The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

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The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

The Sound Of Music Class 9 Extra Questions Question 1.
What were Evelyn’s feelings as she stood on the platform waiting for the London underground?
Answer:
As she stood on the platform Evelyn felt both nervous and excited because she was waiting for a train in London to take her to her dream destination – to join the prestigious Royal Academy for Music. She was apprehensive as she was a young, seventeen-year-old from Scotland going to join such a prestigious music institute. Moreover, she was profoundly deaf and despite her disability, she had made it to the Music Academy.

The Sound Of Music Extra Questions Question 2.
How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music? Why was she nervous on her way to the academy?
Answer:
Evelyn was only seventeen years of age when she was selected to the Royal Academy of Music, London. She had come straight from a farmland in Scotland, she had not experienced much of the world. In addition, she was profoundly deaf and was going to a big institute like The Royal Academy of Music. Her nervousness was the result of her young age, her lack of exposure and her hearing disability.

Sound Of Music Extra Questions Question 3.
Why was Evelyn “nervous yet excited” as she waited for the train?
Answer:
While leaving for the Royal Academy of Music, Evelyn was excited despite her nervousness as going to the Royal Academy of Music, London was a dream come true for her. She was going to join a three-year course in an institute she had dreamed of joining. It excited her to think that despite her hearing impairment she had made her way to such a prestigious institute.

Sound Of Music Class 9 Extra Questions Question 4.
Why was Evelyn Glennie going to face a bigger challenge at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London?
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie was passionate about music, and would not let anything stand in her way, but studying music at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London was a challenge for her for two reasons: in the first place she was deaf and in the second, she was brought up on a Scottish farm. It was a challenge for a deaf village girl to compete with other singers who had perfect hearing.

The Sound Of Music Class 9 Extra Questions And Answers Question 5.
When and how was Evelyn’s hearing problem noticed?
Answer:
Evelyn was only eight-year-old when her hearing problem was noticed by her mother when she was eight years old and she did not respond to a call for a performance on piano. However, her loss of hearing was gradual and her deafness was confirmed at the age of eleven when her poor academic performance forced her parents to consult a specialist.

Extra Questions Of The Sound Of Music Question 6.
Who advised Evelyn’s parents to take her to a specialist? Why?
Answer:
Evelyn managed to hide her growing deafness from students and teachers for some time. However, by the time she was eleven years old, her performance in school deteriorated and her marks began to fall. It was then that the headmistress advised her parents to consul a specialist.

The Sound Of Music Part 2 Class 9 Extra Questions And Answers Question 7.
When was Evelyn’s deafness confirmed? What advice was given to her?
Answer:
Evelyn’s deafness was gradual. By the time she was eleven, her marks had deteriorated. Her teachers advised her parents to take her to a specialist. The specialist discovered that her hearing was badly impaired because of gradual nerve damage. He advised her parents that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.

Extra Questions For Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 2 Question 8.
“Everything suddenly looked black”. Why did Evelyn feel this way?
Answer:
When Evelyn was advised to use hearing aids and join a school for the deaf, she felt that her future was bleak and dark. She was depressed, as she felt she would not be able to lead a normal life nor pursue her interest in music.

The Sound Of Music Part 1 Class 9 Extra Questions Question 9.
How did Evelyn Glennie respond to the discovery of her deafness?
Answer:
On learning about her deafness due to gradual nerve damage, Evelyn Glennie, felt at first that her future was dark and bleak. However, instead of giving up, she decided to lead a normal life like other children and pursue her dream of learning music.

The Sound Of Music Class 9 Extra Questions Part 2 Question 10.
How did Evelyn’s teachers respond when she expressed her desire to play a xylophone?
Answer:
Evelyn had always loved music and despite her deafness, she expressed a desire to play the xylophone when she saw another girl playing it. However her teachers felt that she would not be able to play it because of her impaired hearing and they discouraged her from doing so.

