bismillah khan passes away

on the morning of august 21st, one of our days greatest shehnai masters bismillah khan passed away. here are some excerpts from news media articles and obituaries in the few days following ustadji’s passing:

“It is given to very few musicians that their name should become utterly synonymous with their instrument. Bismillah Khan was that kind of rara avis. The whole world of Indian music knew him as the foremost virtuoso of the shehnai. He was responsible for raising what one bygone dictionary definition called “an Indian wind instrument of the oboe class” to a hitherto undreamed-of status.” the independant

“Bismillah was able to extract music of such classical purity that his compositions came to represent “the sound of India”. It has been All India Radio’s custom to broadcast a live performance by Bismillah at every Republic Day ceremony for more than half a century.

Bismillah had played the shehnai at India’s first Independence Day celebration on August 15 1948. However, his wish to perform 58 years later, at this year’s occasion, remained unfulfilled because of his poor health.

Although a devout Shia Muslim, throughout his long career Bismillah took issue with rigidly orthodox Islamic elders who felt that playing such music on his shehnai was haraam (contrary to the principles of his faith). Instead, Bismillah – or Khansaheb, as he was usually respectfully called – came to be seen as an example of the successful, progressive culture that evolved out of the Hindu-Muslim encounter in India.” telegraph