Mohammad Hashem Cheshti, also known with surname Chishti and as Ustad Hashem (), was a contemporary classical musician and composer born in
Kharabat area of Kabul,
Afghanistan, who died in 1994 in Germany under unclear circumstances.
[
]
Early life
Ustad Hashem was born and raised in a musical family, which originally came from Kasur
Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...
in Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, but settled in the 19th century in Kabul as court musicians.[ Both he and his brothers appeared regularly on Afghan Television and Radio prior to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent wars.][ He accompanied regularly other famous Afghan musicians like ]Ahmad Zahir
Ahmad Zahir (Pashto/Dari: ; 14 June 1946 – 14 June 1979) was an Afghan singer, songwriter and composer. Dubbed the " Elvis of Afghanistan", he is widely considered the all-time greatest singer of Afghanistan. The majority of his songs were in ...
and Ustad Mahwash
Ustad Farida Mahwash (); (1947) is an Afghan singer and voice of Afghanistan. She was the first woman (as of 2013) to have been conferred the honorary title of "Ustad" (meaning Master or Maestra in Dari) in 1977. She currently lives in Fremon ...
on his tabla.[
He was the teacher and mentor of Ustad ]Mahwash
Ustad Farida Mahwash (); (1947) is an Afghan singer and voice of Afghanistan. She was the first woman (as of 2013) to have been conferred the honorary title of "Ustad" (meaning Master or Maestra in Dari) in 1977. She currently lives in Fremon ...
,[ the first Afghan female master musician and Zuleikha, a US American dancer and artist.][ He mastered many different traditional Afghan instruments, but his greatest passion was for the ]tabla
A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...
, his mastership of which was supreme.[ and emigrated to Germany where he died in 1994,][ killed by one of his former students for reasons unknown.][
]
See also
* Music of Afghanistan
The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethn ...
References
Tabla players
20th-century Afghan musicians
20th-century Afghan male singers
1994 deaths
Year of birth missing
{{Afghanistan-singer-stub