Ali Akbar Khan dead

Kolkata, Jun 19 (PTI) Sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar
Khan Friday died in San Francisco in the US after a prolonged
kidney ailment, according to a family friend here.

88-year-old Khan died at his music centre at 10 am
IST, Rabin Pal, the secretary of sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar,
said.

He is survived by wife Mary, three sons and a
daughter.

Pal, a family friend of the sarod maestro, said that
he was informed about the death of Khan by the Ustad's family
in San Francisco.

Khan's secretary in Kolkata Ashish Roy said the
maestro, who was on dialysis, had been ailing for over four
years and his condition had deteriorated in the last four
months.

A recipient of Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, Khan
was a colossus in the world of Indian classical music for the
last five decades. PTI PB
AM