The Sound Of Music Part 1 Class 9 Extra Questions And Answers Question 11.
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential. How did he respond to it?
Answer:
When her teachers discouraged her from pursuing a career in music, Ron Forbes, the percussionist, encouraged and helped Evelyn to continue with music. He noticed her potential and decided to help her develop it. He told Evelyn to train different parts of her body to sense musical notes. He tuned two drums with different notes to make her sense the higher ones from the upper part of her body and the lower ones from her waist down.

Class 9 The Sound Of Music Extra Questions Question 12.
“I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and vibrations,” says Evelyn. How did she do this?
Answer:
Guided by Ron Forbes, Evelyn leamt to listen through different parts of her body other than her ears. Her mind and body became sensitized to notice and differentiate various sounds and vibrations of music. Her body compensated for the loss of hearing with her awakened and sharpened senses in other parts of her body.

The Sound Of Music Class 9 Extra Questions Part 1 Question 13.
What kind of recognition did Evelyn get at the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer:
When Evelyn was seventeen, she joined the Royal Academy of Music. She scored the highest marks in the history of the academy. She was one of the most brilliant students of the academy and won many top awards during her three-year course.

Class 9 English The Sound Of Music Extra Questions Question 14.
Why did Evelyn say, “Men with bushy beards give me trouble”?
Answer:
Evelyn could understand what others were saying by reading the movement of lips and by watching faces and eyes. It was difficult for her to read the movement of lips of the men with bushy beards in order to grasp what they were saying. She jokingly remarked that men with bushy beards gave her trouble.

The Sound Of Music Class 9 Important Questions Question 15.
Which qualities of character enabled Evelyn to achieve unprecedented success in life?
Answer:
Unfaltering determination and hard work enabled Evelyn to move ahead in life. Instead of yielding to her handicap, she decided to overcome it and lead the life of a normal person. She was devoted to music and her sincere efforts helped her achieve unprecedented success.

The Sound Of Music Extra Questions Answers Question 16.
She never looked back from that point onwards. Explain.
Answer:
Evelyn learnt to feel the vibrations and sensations in every part of her body, she leant to open her body and mind to the sounds and vibrations. These tingled in her skin, her cheekbones and even in hair. After that, she never looked back, because from that time on she was very successful in her chosen career.

Question 17.
How did Evelyn get admission in the Royal Academy of Music, London?
Answer:
Evelyn gave audition for admission to Royal Academy of Music, London. Her score in the audition was one of the highest in the history of the academy. Therefore, she got selected for a three-year course.

Question 18.
Evelyn continued to work hard at the Royal Academy of Music. Do you agree?
Answer:
At the Royal Academy of Music, London, Evelyn began as one of the performers in orchestra. But gradually she moved on to give solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had bagged the biggest awards in the Academy. This shows Evelyn did not rest on her laurels but continued to work hard.

Question 19.
What did James Blades say about Evelyn’s music?
Answer:
James Blades remarked that God may have taken away her sense of hearing but He has given her something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels, far more deeply than any of us. She is a talented musician who expresses music so beautifully.

Question 20.
How is Evelyn a source of inspiration to people who are in any way disabled?
Answer:
Evelyn’s achievements, gained through determination and hard work, are an example for other handicapped people. They gain confidence from her example and believe that they too can achieve them goals in life by overcoming their challenges and disabilities with firm determination.

Question 21.
How does Evelyn regard her own success?
Answer:
Evelyn is extremely modest and does not consider her achievements to be heroic deeds. She feels that if one is focussed on the goal and puts in hard work, one is sure to succeed. She says, “If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there.”

Question 22.
Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Answer:
Evelyn performs in concerts internationally. In addition, she also gives concerts free of charge in prisons and hospitals. In addition, she holds classes for young musicians.

Question 23.
What is Evelyn’s contribution to percussion?
Answer:
Evelyn has contributed to percussion by securing for it a front place in orchestra. She has shown how the music of the percussion instruments is deeply moving and touches the hearts and emotions of people.

Question 24.
What are Evelyn’s main achievements?
Answer:
Evelyn has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra. She has given inspiration to those who are handicapped. Besides this, she has brought great pleasure to millions.

