.
Ustad Bismillah Khan
All my songs are to the devotion of Thee,
All my tunes are the shadowy images of Thee,
My dreams are visited by celestial fairies of music;
In my sleep I keep fluting shehnais to welcome Thee.
A legendary shehnai maestro, a man of tenderness, a man of few words,
A pious musician, a simpleton, a down to earth human
He is the living legend
The Heaven Sent

The spring breeze of 1916, the holy waters of the Ganges, the wee hours of March 21 waited with open arms, to welcome another member to the house of Rasool Bux Khan, the shehnai–nawaz of the King’s court in Bhojpur, Dumraon of Bihar – Bismillah Khan. The father of the child, Paigambar Bux and the elder Rasool Bux Khan were getting ready to go to the Prince’s palace to play the morning tunes. They had to wait to welcome the newborn. An elated Rasool, on hearing the news remembered God and uttered "Bismillah". Thus was named Bismillah Khan. Although, the child’s parents called him Qamruddin to rhyme with their first born, Shamsuddin.

The little boy grew up like any other boy his age. He began to mumble innocent words in Urdu and Arabic. He sometimes, silently, unnoticed by his mother, went to seek the weeds of narkat (a special hollow kind of weed out of which the pipes of the hookah are made. It is also used at the end of the pipe of the shehnai to produce beautiful notes) that grew on the riverbank. Bismillah felt the narkat weeds knew they would be famous through him some day.

Talent Aglow

At the age of three, Bismillah went to his maternal uncle’s house in Benaras to celebrate Id. His uncles were traditional shehnai players like his father and forefathers. Bismillah watched his Chhote Mamu (maternal uncle) Ali Bux Khan play the shehnai and would nod to his tunes. Mamu was astonished to see this innate musical sense in Bismillah and knew that here was another great shehnai player in the making.

Bismillah grew up at his uncle’s place and became more and more fond of the shehnai. The whole house was immersed in the tune and rhythm of music. His elder maternal uncle Vilayat Hussain also played the shehnai. Ali Bux, later became his teacher.

Bismillah detested studies, so he played marbles on the streets of Benaras. He spent most of his time in the corridor of the house where he could hear his uncles playing the shehnai. Sometimes he even played marbles to the shehnai’s tunes.

Ali Bux went to the Jadau or Vishnu temple every morning. There, he played the shehnai for the entire day to earn four rupees a month. Sometimes Bismillah followed him in the morning, listen to his music, get engrossed and bewildered. After the mornings sessions at the Jadau temple, mamu and nephew walked towards the Balaji temple. A room was reserved for Ali Bux. He prasticed there for about five hours daily. When Ali Bux finished prasticing he found Bismillah sitting beside him, listening to him and hungry as well. Never did Bismillah disturb his mamu. They returned home each day after these morning sessions for lunch.

The First Tunes to Learning

Bismillah often wondered why his Mamu went to the room in the Balaji temple to practise while he could practise at home without being disturbed. Unable to suppress his curiosity he asked his uncle one day. Mamu stroked his locks and answered, "You will learn it one day." Bismillah was quick to ask, "But, Mamu when will I start playing shehnai ?" "Why talk about when; you are going to start today," he said. Thus began Bismillah’s journey through the realms of music.

Initially, Bismillah had to practise for half an hour which later extended to six hours. Ali Bux was a hard taskmaster, but young Bismillah understood that the sonorous flow of music that emanated from his mamu’s shehnai was difficult to reproduce. When he tried it only brought out funny and erroneous sounds. He failed in his attempts. But, determined, he practised even when mamu was away. A family member, walking past his room heard the funny tunes and laughed mockingly. Turning a deaf ear Bismillah continued to practise with perseverance, never deterred by criticism and charged ahead, inspired by the power of his will.

Soon, Bismillah realized that the atmosphere at home was not conducive for meditative practice. He thought practising at the Balaji temple, would suit him better. So he sought his mamu’s permission. Mamu’s expression changed and he asked, "Why ? What’s wrong in this house ? Why can’t you practise here ? And yes, tell me, have you prepared the lesson that I gave you yesterday ?" An obedient Bismillah sat down and reproduced each note in the hope of getting permission to enter the temple room.

