Ustad Bismillah Khan Sahib (March 21, 1916 – August 21, 2006) was a shehnai maestro from India. The term "Ustad" or "Pandit" in relation to Indian classical
music implies Master or Guru.
He was the third classical musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna (in 2001), the highest civilian honour in India. He also had the distinction of being
one of the few people to be awarded all the top four civilian awards.
Birth and early life
Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916 at Bhirung Raut Ki
Gali, in Dumraon as the second son of Paigambar Khan and Mitthan. He was named as
Qamaruddin[1] to rhyme with Shamsuddin, their first
son. His grandfather, Rasool Baksh Khan uttered "Bismillah" (the basmala) after
looking at the newborn, thus he was named Bismillah Khan. [2]
His ancestors were court musicians and used to play in Naqqar khana in the
princely states of Bhojpur, now in Bihar state. His father was a shehnai player in the court of Maharaja Keshav Prasad Singh of Dumraon Estate, now in Bihar.
Religious beliefs
He was a pious Shi'a Muslim and also, like many Indian musicians regardless of creed, a
devotee of Mother Saraswati. [3] He often played at various temples and on the banks of the river Ganga in Varanasi, besides playing outside the famous Vishwanath temple in
Varanasi. [4]
Training
He received his training under his uncle, the late Ali Baksh 'Vilayatu', a shehnai player attached to Varanasi's Vishwanath Temple.[1]
Shehnai and Ustad Khan
Khan was perhaps single handedly responsible for making the shehnai a famous classical
instrument. He brought the shehnai to the center stage of Indian music with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. He was credited with having almost
monopoly over the instrument as he and the shehnai are almost synomyms.
Khan is one of the finest musicians in post-independent Indian Classical music and one of the best examples of hindu-muslim
unity in India.
His concept of music was very beautiful and his vision, superb. He once said, "Even if the world ends, the music will still
survive" and he often said, "Music has no caste".
He has played in Bangladesh, Afghanistan,
Europe, Iran, Iraq, Canada, West Africa, U.S.,
USSR, Japan, Hong Kong
and almost every capital city across the world. Shehnai was so close to Ustad that after the demise of his wife, he used to call
it begum (wife). After his death, his begum (shehnai) was also buried underneath.
Performances at Red Fort
Khan had the rare honor of performing at Delhi's Red Fort on the eve of India's Independence in 1947. He also performed
Raga Kafi from the Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic
Day ceremony, on January 26, 1950. His recital had almost
become a cultural part of the Independence Day Celebrations telecast on Doordarshan every
year on August 15th. After the Prime Minister's speech from Lal Qila (Red Fort) in Old Delhi, Doordarshan would broadcast live performance by the shehnai maestro. And this tradition
had been going on since the days of Pandit Nehru.
Awards and recognitions
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Awards
Recognitions
Bismillah Khan had honorary doctorates from
Others include[5]
Students
Ustad Bismillah Khan rarely spent time teaching shehnai. He had very few students. In 1985 he met Satguru Jagjit Singh ji (the
present master of the Namdhari Sikhs). He saw a young talented boy playing the tarshenai called
Baljit Singh Namdhari, whom he adopted. He later adopted two more tarshenai students of the name of Kirpal Singh and Gurbaksh
Singh Namdhari in the year 1999.
Khan in films
Khan had a brief association with movies. He played the shehnai for Dr.Rajkumar's role of
Appanna in the movie Sanaadi Appanna. He acted in Jalsaghar, a movie by Satyajit Ray and provided sound of shehnai in
Goonj Uthi Shehnai. Noted director Goutam Ghose
directed Sange Meel Se Mulaqat, a documentary about the life of
Khan.[1]
Death
On August 17, 2006, Khan was taken ill and admitted to the
Heritage Hospital, Varanasi for treatment.[6] He died after four days on August 21, 2006 due to a cardiac arrest. He was ninety years old. He is survived by
five sons, three daughters and a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.[7]
The Government of India declared one day of national mourning on his death. His body was buried at Fatemain burial ground of
old Varanasi under a neem tree with 21-gun salute from Indian Army.[8]
Selected discography
Here is a list of selected works by Ustad Bismilla Khan.
References
External links
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