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Evelyn did not succumb to her disability. Comment.
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie was always interested in music. In fact, her mother realised she was having problems with her hearing when at the age of eight years Evelyn was to give a piano recital and she didn’t hear her name being called. By the age of twelve, Evelyn had lost her hearing. However, she did not let this stand in the way of her pursuing her passion music.

Though she was advised to wear a hearing aid and to attend a special school for the deaf, Evelyn did not give up. Despite facing discouragement from her teachers, she wanted to lead a normal life and play xylophone. However, Ron Forbes, a great percussionist, trained her to listen to the musical sounds and vibrations not through ears, but through other parts of her body.

He created two drums with different sounds to make her hear the higher beats from the upper part of her body and the lower beats from below her waist. The experiment was so effective that Evelyn opened her mind and body to the fine sounds of music. Evelyn now believes that music penetrates into her through every part – through her skin, cheekbones and even her hair.

When she plays xylophone, she feels that the sounds move from the stick into the tips of her fingers. When the drums are played, she can feel the resonant sounds pouring into her body. She takes off her foot wears on a wooden stage and the vibrations of the instruments pass from her bare feet into her legs. Thus, Evelyn has sensitized the different parts of her body to the different sounds of music.

Question 2.
“If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there,” remarks Evelyn Glennie. What does it reveal about her character?
Answer:
Evelyn’s firm determination, her hard work and her focus on her goal are well revealed in her statement. These values of her character have enabled her to successfully overcome her handicap of deafness. Though she developed hearing impairment at the young age of eight, and became profoundly deaf by the age of twelve, she has never let it become a stumbling block in her way to success.

Firmly determined to pursue music and to lead a normal life, Evelyn did not let her disability stand in her way. The encouragement and training provided by percussionist Ron Forbes paved the way for her advancement and she stuck to the path with unshakeable self-confidence. It was this confidence and faith in herself that made her dare to audition for the Royal Academy of Music, London where she received the top most awards.

Evelyn is very hard working. She has worked hard, in fact much harder than the other classical musicians to bring percussion to the front stage in orchestra. She believes that no goal is unachievable for those who work hard and are focussed on the goal. With her earnest efforts, she moved from orchestra to solo performances and eventually became an internationally renowned percussionist owing to her command over a large number of instruments. Her courage and confidence to rise above her disability has made her a soprce of inspiration for all.

Question 3.
Evelyn is very down-to-earth and does not succumb to hero worship. Comment.
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie did not let her loss of hearing get her down. She was determined to make a career in music, and with the help of percussionist Ron Forbes, she trained herself to feel music through every part of her body. She never looked back from that point onwards. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she had decided to make music her life. She auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy.

She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had captured most of the top awards. And for all this, Evelyn doesn’t accept any hint of heroic achievement. “If you work hard and know where you are going, you’ll get there.” And she got right to the top, the world’s most sought-after multi-percussionist with a mastery of some thousand instruments, and hectic international schedule.

Question 4.
Evelyn is an inspiration to all. Justify.
Answer:
Despite her disability, Evelyn rose to great heights as a musician. When talking of music, she explains, “It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair.” When she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removes her shoes so that the vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs.

Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year Award. Says master percussionist James Blades, “God may have taken her hearing but he has given her back something extraordinary. What we hear, she feels — far more deeply than any of us. That is why she expresses music so beautifully.”

Evelyn confesses that she is something of a workaholic. “I’ve just got to work … often harder than classical musicians. But the rewards are enormous.” Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also gives high priority to classes for young musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund for Deaf Children says, “She is a shining inspiration for deaf children. They see that there is nowhere that they cannot go.”

Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age. She has brought percussion to the front of the orchestra, and demonstrated that it can be very moving. She has given inspiration to those who are handicapped, people who look to her and say, ‘If she can do it, I can.’ And, not the least, she has given enormous pleasure to millions.

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
It was her first day at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London and daunting enough for any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm. But this aspiring musician faced a bigger challenge than most.

