The Sound of Music - 2 - Bismillah Khan - Question and Answers

 

Question and Answers

Tick the right answer.

i. The (shehnai, pungi ) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’

ii. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.

iii. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).

iv. Bismillah Khan learned to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux,

Ustaad Faiyaaz Khan).

v. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).

 Answers:

1. pungi

2. A barber

3. professional musicians

4. Ali Bux

5. Afghanistan

Find the words in the text which show Ustaad Bismillah Khan in the correct column. Discuss your answers in class. His feelings about the items listed below. Then mark a tick  (ü) in the correct column. Discuss your answers in class.

Bismillah Khan’s feelings about	Positive	Negative	Neutral
1. teaching children music
2. the film world
3. migrating to the U.S.A.
4. playing at temples
5. getting the Bharat Ratna
6. the banks of the Ganga
7. leaving Benaras and Dumraon

Answers:

Bismillah Khan’s feelings about	Positive	Negative	Neutral
1. teaching children music	ü
2. the film world		ü
3. migrating to the U.S.A.		ü
4. playing at temples	ü
5. getting the Bharat Ratna			ü
6. the banks of the Ganga	ü
7. leaving Benaras and Dumraon		ü

Answer these questions in 30-40 words.

1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?

Pungi produced a loud, shrill, and unpleasant noise. It was not considered as a musical instrument but as a reeded noisemaker. Aurangzeb disliked the sound produced by the pungi. So, he banned the playing of pungi in his royal court.

2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?

Shehnai is also a reeded musical instrument like the pungi. But it is different in shape and size. It produces a soft and melodious sound. Its stem is longer and broader than the pungi and has seven holes on it.

3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?

The shehnai was played in the temples and at weddings traditionally. It was also played at the royal court.

Bismillah Khan improvised old ragas and invented new ragas with the shehnai. Thus he took it on the stage among other classical musical instruments.

 4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?

Bismillah Khan got his big break in 1938. In the year All India Radio opened its Radio Station at Lucknow. He played shehnai from the radio station regularly and his music became popular through it.

 5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?

On 15th August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort. The event was historic as it was the day when India got independence. Bismillah’s performance was followed by the historic speech of our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

 6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

One of Bismillah Khan’s students wanted him to start a school in the USA. But Bismillah Khan was very much attached to the temples of Benaras and the river Ganga. He could not leave them and so, refused to set up a shehnai school in the USA.

 7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.

Bismillah’s love for India and Benaras is shown by the fact that he refused to set up a shehnai school in the USA as he could not leave Benaras and the river Ganga.

Secondly, when he was honored with the Bharat Ratna, he declared that Indian Classical music was India’s richest heritage.

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.