The achievement
Ishfaq Hamid is a schoolboy from Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, and a student of Doon International School Baramulla. On 22 January 2024 he received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in the Art and Culture category from President Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi — one of seven children honoured for art and culture among the 19 awardees that year.
The next day, he and the other awardees met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rabab and matka
Ishfaq plays two traditional instruments: the rabab, the lute-like instrument at the heart of Kashmiri and Central Asian music, and the matka, an earthen-pot percussion instrument. The Government of India’s official awardee profile says he had won praise at various festivals before the national award, and records that he received the Bhai Mardana National Award in 2020; The Better India adds that the 2020 honour was presented by the NGO Sarhad.
His school celebrated the Bal Puraskar publicly, and Kashmir’s regional press covered his homecoming.
If an instrument like the rabab is to survive, who do you think should teach the next player — schools, families, or young musicians themselves? That is a question from us, not part of his record.
SOURCES
- Doon International School Baramulla · school post, 4 July 2024 ↗ · School report
- PIB · official PMRBP 2024 awardee list ↗ · Official award list
