cuttack when his frail form in a silk kurta and kashmiri cap was wheeled in the crowd had little clue about the magical spell he would cast over them in the next one hour but when the 105yearold ustad abdul rashid khan the oldest surviving and performing indian classical singer better known as baba in the culture circuit took to the stage at the spic macay national convention on tuesday it was sheer melody in an unwavering timbre that left art aficionados asking for more one after the other the centenarian belted out thumris and khayals in his native gwalior gharana the energy and the power of his voice were simply electrifying at 105 it was indeed a performance worth a thousand applause its unbelievable he could give a 25yearold a run for his money we were glued to our seats we were mesmerized gushed supriya pathak a participant from kolkatabut ask baba about the secret of his longevity and the dulcet notes that charm everyone and he smiles sab allah ki dena hai its a gift of god he has really blessed me when i sing the almighty is with me said the centenarianwhats amazing is that baba at this age travels across the country to give live performances music is my life the stamina to perform comes naturally i neither feel tired nor stressed out during a performance said the maestrothe singer spends the greater part of the day saying prayers to the almighty believes in a frugal meal only once a day and is a stickler for discipline i dont feel hungry and so i dont eat but i make sure to read the quran daily and offer namaaz to allah five times a day singing also keeps me fit stressed khan