Biography: The Shehnai Maestro

Published in: Souvenir, SHSJC, Nagpur
Publishers: Somalwar Education Society, Nagpur, 2007

The precincts of our country have always been glorified by the essence of the people, who have brought in
the incentives of laurels. One such eminent persona, that our era has witnessed, who single handedly succeeded in making Shehnai a renowned classical instrument is Bismillah Khan.

Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916, at Bhirung Raut ki gali, in Dumraon, Bihar, as the second son of Paigambar Khan and Mitthan. He was first named Quamaruddin by his father. His grandfather Rasool Baksh uttered “Bismillah!” at his first sight; thus he was later named Bismillah. His ancestors were court musicians and used to play Naqqar Khana in the princely state of Bhojpur. His father was a Shehnai player in the court of Maharaja Keshav Pratap Singh of Dumraon Estate in Bihar.

Bismillah received his training under his uncle late Ali Baksh, a Shehnai player, in liaison with Varanasi Vishwanath temple. As a little chap Bismillah would play Shehnai at various temples, on the banks of river Ganga and at Vishwanath temple of Varanasi.

His stepping stone to the way of becoming one of the finest musicians in the field of post-independence Indian Classical music was his first performance on the Centre Stage of Indian Music, during a concert at the All India Music Conference, in Calcutta, in 1937.

The eminence of his music brought him the invitation from then Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, to play Shehnai on the very first Independence Day of India, August 15 1947, at the Delhi Red fort. The whole Nation was enthralled by his performance and he grabbed the opportunity to perform on the first Republic Day of India, January 26, 1950, at the Red Fort. He performed Raag Kaafi in the ceremony. His recital then almost became a cultural part of the Independence Day celebration. After the Prime Minister’s speech, the Doordarshan would telecast live performance by the Shehnai master.

After becoming renowned nationwide, Bismillah Khan also gave his performance at Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Canada, West Africa, U.S., U.S.S.R., Japan, Hong Kong and almost all the capital cities across the world. He was then credited with the monopoly of the instrument. He also played Shehnai in the movies like Sanadi Appanna of Dr. Rajkumar. He also acted in the Jalsaghar of Satayajeet Ray. Later, a noted director Goutam Ghosh made a documentary Sang e Meel se Mulaquat, on the life story of Khan himself.

His works brought him honorary doctorates from Benaras Hindu University and Vishwa Bharti University, Shantiniketan. He was also awarded several times. He received Padmashree in 1961, Padmabhushan in 1968, Padmavibhushan in 1980 and Bharat Ratna in 2001.

His sole love was his music. After the demise of his wife, his Shehnai became his Begum.

Although he was a Shia Muslim, regardless of the creed, he was a devotee of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Krishna. On August 21, 2006, Bismillah passed away. But, he left behind the melody of his music and an instance of Hindu Muslim Unity.

Compiled by
Srishti Mudaliar