Bismillah Khan (born Amaruddin Khan, 21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006), often referred to by the title ''Ustad'', was an Indian musician credited with popularizing the

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.reeded

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...

. While the shehnai had long held importance as a folk instrument played primarily schooled in traditional ceremonies, Khan is credited with elevating its status and bringing it to the concert stage. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...

, in 2001, becoming the third classical musician of India after

M. S. Subbalakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

and

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

to be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Personal life

Bismillah Khan was born on 21 March 1916 into a family of traditional

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

musicians at the town of

Dumraon Dumraon is a town, near Buxar, Buxar city and nagar parishad corresponding community development block in Buxar district in the Indian state of Bihar. Dumraon is one of Bihar's oldest municipalities and one of India's oldest princely states also ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, as the second son of Paigambar Bux Khan and Mitthanbai. His father was a court musician employed in the court of Maharaja Keshav Prasad Singh of Dumraon Estate in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. His two grandfathers Ustad Salar Hussain Khan and Rasool Bux Khan were also musicians in the Dumraon palace. He was named Qamruddin at birth, to rhyme with his elder brother's name Shamsuddin. Upon seeing the new born, his grandfather Rasool Baksh Khan, also a shehnai player, is said to have exclaimed "Bismillah", or "In the name of Allah", and thereafter he came to be known by this name. At the age of six, he moved to

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

in the state of Uttar Pradesh, to be apprenticed to his maternal uncle, Ali Bux 'Vilayatu' Khan, a shehnai player attached to the

Kashi Vishwanath Temple The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga, and is one of the twelve Jyot ...

.''Bismillah Khan: The Shehnai Maestro'' by Neeraja Poddar, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 2004. At the age of 14 Bismillah accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad music conference.

Students

Khan attributed his skill to the blessings of

nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

), and believed that there was little that he could teach his disciples. Khan seldom accepted students. He thought that if he would be able to share his knowledge it wouldn't be useful as it would only give his students a little knowledge. Some of his disciples and followers include S. Ballesh, and Krishna Ballesh. as well as Khan's own sons,

Nazim Hussain Ustad Nazim Hussain is an Indian tabla player and popularly known as Ustad Nazim Hussain Bismillah Khan and also called as Nazim Bhai. He is the youngest son of shehnai master Ustad Bismillah Khan, whom he accompanied as well. Nazim Hussain has ...

and Nayyar Hussain.

Death

On 17 march 2006, Bismillah Khan's health deteriorated and he was admitted to the

Heritage Hospital ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital, formerly Heritage Hospital, is a hospital located in Tarboro, North Carolina. It is a part of the ECU Health. Edgecombe General Hospital opened as a county-owned hospital in 1916. It succeeded Pittman Hospital, which ...

for treatment. Khan's last wish – to perform at

India Gate The India Gate (formerly known as the All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located near the Rajpath on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called duty path. It stands as a memorial to 84,000 soldiers of the B ...

, could not be fulfilled. He wanted to pay tributes to the martyrs. He waited in vain till his last rites. He died of cardiac arrest on 21 August 2006. The Government of India declared a day of

national mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

on his death. His body along with a Shehnai was buried at Fatemaan burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree with a 21-gun salute from the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

''Legacy''

Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan calls on the Prime Minister Dr

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, New Delhi, instituted the ''Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar'' in 2007, in his honour. It is given to young artists in the field of music, theatre and dance. The

Government of Bihar The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...

has proposed setting up of a museum, a town hall-cum-library and installation of a life-size statue at his birthplace in Dumraon. Bismillah Khan was commemorated on his 102nd birth anniversary by Search Engine

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

which showed a special doodle on its Indian home page for him on 21 March 2018. In the documentary film, ''Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars'', Clapton cites Bismillah Khan as an influence and how he tried to use his guitar to imitate the music of Khan's woodwind instrument.

Popular culture

Khan had a brief association with films in India. He played the shehnai for Rajkumar's role of Appanna in the Vijay's

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

-language film ''

Sanaadi Appanna ''Sanaadi Appanna'' is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language musical film directed by Vijay based on the novel ''Kuniyitu Hejje Naliyithu Gejje'' by Krishnamoorthy Puranik which was loosely based on the life of Bagalkote shehnai player Appanna (1876- ...

