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III. Answer these questions in 30–40 words.1. Why did Au... - Beehive

Question

III. Answer these questions in 30–40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.

Answer
  1. Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi because it had a shrill and unpleasant sound. It was considered a reeded noisemaker rather than a musical instrument.

  2. A shehnai has a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than a pungi. It has seven holes on its body and produces soft, melodious sounds, unlike the shrill noise of a pungi.

  3. Traditionally, the shehnai was played in royal courts, temples, and at weddings. Ustad Bismillah Khan changed this by bringing the instrument onto the classical stage and performing complex ragas.

  4. Bismillah Khan got his big break in 1938 with the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow. He became an often-heard shehnai player on the radio, which brought him national fame.

  5. He played the shehnai at the Red Fort. The event was historic because it was India’s first Independence Day, and he was the first Indian to greet the nation with his music.

  6. He refused because he was deeply attached to India, Benaras, and the River Ganga. He said he could not live away from them, and they could not be recreated in the U.S.A.

  7. Two instances are: first, his refusal to start a school in the U.S.A. due to his love for the Ganga; second, his statement that he misses Benaras and the Ganga whenever he is abroad.

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Chapter Info

Subject: Beehive
Class: class 9
Chapter 2: The Sound of Music
Medium: English Medium