When I thought of doing this piece, I was very confused; wondering how to start it. My thoughts gradually started drifting back, further back and finally reached my early childhood. I thought about how did I develop my likings for various things in this world? I realized that I must have developed my first emotional bonds, with my parents and my siblings. After the immediate family the bonds started growing towards my extended family, which I had not yet met when I was very small. Then there came a time when grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins come along and I met them. As the time went by I developed likings for some and maybe stayed relatively unaffected by others. I remember really getting attached to my grandfather. Then came the turn of ‘things’; things like toys or things to eat. I remember I got hooked on to ice creams and sweets, to which I have been faithful till date. Much later I started appreciating my ambience, like sounds, nature, smells etc. In my early years my parents lived in villages or in very small towns. General sounds in such small places were birds, domestic animals, bullock carts, bicycle bells and for sure Hindi film music being blared from the horn speakers. Initially I must have heard the songs and not reacted to them. Then comes recognizing and then appreciating certain songs. I still did not know then that the music within a song too is done by experts. Nor did I know the names of any musical instruments. It dawned on me today that because of Shehnai’s association with marriages I must have got familiar with its sound about the same time as the Hindi film songs. Marriages always have been a part of life and Shehnai has always been a part of all marriages, illiterate or elite; Hindu or Muslim. No marriage ceremony is complete without the sound of Shehnai filling the space. It makes the atmosphere auspicious and happy. In a small village they may be playing 78 rpm records on a phonograph and a well off family may get musicians to play Shehnai live at the ‘welcome’ gate.
Along with the sound of this flowing wind instrument came the name, Bismilliah Khan. I can imagine my father telling me ‘this is Shehnai and Bismilliah Khan is the best Shehnai player in India.’ By this time I am around 6 or 7 years old. So outside the names of my relations, Bismilliah Khan became the first name in my vocabulary. Much later came the turn of getting familiar with the names like Lata, Rafi, Mukesh, Suraiya or Saigal. Of course I already knew of Pt. Nehru and Gandhi, but then they were from a different area of life. These names did not fill my life directly as Bismilliah Khan and the film songs did.
I have no shame in admitting that I am no authority to talk on the art of Bismilliah Khan. Everyone knows that Khan Sahab was the biggest or perhaps the only name associated with Shehnai for nearly 70 years. Khan Sahab was the recipient of state awards right from Padma Shri to Bharat Ratna. He lived a very down to earth life, not like most of our glamorous famous musicians. He had to support an extended family of 400. He lived in dilapidated house, in one of the lanes in Banares. He loved Banares. He traveled on bicycle as long as he could. He always had a smile on his face and had a sense of humor…Hindus believe that a person who dies in Banares goes to heaven.
Sadly the only time I got a chance to listen to him perform was in 2003. He was already 87 then. He had problems blowing into his Shehnai. Though his disciples covered him up well. He got threw tantrums in between and shouted at the ‘sound recordist’ for being incompetent. But I do not see this incident as an aberration; it is natural and a part of growing old. I think at that age he was very brave to have agreed to travel to Mumbai and perform in Shanmukhananda Hall during the Banares Utsav. I feel very good with the thought that once I shared the same space with him, even if for a short while.
‘Bismilliah’ is an auspicious Urdu word, which is spoken at the time of starting a venture. It is uttered to bring success to the venture with god’s blessings.
I guess we need to say ‘Bismilliah’ to start the rest of our life without the Shehnai Khan.
Bismillah Khan 21 March 1916 - 21 August 2006
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