain took him under his wing and his formal training began.
Throughout his life, Ustad Ajmal Khan promoted the culture of Pakistan all over the world. He has played the Tabla in sixty different countries. The Ustad also had the privilege of performing with a long list of artists such as Ghulam Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Naheed Akhtar, Pathanay Khan, Mehdi Hassan Khan, Noor Jahan, Abida Parveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and many more.
