Hyderabad: Pandit Vithal Rao, a legendary ghazal singer and one of the last court musicians of the Nizam era, has been missing since May 29 from Shirdi in Maharashtra.
The 86-year-old veteran musician was last seen while he was on his way for a darshan at the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi with his family.
Mr Rao, who was to be one of the recipients of the state award on June 2 (TS Formation Day), is suffering from Alzheimer’s and his family members are still unable to find him. They have filed a missing person’s complaint.
Sandhya Rao, Mr Rao’s daughter, told DC from Shirdi: “The entire family had gone for darshan. After I completed my darshan, I realised that my father was missing. I checked the entire premises, but he was not there. When the CCTV camera was checked, it was found that he had exited the temple from Gate No. 3.”
“He has been missing for 12 days now. He is 86 and suffering from memory loss and is a heart patient. But he remembers his name and that he is from Goshamahal, Hyderabad. He may be asking taxis or autorickshaws to take him home. He cannot live without his medicines.
Recently he underwent a stent operation,” she added. Indira Naik, one of the singer’s students said, “We are in desperate need for a more concerted effort to find him.”
