Question

Justify bismillah khan as a true indian lover

Answer 1

Had Ustad been alive, he would have been 102 years old and his shehnai 96. Had he been here today, perhaps then Kabir would also have been here and the melodious tunes of his shehnai would have mingled with the ever-flowing Ganges to spread the message of peace and harmony around the country. Had Ustad been alive, the festival of Janmashtami would have echoed with the tunes of Vrindavani Sarang and during Moharram, tears would have flowed ceaselessly from thousands of eyes because of the mournful melodies floating from his shehnai. Had he been there, the temple of Baba Vishwanath would have opened only after hearing his Shehnai.
But Ustad is no more here. He was a Shia muslim but classical music bestowed him with the title ‘Khan’. Banaras and Ustad were inseparable. He carried Banaras within his soul. But he was born in Bihar, on March 21, 1916.
Yateendra Mishra has carried some excerpts of his conversation with Ustad in his book ‘ Sur Ki Baradari ’. At one point, Ustad says, “Music is a space where there is no caste or religion. Music doesn’t consider any religion bad.” He used to say that God is one as ‘sur’ (note) is one. He used to play the mourning tunes on Moharram with his eyes brimming with tears and on Holi fill the atmosphere with zeal and joy with raag ‘Kafi’. Even as he used to offer prayers five times a day, praying to Goddess Saraswati was just as important.