Sound of music

Name of Evelyn’s Music School

Royal Academy of Music in Lodon

Her native place

Scotland

First incidence of not hearing

Eight year old Evelyn was waiting to play the piano , they called her name but she didn’t move. Her mother realised that she had not heard

What happend at age 8

She did not hear her name being called at the piano class

What happend at age 11

Her marks deteriorated and headmistress urged her parents to take her to a specialist. There she was diagnosed and advised to have hearing aids and be sent to a school for the deaf

Why did she have hearing loss

Due to gradual nerve damage

What age was Evelyn diagnosed.

11

How did Evelyn describe being diagnosed?

Suddenly everything looked black

Which instrument did she wish to play first? How did other respond to it

She saw a girl playing the xylophone and wanted to play it too. Most of the teachers discouraged her.

Who is Ron Forbes? What did he do?

Ron Forbes was a percussionist. He tuned two large drums to different notes and asked her to sense certain notes with different parts of her body.

What happend at age 16?

She toured the UK with a youth orchestra

What was were achievements at the Royal Academy?

She scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She moved from orchestra to solo performances. At the end of her 3 year course she captured most of the top awards.

How did Evelyn react to her success

She did not accept any hint of heroic achievement. She says that if you work hard enough and know where you are going you will get there. She did exactly that she was the best multi percussionist with a mastery of some thousand instruments and a hectic international schedule.

Whose speech was hardest for her to understand?

Men with bushy beards

How did Evelyn understand speech

She observes not just the lips but the whole face

and especially the eyes.

How is Evelyn’s speech clear

That is because she was able to hear till she was eleven , yet that could not explain how she could master french and basic japanese.

Which languages did Evelyn learn?

French and basic japanese

How did evelyn hear music

It poured through every part of her body. It tingles her skin , cheekbones and even her hai. When she plays a xylophone she can sense the sound passing up her fingertips. By leaning against drums she can feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform she removes her shoes so that the vibration pass through her bare feet and up her legs

Which award did Evelyn win in 1991

The Royal Philharmonic Society’s Soloist of Year Award

Who was James Blade? What did he say?

James Blade was a master percussionist. He said that god may have taken away her hearing but he has given her back something extraordinary. That Evelyn feels what we hear far more deeply than any of us.

Who was Ann Richlin? What did she say?

Member of the Beethoven Fund for Deaf Children. She says that Evelyn is a shining example for deaf children to see that there is no where they cannot go.

Explain Evelyn’s relationship with work.

She is something of a workaholic. She often works harder than classical musicians but for her it is worth it.

Where does she gives her priority and free concerts

She gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She gives priority to the classes for you musicians.

Author of Sound of Music Part I

Deborah Cowley

Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of pungi

He banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence as it had a shrill and unpleasent sound.

How was the pungi revived

A barber from a family of professional musicians who had acess to the royal palace decided to improve the tonal quality of the pungi. He chose a pipe with a hollow stem and made seven holes on the body which made it play soft and melodious sounds.

He played the instrument in front of the royality and everyone was impressed

How did the shehnai get its name

Since it was first played in the Shah’s chambers by a nai (barber) the instrument was named shehnai

What was the prior reputation of shehnai

The sound of the shehnai was considered auspicious and was played mostly in temples and weddings. This was until Bismillah Khan brought it to the classical stage

What is the naubat

It is a ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts which shehnai was a part of

Which is the highest civilian award

Bharat Ratna

What was the experiences of a 5 y/o Khan

He played gilli danda in the ancient estate of Dumraon in Bihar and go to the nearby Bihariji temple to sing the Bhojpuri ‘Chaita’ at the end of which he would earn a big laddu weighing 1.25 kg.

Which temple did khan sing at? What did he sing

He sang the Bhojpuri Chaita at BIharjii Temple

BIsmillah Khan’s date of birth

21 March 1916

Name of Khan’s father

Paigambar Bux

What did Khan’s grandfather do?

He was the shehnai nawaz of the Bhojpur king’s court

What is the name of Khan’s grandfather

Rasool Bux Khan

Where was his uncle’s house

Benaras (Varanasi)

Who was Khan’s uncle? What did he do

Ali Bux , he took Khan with him to the Vishnu temple of Benaras where Bux was employed to play the shehnai. HE started getting lessons from him.Whe

Where did khan like to play the shehnai

The temple of Balaji and Mangala Maiya and Banks of River Ganga

Why did Khan practise near the river ganga

The flowing water of the Ganga inspired him to improvise and inven raagas that were earlier considered to be beyound the range of the shehnai

Where did he go to at the age of 14

Allahbad Music Conference

What happend at the end of his rectial at the conference?

Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted his backa and sai that work hard and you shall make it

When and where did Khan get his big break

With the opening of All India Radio in 1938 in Lucknow , he got his big break and soo became and often heard shehnai player on radio

Where and which song did he play on independence day

He played the Raag Kafi at the Red fort

Which speech did Nehru give

Tryst with destiny

Explain Khan’s trip to afghanisthan

His first trip abroad was to afghanisthan where King Zahir Shah gifted him priceless PErsian carpets and other souveniers as he was impressed by the maestro.

Which directer made a film on shehnai? What was the name of the FIlm?

Gunj Uthi Shehnai by Vijay Bhatt

Which was the song in Gunj Uthi Shehnai

Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya

Which were his two outings in the celluloid worlds

Vijay bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai and Vikram Srininvas’s Sanadhi Apanna

Why did Khan not participate much in films

Because he could not come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the film world

Which is the auditorian named after him

Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan in Tehran

Where are the placs he played in outisde india

1. Lincoln Centre Hall - USA

2. World Exposition - MOtreal

3. Cannes Art Festival

4. Osaka Trade Fair

Which national awards did Khan recieve

Padma Bhushan , Padma Vibhushan , Bharat Ratna

How did he respond to recieving the bharat ratna

All i would like to say is : teach your children music , this is Hindustan’s richest tradition : even the west in now coming to learn our music

What did the student from USA do? How did he respond?

The student from USA promised him to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples there. Khansaab asked him if he would be able to tranport river ganga

Why did he not leave India during the Partition?

He never wanted to leave benaras. He went to pakistan only once and its was just crossing the border for an hour to say he ahd been there. He said namaskar to the Pakistanis and salaam alaikum to the indians and had a good laugh

How does Khan signify the cultural heritage of India

It shows that india is so rich in culture and diverse that one effortlessly accepts that a devout Muslim can very naturaly play the shehnai every morning at the Kashi Vishwananth Temple.

When and at what age did he pass away?

He passed away on 21 August 2006 at the age of 2006. He was given a state funeral and the Government of India declared one day of national mourning.