Cogent and articulate, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan is a devout Muslim. He was reading the namaz when his grandson (Ustadji now lives with his daughter and her son, Bilal Khan, who now accompanies him on the tabla) broke the news of the award to him. “I was so excited that I interrupted him,” says Bilal, “but he told me to wait. It was only after the namaz was over that he asked what the excitement was all about.” Ustadji has already gifted the award and the money to the Sangeet Research Academy. Will he able to travel to Delhi to receive the award? “Of course, I’m looking forward to it. I travel a lot for performances across the country.” He occasionally uses the wheelchair, say, at airports to go from level to level. His wife, who was many years younger than him, passed away almost 30 years ago. Now it is Bilal who accompanies him on his travels as he is still quite active on the music circuit. Has he thought of retirement? “No. As long as I can sing and there are people to accompany me on the tanpura and tabla, nothing else matters,” says Khansaheb.