With the passing away of Ustaad Bismillah Khan in the wee hours of 21st August, 2006, an illustrious chapter comes to an end in the annals of Hindustani Classical music. The legendary shehani maestro was born on 21 March 1916. His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he was trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple. He brought the shehnai to the center stage of Indian music with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. It was Khan Sahib who poured his heart out into Raga Kafi from Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony.
Where others see conflict and contradiction between his music and his religion, Khan Sahib saw only a divine unity. His namaaz was the seven shuddh and five komal surs. Even as a devout Shia, Khan Sahib was also a staunch devotee of Goddess Saraswati. He once remarked, "Music, sur, namaaz. It is the same thing. We reach Allah in different ways. A musician can learn. He can play beautifully. But unless he can mix his music with religion, unless he strives to meet God, he will only have kalaa (art) but no assar (mystical union). He will always stand at the ocean and never reach the heights of purity." Khan Sahib poured his soul into the music he played and could elevate the listeners to the ethereal heights of mystical plane. He was a simple man, a man of tenderness, a gentle private man, yet given to unbridled display of emotion. With a princely beard and eyes which glint with boyish mischief, he was a 'Suron ka Badshah' who made money but spent it just as fast. His only "bad habit", was smoking Wills cigarettes which he puffed with obvious relish. It was Khan Sahib who composed that magic Lata number 'Dil ka khilauna hai toot gaya' for the film Goonj Uthi Shehnai.
During his long and fruitful career as an artiste, Khan Sahib enthralled audiences at performances across the globe. Ustad Bismillah Khan was the third classical musician after Pt Ravi Shankar and Smt M S Subbulakshmi to be awarded Bharath Rathna. He was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the Tansen award as well as the Padma Vibhushan.Khan Sahib lives on in the hearts of millions of his fans.
3 comments:
Definitely a sad moment for India. It has lost one of its finest musicians and men. This simple man used to ride around in a cycle rickshaw even after attaining the heights of fame. He will always be remembered. May god bless his soul.
his shoes will be impossible to fill...everytime i have heard the shehnayi playing, its been by Bismillah Khan...RIP.
And thanks for the good wishes..I'm not sure where you got the 'FT links to it' story..I am not aware...if they do then good..hehe. Thanks sir.
I agree, Shamsher & Abhishek. Shehnai, like Veena & Sarangi, does not have many exponents among the current breed of musicians. If the younger lot does not take up these instruments seriously, I'm afraid they may fade into oblivion. I hope my fears do not come true and we have someone equally talented to fill-in the void created by Khan Sahib's departure.
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