'' which became a blockbuster. He acted in ''

Jalsaghar ''Jalsaghar'' ( bn, জলসাঘর ''Jalsāghar'', "The Music Room") is a 1958 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on a popular short story by Bengali writer Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, and starring Chhabi Bis ...

'' by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

and provided sound of shehnai in

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and '' Himal ...

's ''

Goonj Uthi Shehnai ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' () is a 1959 Hindi film directed by Vijay Bhatt, with Rajendra Kumar, Ameeta, Anita Guha and I. S. Johar as leads. The film has music by Vasant Desai and lyrics by Bharat Vyas, and the duo created numerous hits such as "Jiv ...

''(1959). Noted director

Goutam Ghose Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, Actor, music director and cinematographer, who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy ...

directed '' Sange Meel Se Mulaqat'' (1989), an Indian documentary film about the life of Khan.

Awards and recognitions

Awards

(2001) * Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram (1998),

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

*T Choudayya National Award (1995),

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

*Fellow of

(1994) *Tahar Mausique from Republic of Iran (1992) *

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

(1980) *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

(1968) *

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

(1961) *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

(1956) *Tansen Award by Govt. of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. *Three medals in All India Music Conference,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(1937)

Recognitions

Bismillah Khan had honorary doctorates from: *

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

Visva Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

Others include * Was invited by then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

to play

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...

. * Participated in

World Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in Montreal * Participated in Cannes Art Festival * Participated in Osaka Trade Fair * India Post issued commemorative postage stamps of ₹5.00 denomination on 21 August 2008 * On his 102nd birthday, Google honored Bismillah Khan with a

Google doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Selective discography

;Albums * ''

'' – Played shehnai for Rajkumar's role in the movie. * ''

'' (1959) – shehnai recitals throughout the movie for

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar Tuli (20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999) was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was popularly known as the 'Jubil ...

's role. * ''Maestro's Choice'' (February 1994) * ''Megh Malhar, Vol. 4'' (the other piece in the album is by

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was a leading Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur ''gharana'', or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She was a performer of the classical genre ' ...

) (September 1994) * ''Live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall'' (September 2000) * ''Live in London, Vol. 2'' (September 2000) *''Immortal Series'' ;Contributing artist * '' The Rough Guide to the Music of India and Pakistan'' (1996,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

)

References

* Life history o
Bismillah Khan
the Legend o
Varanasi
* '' Meeting a Milestone: Ustad Bismillah Khan''. A documentary by

, 1989

Biographies

* ''Bismillah Khan: the shehnai maestro'', by Neeraja Poddar. Rupa & Co., 2018. . * ''Monograph on Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan'', by Amar Jyoti, Shivnath Jha, Alok Jain, Anjali Sinha. Pub. Neena Jha & Shivnath Jha, 2019. . * ''Bismillah Khan and Banaras: the seat of shehnai'', by Rita Ganguly. Siddhi Books, 1994. *
Shahnai Vadak Ustad Bismillah Khan
', by Murli Manohar Shrivguguiastava. Prabhat Prakashan, 2009. . * ''Bismillah Khan: The Maestro from Benaras'', by Juhi Sinha. Niyogi Books, 2011. . * ''Naubatkhane Mein Ibadat'', by Yatindra Mishra. Chapter in

NCERT The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established in 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Registration Act. Its hea ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

textbook for 10th Standard. * In the

English Textbook for 9th Grade he is credited largely in the chapter "The Sound Of Music".

External links

*
National mourning for Ustad Bismillah Khan

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

..
Event
indianstage.in.
Homage to Ustad Bismillah Khan
elinepa.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Bismillah 1914 births 2006 deaths People from Buxar district Shehnai players Hindustani instrumentalists Musicians from Bihar Musicians from Varanasi Indian Shia Muslims Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Bharat Ratna 20th-century Indian musicians Indian people of Pashtun descent Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship