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The Sound of Music
Question
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Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

Answer

Bismillah Khan is so fond of Benares and Dumraon that he refused one of his student's request to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. The student even promised to
recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples there but Bismillah Khan denied on account of the fact that he would miss River ganga. 

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Some More Questions From The Sound of Music Chapter

1. The (shehnai, pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).
4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux,
Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).

Find the words in the text which show Ustad Bismillah Khan’s feelings about
the items listed below. Then mark a tick (✔) in the correct column. Discuss your
answers in class.

 

Bismillah Khan’s feelings about

 

Positive

 

Negative

 

Neutral

 

1. teaching children music

 

 

 

 

 

2. the film world

 

 

 

 

 

3. migrating to the U.S.A.

 

 

 

 

 

4. playing at temples

 

 

 

 

 

5. getting the Bharat Ratna

 

 

 

 

 

6. the banks of the Ganga

 

 

 

 

 

7. leaving Benaras and Dumraon

 

 

 

 


Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?

How is a shehnai different from a pungi?

Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change
this?

When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?

Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was
the event historic?

Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan
loves India and Benaras.

I. Look at these sentences.
• Evelyn was determined to live a normal life.
• Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers.
The italicised parts answer the questions: “What was Evelyn determined to do?”
and “What did Evelyn manage to do?” They begin with a to-verb (to live, to conceal).

Complete the following sentences. Beginning with a to-verb, try to answer the
questions in brackets.
1. The school sports team hopes__________ (What does it hope to do?)
2. We all want____________ (What do we all want to do?)
3. They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother___________ (What
did they advise her to do?)
4. The authorities permitted us to_________ (What did the authorities
permit us to do?)
5. A musician decided to__________ (What did the musician decide
to do?)