The musician Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, acclaimed as a national living treasure in India, was a central figure in introducing the classical music of his homeland to a western audience. Master of the sarod, a 25-string instrument similar to the Middle Eastern oud, he recorded more than 95 albums, was nominated for five Grammy Awards and composed musical scores for both Indian and western films, including Satyajit Ray's Devi and Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha.
Born in Shibpur in British-controlled East Bengal, now Bangladesh, Khan appeared in 1971 at the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden. The event was the first of its kind, held by musicians not for profit but to garner aid for victims of Cyclone Bhola and the Bangladesh Liberation War. Despite his claim that, as a musician, he did not "understand" politics, Khan opened the billing in a duet with the sitar player Ravi Shankar - at the time his brother-in-law. George Harrison and Ringo Starr appeared together for the first time in five years, Bob Dylan sang and the overall effect, Khan concluded regretfully, was a "war of music".
A portly, diminutive man, benign and balding, Khan could trace his lineage back to a 16th-century court musician of the Mogul Emperor Akbar. He too would later serve as a court musician for the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
His strict father, one of the foremost Indian musicians of his time, oversaw the boy's musical education from the age of three. Lessons could last up to 18 hours. When Khan accidentally shot off the tip of his right finger with an air gun, the furious father warned his son that he would never be a soloist. He was proved wrong. On a sarod carved by his uncle from a teak tree in his great-grandfather's garden, Khan gave his first public performance at Allahabad, and made various recordings in India in his 20s.
When the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin visited India in the 1950s, so taken was he with the music he heard that he invited Ravi Shankar to present a concert at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Shankar declined, but Khan accepted and was referred to thereafter by Menuhin as "the greatest musician in the world".
The concert was seen as a key introduction of Indian music to the West, which infiltrated the pop cultures of the 60s, most notably the music of The Beatles.
Khan made his first US recording of Indian classical music on Angel Records and gave the first performance of live Indian music on Alistair Cooke's television show Omnibus. He was a figure of curiosity for some and was amused to be asked as he walked the streets of New York in his Indian dress: "How can you play music in India with all the tigers and monkeys you have to fight off?"
He later opened a music college in Calcutta that failed to thrive. Invited to return to America under the auspices of the American Society for Eastern Arts in Berkeley, California, Khan founded his own school, the Ali Akbar College of Music, initially in Berkeley, later in Marin County. There, a senior student recalled, the musician hoped to create a "number of protégés". It was ambition fully realised: around 10,000 students passed through the college and a sister school was opened later in Switzerland.
Khan was the first Indian musician to receive a MacArthur Fellowship in 1991. Six years later he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was born on April 14, 1922. He died on June 19. He is survived by his wife Mary and 11 children.
* The National
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
INDIA%20SQUAD
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KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Company%20Profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THREE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Book%20Details
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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RESULT
Everton 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Everton: Sigurdsson (47'), Calvert-Lewin (73')
Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Company%20Profile
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Afcon 2019
SEMI-FINALS
Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm
Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm
Matches are live on BeIN Sports
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
