The Sound of Music - II - Ustaad Bismillah Khan

Introduction:

The lesson is about the famous shehnai player Ustaad Bismillah Khan. He has taken shehnai playing to the classical stage and introduced it to the world. He played the shehnai on the day India got independence i.e. 15th August 1947 at the Red Fort. Though he was a devout Muslim, he played shehnai in the Kasi Viswanath temple.

Meanings:

banned: prohibited

shrill: very sharp

unpleasant:  something that we do not like

generic name: a name given to a class or group as a whole / Generic name means the scientific name or a broad classification of something

reeded: wind instruments which have reeds like the flute, the clarinet, etc.

revived: brought back to life.

tonal quality: a quality related to sound

hollow: empty from inside.

auspicious: promising to bring good fortune,

indispensable: without which a piece of work cannot be done, something which is necessary

 ensemble: things (here, instruments) considered as a group

paternal ancestors: ancestors of the father

captivated: attracted

on end: for a very long time without stopping, continuously

apprentice: trainee

haunt: a place frequented by a specified person /place you like come, where you like to visit many times a day

solitude: being alone, single

recital: performance

taken in by: attracted or charmed by

 souvenirs: things given in memory of a place, person or event

chartbuster: record-breaker

celluloid: an old fashioned way of referring to films

venture: a project that often involves risk, something which has a lot of risks

emphasis: to lay stress on something

thick and fast: he got a lot of awards and was recognized at many places conferred: given, usually, an award or a degree coveted: much desired

replicating: making a copy of something

yearning: longing, having a desire for something

devout: believing strongly in religion and obeying its laws and following its practices

Summary:

Bismillah Khan made a great contribution to the world of music through ‘shehnai’. He was honored with India’s highest civilian honor - the Bharat Ratna in 2001. He was from a family of musicians. He improvised many new ragas with the shehnai and thus placed it among other classical musical instruments. He won accolades internationally.

The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in his royal court. He disliked its unpleasant sound. A barber tried to improve the pungi’s tone by using a hollow stem, wider and longer than the pungi and made seven holes on it. He blew into it closing and opening the holes. The improvised instrument produced soft, melodious music. As this was done by a barber, ‘nai’ in Hindi and was played in the court of the king, ‘shah’, the instrument was named ‘shehnai’. Playing the shehnai became a part of auspicious occasions. It was also a part of the group of nine musical instruments that were played at the royal court.

Bismillah Khan was born at Dumraon, Bihar in 1916 in a family of musicians. His grandfather Rasool Bux Khan, his father, Paigambar Bux, and his paternal, and maternal uncles, were shehnai players. In his childhood, Bismillah Khan used to visit Bihariji temple and sing the Bhojpuri Chaita. During his childhood, he was attracted by shehnai and started learning to play it.  He used to practice at the temple of Balaji and Mangala Maiya, by the banks of the holy river Ganga. Bismillah Khan invented ragas that were thought to be beyond the range of the shehnai.

When he was fourteen, he performed at the Allahabad Music Conference and his talent was appreciated by Ustaad Faiyaz Khan. In 1938, when the All India Radio was started in Lucknow, he became a regular shehnai player there. On 15th August 1947, Bismillah Khan performed from the Red Fort and greeted the country through his shehnai. He recited Raag Kafi which was followed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.

Bismillah Khan performed all around the world taking shehnai playing to the world stage. He also composed music for two films – Hindi film titled – ‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’ directed by Vijay Bhatt and Kannada film titled – ‘Sanadhi Apanna’ by Vikram Srinivas.

He was the first Indian to perform at the Lincoln Centre Hall in the United States of America. He also performed at Montreal, Cannes and Tokyo. In Teheran, an auditorium was named after him – Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan.

Ustaad Bismillah Khan said that music was India’s richest heritage and had to be taught to children. Although he had traveled all over the world, he was attached to Dumraon and Benaras. Once one of his students asked him to set up a shehnai school in the USA. He even promised to recreate the temples of Benaras there. Bismillah Khan asked him whether he would transport the river Ganga also, as he was attached to it as well. Such was his love for his native land.