Summary: The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan
This lesson tells us about the shehnai, a traditional Indian musical instrument, and the great musician Ustad Bismillah Khan, who made it famous all over the world.
Long ago, Emperor Aurangzeb banned the pungi because its sound was rough and unpleasant. Later, a barber who came from a family of musicians made some changes to the pungi. He used a longer and wider pipe, made seven holes in it, and created a new, sweet sound. This new instrument was called shehnai (from ‘Shah’ meaning king and ‘nai’ meaning barber).
The sound of the shehnai became popular in temples and North Indian weddings. But earlier, it was not part of classical music. It was Ustad Bismillah Khan who brought it onto the classical stage.
Bismillah Khan was born in Dumraon, Bihar, in 1916. He came from a family of traditional shehnai players. He showed love for music from a very young age. He learned the shehnai from his uncle, Ali Bux, and practiced near the temples of Benaras (Varanasi) and on the banks of the river Ganga. The river inspired him to create new tunes.
He got his first big chance at the Allahabad Music Conference at the age of 14. Later, in 1938, he became famous through All India Radio. On 15 August 1947, when India became free, he played Raag Kafi from the Red Fort, just before Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous speech.
He performed in many countries like Afghanistan, USA, and Canada, and received many honours including the Padmashri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and finally the Bharat Ratna in 2001.
Even after gaining fame, he remained simple and loyal to India. He loved Benaras and the Ganga and never wanted to leave them. When someone asked him to move to the USA and open a music school, he refused and said, “Can you bring the Ganga river there?”
Bismillah Khan’s life shows how music can unite people. He was a Muslim, but he played music in Hindu temples, proving that art has no religion.
Questions-Answers
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer: Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill unpleasant sound.
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Answer: A barber chose a pipe with a natural hollow stem that was longer and broader than the pungi, and made seven holes on the body of the pipe. When he played on it, soft and melodious sounds were produced.
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Answer: In the past, the shehnai was part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. Till recently it was used only in temples and weddings. The credit for bringing this instrument onto the classical stage goes to Ustad Bismillah Khan.
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Answer: With the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938 came Bismillah’s big break. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
Answer: When India gained independence on 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. He poured his heart out into Raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience which included Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Answer: Khansaab asked him if he would be able to transport River Ganga as well.
7. Find two instances that show Bismillah Khan’s love for India and Benaras.
Answer:
- That is why whenever I am in a foreign country, I keep yearning to see Hindustan.
While in Mumbai, I think of only Benaras and the holy Ganga
Question-Answer Set (Text-Based | Straightforward)
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer: Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill unpleasant sound.
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Answer: The shehnai is longer and broader than the pungi. It has a natural hollow stem with seven holes, and it produces soft and melodious sounds.
3. Who invented the shehnai and how did it get its name?
Answer: A barber from a family of professional musicians invented the shehnai. Since it was first played in the Shah’s chambers by a nai (barber), the instrument was named ‘shehnai’.
4. Where was the shehnai traditionally played?
Answer: The shehnai was traditionally played in temples and at North Indian weddings. It was also a part of the naubat in royal courts.
5. Who brought the shehnai onto the classical stage?
Answer: Ustad Bismillah Khan brought the shehnai onto the classical stage.
6. What was Bismillah Khan’s early life like?
Answer: As a five-year-old in Dumraon, Bihar, Bismillah Khan played gilli-danda and sang Bhojpuri Chaita in the Bihariji temple. He received a big laddu as a reward.
7. Who taught Bismillah Khan to play the shehnai?
Answer: Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from his maternal uncle, Ali Bux.
8. What places inspired Bismillah Khan’s music?
Answer: The temples of Balaji and Mangala Maiya, and the banks of the Ganga in Benaras inspired Bismillah Khan’s music.
9. When did Bismillah Khan get his big break in music?
Answer: Bismillah Khan got his big break in 1938 with the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow.
10. What did Bismillah Khan do on 15 August 1947?
Answer: He played Raag Kafi on the shehnai from the Red Fort to greet independent India, in front of an audience that included Pandit Nehru.
11. How did foreign countries react to Bismillah Khan’s music?
Answer: In Afghanistan, King Zahir Shah gave him Persian carpets and souvenirs. An auditorium in Teheran was named after him.
12. Name two films Bismillah Khan worked on.
Answer:
- Gunj Uthi Shehnai
- Sanadhi Apanna (Kannada film)
13. Why didn’t Bismillah Khan work much in films?
Answer: He said, “I just can’t come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the film world.”
