At 105, Abdul Rashid Khan becomes oldest person to get Padma Shri

New Delhi: At the age of 105, Hindustani vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan was today chosen for this year’s Padma Shri award, achieving the distinction of being the oldest person to get a Padma award. In 2011, India’s first woman photo-journalist Homai Vyarawala was honoured with the Padma Vibushan at the age of 97. She died last year. [caption id=“attachment_602672” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] Images: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The repertoire of Khan, the vocalist from West Bengal, includes khayal, dhrupad, dhamar and thumri. Currently confined to a wheelchair, Khan who has lost the ability to walk and whose hands have become gnarled with age, still manages to regale audiences with his powerful singing. Also a poet, Khan has written around 2000 compositions under the pseudonym ‘Rasan Piya’. PTI