Mohammad Hashem Cheshti, also known with surname Chishti and as Ustad Hashem ( fa, استاد هاشم), was a contemporary classical musician and composer born in Kharabat area of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, who died in 1994 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

under unclear circumstances. Ustad Hashem was born and raised in a musical family, which originally came from

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also Romanization of Urdu, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city serves as th ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, but settled in the 19th century in Kabul as court musicians. Several of his close family members, including his brothers and his father are/were also famous musicians in their own right. 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 (Dari/Pashto: ; 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 sung ...

and Ustad

Mahwash Ustad Farida Mahwash ( fa, استاد فریده مهوش); (1947) is an Afghan singer and voice of Afghanistan. She was the first woman (as of 2013) to have been conferred the title of honor, honorary title of "Ustad" (meaning Master or Maes ...

on his tabla. He was the teacher and mentor of Ustad

, the first Afghan female master musician and

Zuleikha Potiphar's wife is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. She was the wife of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard in the time of Jacob and his twelve sons. According to the Book of Genesis, she falsely accused Joseph of attempted r ...

, a US American dancer and artist. He mastered many different traditional Afghan instruments, but his greatest passion was for the

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

, his mastership of which was supreme. Following the Russian invasion of

he had to flee his home country and emigrated to Germany where he died in 1994, killed by one of his former students for reasons unknown.

References

Tabla players Afghan musicians 20th-century Afghan male singers 1994 deaths Year of birth missing {{Afghanistan-singer-stub

See also

References