(a) Who is referred to as the ‘aspiring musician’?
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie is referred to as the aspiring musician.

(b) How old was this ‘aspiring musician’ when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer:
She was seventeen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.

(c) What was likely to ‘daunt any teenager’?
Answer:
The first day in a great and renowned institute like The Royal Academy of Music, London was likely to daunt any teenager.

(d) Why did she “a bigger challenge than most”?
Answer:
She faced a ‘bigger challenge’ than most as she was profoundly deaf and was yet joining a music academy.

Question 2.
Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual. Her mother remembers noticing something was wrong when the eight-year-old Evelyn was waiting to play the piano.
“They called her name and she didn ’t move. I suddenly realised she hadn ’t heard, ” says Isabel Glennie.

(a) Who is Isabel Glennie?
Answer:
Isabel Glennie is Evelyn Glennie’s mother.

(b) Why did Evelyn Glennie not move to play the piano?
Answer:
Evelyn did not move because she had not heard her name being called.

(d) How did Evelyn lose her hearing?
Answer:
Evelyn’s hearing impairment happened as a result of gradual nerve damage.

Question 3.
They were advised that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.

(a) Who are ‘they’? By whom were they advised?
Answer:
‘They’ are the parents of Evelyn Glennie. They were advised by the specialist to whom Evelyn’s parents had taken her for a check-up.

(b) Who is ‘she’?
Answer:
‘She’ is Evelyn Glennie.

(c) What was the course of action recommended for her?
Answer:
It was recommended that she should be provided with hearing aids in order to be able to hear and that she be sent to a school for the deaf.

(d) How had her mother realised that Evelyn was having problems with her hearing?
Answer:
Evelyn’s mother realised she was having problems with her hearing when Evelyn did not go for her piano recital when her name was called.

Question 4.
But Evelyn was not going to give up. She was determined to lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music. One day, she noticed a girl playing a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it too. Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential.

(a) Evelyn was not going to give up. Why was she not going to give up?
Answer:
She was not going to give up because of her interest in music. Music was her passion.

b) What did she want to do?
Answer:
She wanted to learn to play the xylophone.

(c) Why did her teachers not encourage her?
Answer:
They did not encourage her because they felt it was impossible for a deaf girl to pursue her career in music.

(d) Who encouraged her? What did he say?
Answer:
Ron Forbes, who saw her potential and capabilities, encouraged her. He suggested she ‘hear’ with the whole of her body.

Question 5.
She never looked back from that point onwards. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she had decided to make music her life.

(a) Who is ‘she’?
Answer:
She refers to Evelyn Glennie.

(b) What does ‘that point’ refer to?
Answer:
‘That point’ refers to the time when Evelyn learnt to listen to music by feeling the vibrations through her body.

(d) What was her age when she decided to make music her life?
Answer:
She was just sixteen when she decided to make music her life.

Question 6.
She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances. At the end of her three-year course, she had captured most of the top awards.

(a) How did Evelyn advance in her career?
Answer:
Initially Evelyn performed in a group of orchestra. Gradually, she started giving solo performances.

(b) Where did she pursue her three-year course?
Answer:
She pursued her three-year course in the most prestigious institute of music in England, The Royal Academy for Music, London.

(c) What were her achievements at the end of her course?
Answer:
At the end of her course, she had bagged the biggest awards in her field.

(d) What made her achievements so great?
Answer:
The fact that she had won the awards despite her hearing disability made her achievements so great.

Question 7.
And for all this, Evelyn won’t accept any hint of heroic achievement. “If you work hard and know where you are going, you ’ll get there. ”

(a) What does ‘all this’ refer to?
Answer:
“All this” refers to the fact that by the end of her three-year course at the Royal Academy she had captured most of the top awards

(b) Why is it a heroic achievement?
Answer:
It is a heroic achievement as she has achieved success in music despite being profoundly deaf.

(c) To what does Evelyn give credit for her achievement?
Answer:
Evelyn gives credit for her achievements to her focus on her aims and her hard work.

