The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

1. Vijay Bhatt was so impressed after hearing Bismillah play at a festival that he named a film after the instrument called Gunj Uthi Shehnai.

1.1. 1.first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai.2.poured his heart out into Raag Kafi from the Red Fort

1.1.1. 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.

2. Learning shehnai

2.1. 1.Started getting lessons – practising throughout the day. 2.Practicing at the temple of Balaji and Mangala Maiya, Banaras. 3.Invented ragas that were earlier considered to be beyond the range of the shehnai.

3. AIR and Bismillah Khan

4. After Independence

5. Khan and Cinema

5.1. Vijay Bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai. Vikram Srinivas’s Kannada venture, Sanadhi Apanna.

5.2. Couldn't adjust with artificial glamour of film industry

6. Khan’s Love for India

6.1. fond of Benaras and Dumraon -remain for him the most wonderful towns of the world.

6.2. While in Mumbai, I think of only Benaras and the holy Ganga.

6.3. a perfect example of the rich, cultural heritage of India,

6.4. a devout Muslim who played the shehnai every morning at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

7. 1.First trip to Afganistan

8. His early life

8.1. 21 March 1916. Family of musicians in Bihar, India.

8.2. Grandfather – Rasool Bux Khan, the shehnainawaz of the Bhojpur king’s court. Father – Paigambar Bux, shehnai player.

9. Early association with music

9.1. Took to music early in life. At the age of three – watched his uncles practise the shehnai. Started accompanying his uncle, Ali Bux, to the Vishnu temple of Benaras Ali Bux would play the shehnai and Bismillah would sit captivated for hours on end.

10. Traveling abroad

11. Awards and recognition.

11.1. first Indian to be invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the United States of America.

11.2. took part in the World Exposition in Montreal, in the Cannes Art Festival and in the Osaka Trade Fair.

11.3. an auditorium in Teheran was named after him — Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan.

11.4. Padmashri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan

11.5. highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna in 2001

12. passed away on 21 August 2006 at the age of ninety after a prolonged illness