Question

NOC for not attending extra classes of social science

Answer 1

Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill and unpleasant sound. It became the generic name for reeded noisemakers.

2. Shehnai is a pipe with a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than the pungi. It has seven holes on its body. When it is played, the closing and opening of some of the holes produces soft and melodious sounds.

3. Traditionally, the shehnai was part of the traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. It was used only in temples and weddings. However, Ustad Bismillah Khan brought in the change by bringing it onto the classical stage.

4. Bismillah Khan had accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad Music Conference at the age of fourteen. At the end of his recital, Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted his back and told him to work hard and he shall make it big in life. He got his big break with the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.

5. On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort. It was a historic day as India gained independence on that day. He became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. His audience included illustrious names such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.

6. Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not. He himself said that whenever he was in a foreign country, he kept yearning to see Hindustan.

7. Bismillah Khan immensely loved India, particularly Benaras and Dumraon. In his initial years, the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maiya, and the banks of River Ganga in Benaras became his favourite haunts where he could practice in peace and solitude. River Ganga’s flowing waters inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were once thought to be beyond the range of shehnai.
Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not.