(d) What quality of Evelyn’s character is reflected in this?
Answer:
This shows Evelyn is a humble and down-to-earth person.

Question 8.
In our two-hour discussion she never missed a word. “Men with bushy beards give me trouble, ” she laughed. “It is not just watching the lips, it’s the whole face, especially the eyes. ”

(a) Who is ‘she’? Why is it strange that she never missed a word?
Answer:
She refers to Evelyn Glennie. She is profoundly deaf yet she heard each word.

(b) How does she hear the words?
Answer:
She hears the words by reading lips and by studying the whole face and eyes of the speaker.

(d) Which are the languages that she speaks?
Answer:
She has managed to leam French and master basic Japanese.

Question 9.
As for music, she explains, “It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair. ’’ When she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her body.

(a) Who is the speaker in the first line?
Answer:
In the first line, the speaker is Evelyn Glennie, the famous multi-percussionist.

(b) What is it that pours in through every part of her body?
Answer:
Music and its vibrations pour in through every part of her body.

(c) How was she able to hear sounds and vibrations?
Answer:
She was able to hear sounds and vibrations by sensing them through her body and her mind. Being deaf, she could not hear with her ears so she had trained and sensitized her body and mind.

(d) How did Ron Forbes help her to continue with music?
Answer:
Percussionist Ron Forbes tuned two large drums to different notes. He asked her not to listen to them through her ears but to try and sense the sound in some other manner.

Question 10.
“I’ve just got to work… Often harder than classical musicians. But the rewards are enormous. ’’Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also gives high priority to classes for young musicians. Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund for Deaf Children says, “She is a shining inspiration for deaf children. They see that there is nowhere that they cannot go. ”

(a) Evelyn works harder than classical musicians. What does it imply?
Answer:
Classical music needs a lot of practice. However, Evelyn works even harder than the others.

(b) For whom does Evelyn perform for free?
Answer:
Evelyn gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals.

(d) What quality of Evelyn’s character is shown by her actions?
Answer:
Evelyn is committed to music. She is also compassionate and generous towards those in need.

The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer:
Aurangzeb banned the playing of musical instrument pungi because it had a loud, shrill, and unpleasant sound. He prohibited its play in the royal court.

Question 2.
Why did the pungi become a generic name for “reeded noisemakers”?
Answer:
The pungi was made from a reed and it produced noisy, unpleasant sounds. It became a generic name for “reeded noisemakers”.

Question 3.
How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Answer:
Shehnai has a better tonal quality than pungi. It is a natural hollow stem pipe with holes on its body and is longer and broader than the pungi. When some of the holes are closed and opened while it is played on, soft and melodious sounds are produced instead of the loud, jarring sound of a pungi. Thus, shehnai is, in a way, an improvement upon the pungi.

Question 4.
How was the pungi revived?
Answer:
After Aurangzeb had banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence, a barber who belonged to a family of professional musicians revived it by taking a wider and longer hollow stem and making seven holes in it. The opening and closing of these holes in the improved pungi produced soft and sweet sounds.

Question 5.
How did the improved and modified pungi get its new name?
Answer:
It is believed that the barber (nai) who improved the pungi, played his improved and modified instrument in the chamber of the emperor {shah). From the combination of the two words shah and nai, the new instrument got is new name shehnai.

Question 6.
Where was the shehnai played traditionally? Why?
Answer:
The music of the shehnai was melodious and soft. It was made a part of the naubat or or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. Soon, it came to be believed that it was auspicious. Therefore, it came to be played in the holy temples and on the happy auspicious occasions of weddings.

Question 7.
Although the shehnai was played in temples and at weddings. How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Answer:
The shehnai was traditionally played in royal courts, temples and weddings. Ustaad Bismillah Khan, an undisputed shehnai maestro, brought the instrument onto the classical stage by adding new raagas and modifying old ones.

Question 8.
Where and how did Bismillah Khan begin his career in music?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan began his career in music at the age of five by singing the Bhojpuri Chaita in the Bihariji temple regularly in his native town Dumraon in Bihar. At the end of the song the local Maharaja would give him a big laddu weighing 1.25 kg as a prize.