That evening mamu took Bismillah to the Jadau temple, and after the evening shehnai recital to the room in the Balaji temple where he had practised for over 18 years. Finally, he granted him the permission to practise there.

Overjoyed, Bismillah practised in the room for 4 to 6 hours. Oblivious to the changes taking place outside the four walls he experimented and discovered new heights and depths of musical scales and melodies. Bismillah was overtaken by the thirst to perfect his music. So he missed evening games with friends, his evening snack and cakes, and other pleasures in a young boy’s life.

Incoming Recognition

When Bismillah was 14 years old, his Ustad, his mamu, had to leave for the Allahabad Music Conference in 1930, with Bismillah in tears. He could not bear the thought of parting from his beloved Ustad even for a few days. Tears gave way to hiccups and it seemed he would not survive without his Ustad. Finally mamu decided to take Bismillah along. At the conference Ustad Ali Bux started the evening with raga Kedar. It was an unusual composition. After a while he nodded at Bismillah to play while he was cleaning his fret. Bismillah followed his master and reproduced the composition. His notes were flawless but, the bars were different, which brought out a new dimension. It evoked a ‘Wah Wah’ of appreciation from the ‘Aftabe Mausiqui’ – ‘The Sun of Music’, Ustad Faiyaz Khan. At that time great singers and musicians did not consider shehnai as an important instrument. But, Ustad Faiyaz Khan sat through the whole performance and congratulated Ali Bux for his brilliant performance and patting Bismillah on the back told Ali Bux, "Dear God, keep him guarded. The music of his shehnai has the flavor of vocal articulation." Later he told Bismillah, "Work hard and you shall make it." This appreciation inspired Bismillah to listen to other great musicians with deep interest. Bismillah cherished the memories of those delightful days.

The Teacher

Ustad Bismillah Khan has only one disciple Jagdish Prasad Qamar who joined him as per the traditional Gurukul system. A simpleton son of Shree Deepchand, a famous nafiri player, of Delhi. Jagdish joined Ustad at the age of 10 in 1946. He lived and learned shehnai at the Ustad’s house in Benaras.

Khan Sahib was a hard taskmaster. He initially would give Jagdish a little line of a raga to practise and then totally forget he existed. This he did because it is only through perseverance and love of learning that a student can pass tough tests and prove himself worthy of his Guru. Later, Jagdish had to patiently wait until it suited his teacher.

Jagdish soon became the manager of Ustad’s house. Ustad would give him the monthly funds required to manage the household. This often brought him into conflict with the Ustad’s wife. Khan Sahib would intercede on some occasions and sometimes leave it to them to sort out things. Despite all these, Jagdish found the Ustad’s wife motherly and affectionate.

Khan Sahib shared the deepest secrets of the shehnai with Jagdish, so much information that his sons might not have received either.

During the training days Khan Sahib would ask him to keep awake at night till everybody retired to bed. Ustad then would go upstairs and play a tune, which an eager Jagdish listened carefully and repeated it from downstairs. Such strenuous training sessions went on. Even though Jagdish missed a few tunes sometimes, Khan Sahib loved his devotion and earnestness. Because he believed that love for work and devotion are the essential requirements in a human character. With this come the divine unification or ‘assar’ in one’s music.

Khan Sahib loves his students because of their devotion and dedication. He does not look at them and their religion. He loves Jagdish even though he is a Hindu. He also sends money to each member of his party during each festival of the year, be it Hindu or Muslim. Some other members of his shehnai party were Vishnu Prasanna and Mohanlal, who were Hindus.

Today, Bageshwari daughter of Jagdish, the first and probably the only woman shehnai player in the world, learnt it from Ustad Bismillah Khan. She went to him in 1989, and is his favorite student. This also shows that Khan Sahib only knows one religion, which is music. He knows no difference between man and woman. He sees only the true artist in a person.
" My music is my search for the ultimate truth "
The Shehnai