WIND

 Wind

Textbook Exercise:

1)    What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Answer: The wind is destructive in the first stanza. It throws the books off the shelves, tears the pages of the books and brings rain.

 

2)    What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

Answer: The wind god winnows the crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts.

 

3)    What should we do to make friends with the wind?

Answer: To be friends with the wind, you should become as strong as the wind. We should make strong houses, strong body and strong hearts.

 

4)    What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

The last four lines mean the following:

Answer: If you are weak, the bigger problems may make you miserable, but if you are strong, you enjoy dealing with bigger problems. The more you deal with such problems, the more develop you become. 

The Lost Child

The Lost Child

About the story:

'The Lost Child' is a story about a family who goes to a village fair to visit a holy shrine. On the way, the child in this family find so many things and gets fascinated by them same, but his parents cannot buy those things for him. Unfortunately, the child is separated from his mother and father. The person who finds the child crying tries to offer him things the child wanted, but the only thing the child wants is his parents.

Question-Answer:

What are the different things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

The child, on his way to the fair, sees many things including toys, different coloured balloons, garland made up of Gulmohar flowers, a swing and a snake charmer playing the flute. He gets mesmerized while watching these things as they are attractive and interesting, and because of that, he lags behind.

In the fair, the child wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?

In the fair, many things interest the child and he wants them. Things such as toys, different coloured balloons, garlands made up of Gulmohar flowers and the enjoyment of the roundabouts. However, he moves on without waiting for an answer because he knows that his parents would not buy it for him. Whenever he stops to see those things, his parents would give him a cautionary call, "Come, child, come."

THE SHEHNAI OF BISMILLAH KHAN - TEXTBOOK EXERCISE

 

The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

Textbook Exercise:

Q.A) Answer the following questions: (2 Marks each)

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

The pungi had a shrill unpleasant sound and Aurangzeb did not like it. So, he banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence.

 

2)     How is a shehnai different from a pungi?

The shehnai has a longer and broader stem than the pungi and it sounds melodious comparatively.

 

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

Traditionally, the shehnai was played in temples and weddings as the sound of the shehnai is considered auspicious.

Bismillah Khan's made the sound of the shehnai so popular on the classical stage that it is now played almost in every auspicious function.

 

4)     When and how did Bismillah Khan get his first break?

In 1938, Bismillah Khan got his first break with the launch of All India Radio in Lucknow where he became an often-heard shehnai player on the radio.

 

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

On 15th August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai at the Red Fort. This event was historic as it was the day when India got independence.

 

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

When one of the students of Bismillah Khan invited him to open a shehnai school in the USA, and was ready to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras, Bismillah Khan refused with a reason that bringing the river Ganga would be impossible.

 

7)     Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves Indian and Benaras?

The following are the two instances that show that Bishmillah Khan loves Benaras:

First: Bismillah Khan refused his student's invitation of starting a shehnai school in the USA as the Ganga river could not be brought there.

Second: Once he said that whenever he was in a foreign country, he used to yearn to see Hindustan, and while in Mumbai, he used to think of only Benaras and the holy Ganga.

 

THE SHEHNAI OF BISMILLAH KHAN

About the story:

The chapter 'The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan' is like a short biography of Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan that features the discovery of shehnai, his childhood in Benaras and on the bank of Ganga, his love and dedication for music, his popularity in India and overseas and the accolades he earned during his lifetime.

Summary in stages:

The Discovery and the popularity of Shehnai:

Due to its shrilling sound, Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal court. In order to revive the instrument, a barber from a family of musicians, modified this instrument into a new instrument that was smooth and distant sounding. As this instrument was invented by a nai (barber) and was first played in Shah's court, it was called as Shehnai.

The sound of the shehnai is considered auspicious that is why it is always played in temples and weddings. It was part of the naubat i.e. the traditional ensemble of the nine musical instruments at a royal court.

Bismillah Khan's Childhood and his growing passion for music:

Bismilla, born on 21 March 1916, was from a family of musicians. His grandfather Rasool Bux Khan was the shehnai nawaz of the Bhojpur King's court. His father and paternal ancestors were the shehnai players.

The three-year-old Bismillah would go to his uncles' place to Benaras and would accompany his uncle Ali Bux who used to play the shehnai in Vishnu temple. Bismillah got lessons from him and practice throughout the day while sitting at the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maya and on the banks of Ganga. The flowing water of Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were earlier considered beyond the shehnai's range.

The 5-year-old Bismilla would go to Bihariji temple to sing 'Chaita' and would earn a 1.25 kg laddoo from the local Maharaja.

Bismillah Khan's Popularity:

·         on 15th August 1947, he became the first person to greet the nation with his shehnai by playing Raag Kaafi for the audience including Pandit Nehru.

·         King Zahir Shah of Afganistan was so taken away by Bismillah's shehnai that he gifted him priceless Persian carpets and other souvenirs.

·         He was the first Indian to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the USA, and he also participated in World Exposition in Montreal, Cannes Arts Festival and Osaka Trade Fair.

·         An auditorium in Tehran is named after him 'Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan'.

His career as Movie Music Director:

·         Movie director Vijay Bhatt was fascinated too much with Bismillah Khan's shehnai that he named his film as 'Gunj Uthi Shehnai' and Bismillah composed the song 'Dilka Khilona hai toot gaya' for this film.

·         Vikram Srinivas's Kannada movie 'Sanadhi Apanna' was also composed by Bismillah Khan. He didn't work much in the movie the industry as 'he couldn't come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the industry'.

Awards and Recognition:

·         Padmashree

·         Padma Bhushan

·         Padma Vibhushan

·         Bharat Ratna (Year 2001)

His advice to Indian Parents:

"Teach your children music, this is Hindustan's richest tradition; even the west is now coming to learn Hindustani music".

His refusal to start a music school in the USA:

One of his students wanted him to start a shehnai school in The USA and also promised to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras temples as he knew Bismillah ji's emotional connection with the place. But Bismillah ji refused by saying that a replica of Benaras could be created but not of the Ganga river.