Question 9.
How did Bismillah Khan inherit music from his paternal and maternal ancestors?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan hailed from a family of musicians in Bihar. His paternal grandfather Rasool Bux Khan was a shehnai player in the royal court of the king of Bhojpur. His father Paigambar Bux and many paternal and maternal uncles were also shehnai vaadaks. In fact, Bismillah Khan was apprenticed with his maternal uncle Ali Bux to learn how to play the shehnai.

Question 10.
Write a short note on Ali Bux.
Answer:
Ali Bux was the maternal uncle of Bismillah Khan. He was a great shehnai player and was employed to play the shehnai in the Vishnu temple of Benaras. In fact, at a very young age Bismillah was apprenticed to his uncle. Bismillah Khan started accompanying him and got lessons in playing the shehnai from him. The young boy would sit for hours listening to his uncle and later practise throughout the day. As such he and may be regarded as his mentor and trainer.

Question 11.
What significance did the Ganga have in Bismillah Khan’s life?
Answer:
The young Bismillah Khan often sat on the banks of the Ganga to practice his music there in solitude. The flowing waters of Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent raagas which were earlier considered beyond the range of the shehnai. In fact, when much later, his student invited him to head a shehnai school in the USA, Khansaab asked him if he would be able to transport River Ganga as well, implying thereby that he could not live without the Ganga.

Question 12.
When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan got his big break in 1938. All India Radio opened in Lucknow and Bismillah Khan played shehnai on radio. He soon became an often-heard player on radio. He became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai from the Red Fort on 15 August, 1947.

Question 13.
Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
Answer:
On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the Raag Kaafi on his shehnai from the Red Fort prior to the speech of Pandit Nehru. The event was historical because it was on the occasion of the declaration of India’s Independence from British Rule. On that day, Bismillah Khan was the first Indian to greet the nation and he poured his heart out while playing the melodious raaga on his shehnai.

Question 14.
What honours and awards were bestowed upon Ustad Bismillah Khan in foreign countries?
Answer:
His first trip abroad was to Afghanistan where King Zahir Shah, taken in by the maestro, gifted him priceless Persian carpets and other souvenirs. In fact, an auditorium in Teheran was named after him —Tahar Mosiquee Ustaad Bismillah Khan. The King of Afghanistan was also fascinated with Bismillah’s music. He was the first Indian to be invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the United States of America. He also took part in the World Exposition in Montreal, in the Cannes Art Festival and in the Osaka Trade Fair.

Question 15.
How did the film director Vijay Bhatt honour Bismillah Khan?
Answer:
The film director, Vijay Bhatt, once heard the shehnai recital of Bismillah Khan in a festival. He was so fascinated by the performance that he decided to name his next film after the instrument and called it Gunj Uthi Shehnai. The film also had a song that was composed by Bismillah Khan.

Question 16.
Why did Bismillah Khan leave the glamour of the film world and return to Benaras? What does this tell you about him?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan returned to Benares after providing music for two films – Vijay Bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai and Vikram Srinivas’s Kannada venture, Sanadhi Apanna. This was because he disliked the artificiality and glamour of the film world. He said, “I just can’t come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the film world.” This incident indicates that truthfulness and simplicity of Bismillah Khan’s character.

Question 17.
How did India honour and reward the great musician, Bismillah Khan?
Answer:
India honoured Bismillah Khan by conferring on him the greatest national awards – the Padmashri, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Vibhushan. He was also awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001, the highest civilian award in India.

Question 18.
What advice did Bismillah Khan give Indian youth?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan had a great regard for Indian music and the rich heritage of Hindustani music. He wanted that children must not cut off their bond from this grand tradition which was fascinating even for the people of the west. He advised Indians to teach their children music, as it was Hindustan’s richest tradition.