14. What national awards did Bismillah Khan receive?
Answer: He received the Padmashri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and Bharat Ratna.
15. What did Bismillah Khan say after receiving the Bharat Ratna?
Answer: He said, “Teach your children music, this is Hindustan’s richest tradition; even the West is now coming to learn our music.”
16. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to settle in the USA?
Answer: He asked, “Can you transport River Ganga there?” showing his deep love for Benaras.
17. What shows Bismillah Khan’s patriotism?
Answer: He said, “Whenever I am in a foreign country, I keep yearning to see Hindustan.”
18. What did he say about visiting Pakistan?
Answer: “I crossed the border just to say I have been to Pakistan. I was there for about an hour.”
19. What does Bismillah Khan’s life teach us?
Answer: His life shows India’s rich culture, where a devout Muslim could play music in a Hindu temple daily.
20. When did Ustad Bismillah Khan pass away?
Answer: He passed away on 21 August 2006 at the age of ninety, after a prolonged illness.
MCQs
1. Who banned the playing of the pungi in royal residence?
a) Shah Jahan b) Aurangzeb c) Akbar d) Babar
Answer: b) Aurangzeb
2. Why was the pungi banned?
a) It was too costly b) It had an unpleasant sound c) It was unlucky d) It broke easily
Answer: b) It had an unpleasant sound
3. Who is said to have improved the pungi and created the shehnai?
a) A soldier b) A barber c) A priest d) A singer
Answer: b) A barber
4. How many holes were made in the new instrument to produce shehnai music?
a) 5 b) 6 c) 7 d) 8
Answer: c) 7
5. Why was the new instrument called ‘shehnai’?
a) It was played in temples b) It had a sweet sound c) Played by a nai in Shah’s court d) It was made in Kashmir
Answer: c) Played by a nai in Shah’s court
6. Where is the shehnai mostly played in North India?
a) Stadiums b) Parks c) Temples and weddings d) Schools
Answer: c) Temples and weddings
7. Who brought the shehnai onto the classical music stage?
a) Ali Bux b) Paigambar Bux c) Bismillah Khan d) Vijay Bhatt
Answer: c) Bismillah Khan
8. Where was Bismillah Khan born?
a) Benaras b) Patna c) Lucknow d) Dumraon
Answer: d) Dumraon
9. What did young Bismillah get for singing at the Bihariji temple?
a) A gold coin b) A chocolate c) A laddu d) A medal
Answer: c) A laddu
10. Who taught Bismillah Khan to play the shehnai?
a) His father b) His uncle Ali Bux c) His brother d) His teacher in school
Answer: b) His uncle Ali Bux
11. Where did Bismillah Khan often go to practise shehnai in solitude?
a) Railway station b) Market area c) Ganga ghats d) Benaras zoo
Answer: c) Ganga ghats
12. Where did Bismillah Khan get his big break in 1938?
a) Red Fort b) Film industry c) All India Radio, Lucknow d) Music school in USA
Answer: c) All India Radio, Lucknow
13. What Raag did he play on 15 August 1947 at Red Fort?
a) Raag Bhairav b) Raag Kafi c) Raag Yaman d) Raag Malkauns
Answer: b) Raag Kafi
14. Which country did Bismillah Khan visit first outside India?
a) Canada b) USA c) Afghanistan d) France
Answer: c) Afghanistan
15. What gift did the Afghan king give him?
a) A medal b) A shehnai c) Persian carpets d) A horse
Answer: c) Persian carpets
16. Which film was named after the shehnai?
a) Shehnai Wala b) Gunj Uthi Shehnai c) The Sound of Music d) Bismillah
Answer: b) Gunj Uthi Shehnai
17. How many movies did Bismillah Khan work in?
a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4
Answer: b) 2
18. Which was his second film project?
a) Gunj Uthi Shehnai b) Sanadhi Apanna c) Dil Ka Khilona d) None
Answer: b) Sanadhi Apanna
19. Why did he reject a job offer to settle in the USA?
a) He disliked flying b) He was not given enough money c) He missed the Ganga d) He didn’t like Americans
Answer: c) He missed the Ganga
20. What is the highest award received by Bismillah Khan?
a) Padma Vibhushan b) Sangeet Natak Akademi Award c) Bharat Ratna d) Grammy Award
Answer: c) Bharat Ratna
