When shehnai maestro Qamruddin Bismillah Khan died of cardiac arrest on August 21, 2006, aged 90 years, the Government of India declared a day of national mourning.
He was buried with his shehnai, the wooden reed instrument known as oboe in English, at Fatemaan burial ground of his home town in old Varanasi or Banaras in northern India, with a 21-gun salute from the Indian Army.
This humble man, recipient of multiple awards including the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award, 1994, and India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, 2001, was one of the finest musicians in post-independent Indian classical music.
He was also a shining example of Hindu-Muslim unity and of India’s syncretic culture. A devoted Muslim, Bismillah Khan saw no contradiction in also being a devotee of Goddess Saraswati. He was often seen playing at various temples in Varanasi, and on the banks of the holy river Ganges.
Bismillah Khan’s shehnai music heralded India’s independence, echoing from the ramparts of Red Fort in New Delhi on August 15, 1947. He performed at the country’s first Republic Day ceremony on January 26, 1950. His recitals had become a part of India’s cultural programme for the Independence Day celebration.
The audience included Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who later gave his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech. The maestro again came into the limelight when he performed Raga Kafi from Red Fort on India’s first Republic Day ceremony, a tradition that continued for years.
Besides Ustad Bismillah Khan, the Banaras Gharana (musical tradition) has given the world Pandit Ravi Shankar among many others. They include the Padma Bhushan awardee singing duo, brothers Pandit Rajan (late) and Sajan Mishra, famous for their Khayal gayaki.
“Bismillah Khan familiarised himself with various forms of music of Uttar Pradesh, such as Thumri, Chaiti, Kajri, Sawani. Later he studied Khayal music and mastered a large number of ragas,” Sajan Mishra told Sapan News over the phone from Varanasi. “His greatest moment came when India gained Independence on August 15, 1947, and he greeted the nation with his Shehnai.”
Bismillah Khan introduced the world to Indian classical music. However, due to fear of flying, he turned down invitations to perform abroad for years, until 1966, when the Indian government insisted that he play at the Edinburgh International Festival.
He went on to play in many countries including Afghanistan, USA, Canada, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, West Africa, Japan, Hong Kong and in various parts of Europe. His shehnai sounded at prominent events including the World Exposition in Montreal, the Cannes Art Festival and the Osaka Trade Fair. He is also the first Indian invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Center Hall in the USA.
Devoted to his homeland, he always rejected any suggestions to live abroad, says producer and musician Dr. Shailesh Shrivastava, talking to Sapan News over the phone from Mumbai.
His response would be, “Wahan meri Ganga kahan hai, phir mai kaise wahan rahoonga? Aisi hawa, aisi fiza, aisa kahin paani nahi. Duniya me koi desh bhi, iss desh ka saa nahi (Where is my Ganga there, how can I go? This air, this water, is not there. There is no country like this).”
Ustad with Shailesh Srivastava. Photo: Srivastava.
Dr Shrivastava has a wealth of knowledge about the Ustad, having made a documentary on him titled A Peerless Piper of Varanasi for Doordarshan Television, where she has worked as director and producer for more than three decades.
She is herself a versatile and acclaimed musician who has sung playback, as well as folk, Bhajan, and Ghazal, besides fusing pop with folk. A recipient of the UP government’s Sangeet Natak Academy Award 2012, and the Ministry of Culture’s Junior Fellowship, she has a rare collection of nearly 1,500 Indian folk songs from Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar and other states. Times Music released her albums ‘Chatani Chataka’ (2009 -2010) and ‘Hai Daiya’ (1999-2000).
During the filming of her documentary for Doordarshan, she says that Khan Sahab “spared his precious moments to teach me some valuable facts about traditional Ghazal and Bhajan. He was a divine soul. His message of love, peace and Sadbhavna (goodwill) is ever relevant.”
This message is also the need of the hour given the prevailing situation in the region, she added.
Born on March 21, 1916, in Dumraon, Bihar, into a family of traditional Muslim musicians, Khan attributed his skill to the blessings of Nath (Lord Shiva). He performed at both Hindu and Muslim ceremonies. A sufi-like figure who led a simple, unostentatious life, he never owned a car, and would travel around Varanasi in a bicycle rickshaw.
“When I asked him – who else after you Khan Sahab, he replied with a sweet smile, people will witness whosoever takes my legacy further,’’ she added.
During the audition at All India Radio or Akashvani, if a jury member complained that a candidate was not singing in tune, Khan Sahab would ask the jury member to demonstrate the correct tune so that the candidate could know where he made a mistake, recalls Dr. Shrivastava.
His music is considered to be a perfect blend of emotions and melody also played the Shehnai for many Hindi films. ‘‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’’ is one such movie in which he is said to have immortalised the Shehnai. He worked with Lata Mangeshkar’s rendering of the title song “Mere Sur Aur Tere Geet” for this film, and for the song ‘Ye Jo Des Hai Tera’ in the Hindi movie Swades (2004).
He composed one of the hit songs in the film directed by Vijay Bhatt – “Dil Ka Khilona Hai Toot Gaya”. This soulful song is based on a popular folk song – ‘Barse Badariya Sawan Ki’ rendered by Brij Bala Devi, noted semi-classical singer who lived in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Bismillah Khan played the background score for movies like ‘Sannadi Appanna’, a 1977 Kannada blockbuster hit, where he played Shehnai for the character Apanna played by Rajkumar.
He acted in the Hindi film ‘Jalsaghar’, by Satyajit Ray and recorded duets with Vilayat Khan on the sitar, Prof. V.G. Jog on the violin, and with “N. Rajam, an exceptional violinist trained in Hindustani music by Omkar Nath Thakur, and Shahid Parvez, a young sitarist of uncommon sensitivity,” recalls Sanjan Mishra.
Ustad Bismillah Khan was admitted to the Heritage Hospital, Varanasi, when his health deteriorated on March 17, 2006, and passed away a few days later.
On the occasion of Ustad Bismillah Khan’s 18th death anniversary, Dr Shrivastava would like people to “come together to remember the legendary maestro who always said: ‘Even if the world ends, the music will still survive’.”
‘‘Ustad Bismillah Khan always stood for communal harmony,” said Dr. Srivastava. “He attributed his skills to the blessings of Lord Vishwanath. His last wish to play the Shehnai at the India Gate for the martyrs of India remained unfulfilled,” she remembered.
She quoted a couplet: “Ho yahi koshish banen, insaaf ki aisi mashaal / Rasta insaniyat ka jo sadaa roshan kare” – Let us try to become such a torch of justice that it always illuminates the path of humanity.
Shri Ram Shaw is a New Delhi-based journalist. He was a Senior Copy Editor at The Times of India. Email ramshaw1@gmail.com
This is a Sapan News syndicated feature available for use with due credit to www.sapannews.com