Question 19.
What offer did Bismillah Khan’s student make to him? What was his reply?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan’s student, who himself was settled in the USA, wanted that the great maestro to head a shehnai school in the UAS. He promised that he would create the ambience of Benaras by erecting the temples like those in India. Bismillah Khan refused the proposition because he would not live away from Hindustan, specifically, from Benaras, the River Ganga and Dumraon.

Question 20.
How does Bismillah Khan embody India’s rich cultural and secular tradition?
Answer:
Indian culture has always displayed a liberal attitude to all communities and religions. The society and its cultural heritage is a blend of various religious and ethnic groups. Bismillah Khan’s life perfectly represents this blend. Although he was a devout muslim, he began his singing career by singing Chiaf in Bihariji temple and practicing shehnai in Vishnu temple and Mangala Maiya temple of Varanasi. He practised the shehnai on the banks of the Ganga and played it in the Kashi Vishwanath temple every morning.

Question 21.
Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Answer:
The first instance is when he turned down his student’s offer to start a shehnai school in USA. The second instance is when Khansaab was asked by Shekhar Gupta about moving to Pakistan during the partition, he said that he would never leave Benaras.

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Why did Emperor Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi and how was it improved?
Answer:
Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence because it had a shrill and unpleasant sound. But a barber belonging to a professional family of musicians was able to improve it. He chose a reed pipe with a natural hollow stem that was longer and broader than the one used for the pungi. He made seven holes on the body of the pipe. He played the instrument in the royal chambers of Emperor Aurangzeb.

Everyone was impressed by the new instrument and the shehnai was made a part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. Its sweet and melodious notes caused it to be played only in temples and weddings and other auspicious occasions. Since it was first played in the Shah’s chambers and was played by a nai (barber), the instrument was named the shehnai.

Question 2.
How was Bismillah Khan associated with the film world?
Answer:
Film director Vijay Bhatt heard Bismillah Khan at a festival. He was so impressed by Bismillah Khan that he named a film after the shehnai – Gunj Uthi Shehnai. The film was a huge hit and one of Bismillah Khan’s compositions Dil ka khilona hai toot gaya turned out to be very popular. In spite of his great success in the film world, Bismillah Khan’s experience in the film world was limited to two films – Vijay Bhatt’s ‘Gunj Uthi Shehnai’ and Vikram Srinivas’s ‘Sanadhi Apanna’. Bismillah Khan, however, made it clear that he could not come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the film world and returned to Benaras.

Question 3.
Write a note on the life and achievements of Bismillah Khan as a ‘shehnai vaadak’. What values of life do you derive from his story?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan’s journey as a shehnai maestro embodies the moral values of dedication, simplicity and patriotism. It started at the young age of three and continued up to the age of ninety. The journey ranged from playing the instrument in the temples to getting international fame.

Hailing from a family of musicians, Bismillah Khan inherited an interest in the shehnai. At a young age of three, he started accompanying his maternal Uncle Ali Bux to the Vishnu temple in Benaras and learnt a lot from him. He would sing scriptures like the Bhojpuri ‘chaita Bismillah Khan got an important break when he started playing for the All India Radio, Lucknow in 1938.

His music was so admired that he was invited to play at the historic moment of Indian independence on 15 August, 1947. In recognition of his talent, he was conferred upon with the greatest awards of India – the Padmashri, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Vibhushan. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 2001. Bismillah Khan ventured into the film world but abandoned it after he found it to be too artificial and glamorous. On the international level, he mesmerized the King of Afghanistan with his shehnai music.

He was the only Indian to be invited to play shehnai in the Lincoln Central Hall, USA. He also played in international events like the World Exposition, Montreal, the Cannes Art Festival and the Osaka Trade Fair. As a token of appreciation, the Teheran government has named an auditorium after Bismillah Khan. Bismillah Khan had a deep devotion to his motherland and was proud of its heritage of music. Hence, he declined the offer to settle down in foreign countries. The journey of his life teaches the values of dedication to one’s talent and persistent efforts to reach the greatest heights of excellence.

