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.
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