Question 4.
What important lesson does the life of Evelyn Glennie and Bismillah Khan teach us?
Answer:
Evelyn Glennie and Bismillah Khan, the two eminent music maestros, through their achievements, have proved to the world that the values of determination, hard work and unwavering efforts are always rewarded. Evelyn Glennie became an internationally admired multi-percussionist only because of her untiring work which helped her rise above her handicap.

Instead of yielding to her deafness, she worked hard to sensitise her body to sense the vibrations and sounds of music through different parts of her body and never looked back. With her persistent efforts, she made it to the Royal Academy of Music, London and bagged the most prestigious awards. Her sincere devotion to her art has given percussion a new place on the international stage.

Bismillah Khan, like Evelyn, was dedicated to his art and attained greatest heights as a shehnai player. He, too worked diligently and transformed the shehnai into a classical instrument. He added enormously to what he had inherited by widening the range of the shehnai. He invented many new raagas.

Starting with playing in the temples of Benaras and on the banks of Ganga, he achieved international acclaim. His hard work enabled him to win the most prestigious awards in India and in the world. Thus, the lives of both Evelyn Glennie and Bismillah Khan are perfect examples of how dedicated efforts and persistent hard work lead to grand achievements.

The Sound of Music Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill unpleasant sound. Pungi became the generic name for dreaded noisemakers. Few had thought that it would one day be revived. A barber of a family of professional musicians, who had access to the royal palace, decided to improve the tonal quality of the pungi.

(a) Why did the Emperor Aurangzeb ban the pungi?
Answer:
He banned the pungi because it had a shrill and unpleasant sound

(b) How was the pungi revived?
Answer:
The pungi was revived after its tonal quality was improved.

(d) What was its new name? Why?
Answer:
The pungi s new name was shehnai. It was played in the Shah’s (Emperor’s) chambers by a nai (barber).

Question 2.
Few had thought that it would one day be revived. A barber of a family ofprofessional musicians, who had access to the royal palace, decided to improve the tonal quality of the pungi.

(a) What does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer:
It refers to a reeded musical instrument called the pungi.

(b) Why did ‘it’ need to be revived?
Answer:
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had banned the pungi as he found its sound to be shrill and unpleasant. Therefore, it needed to be revived.

(c) Why did the barber have an interest in ‘it’?
Answer:
The barber hailed from a family of professional musicians. That is why he had interest in the reeded musical instrument, the pungi.

(d) Did he succeed in improving ‘it’? If yes, how?
Answer:
Yes, he succeeded in improving the tonal quality of the pungi. He took a reed or a pipe with natural hollow stem which was wider and longer than the pungi. He made seven holes in it. When he played on it, closing and opening some of these holes, it produced soft and melodious music.

Question 3.
As the story goes, since it was first played in the Shah’s chambers and was played by a nai (barber), the instrument was named the shehnai.

(a) What does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer:
‘It’ refers to the shehnai – a musical instrument, made with a hollow stem with seven holes in it.

(b) What is the significance of the instrument being played in the royal court?
Answer:
The pungi had been banned by the emperor Aurangzeb in the royal residence. Therefore, concerts of the shehnai in the royal court made it a significant instrument.

(c) How is a shehnai different from a pungi ?
Answer:
A shehnai is a pipe with a natural hollow that is longer and broader than a pungi. It has seven holes on the body of the pipe.

(d) Where was the instrument traditionally played?
Answer:
The instrument was traditionally played in temples and at weddings.

Question 4.
Till recently it was used only in temples and weddings. The credit for bringing this instrument onto the classical stage goes to Ustad Bismillah Khan.

(a) Which instrument is being referred to as ‘it’ in the extract?
Answer:
The instrument being referred to as ‘it’ in the extract is the shehnai.

(b) When and where was ‘it’ generally played? Why?
Answer:
The sounds of shehnai were so melodious that they were considered to be auspicious. Therefore, it was played in temples and weddings.

(c) What was the naubat? Where was it played?
Answer:
Naubat was the name given to the traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. The shehnai was part of these nine instruments.

(d) How did Bismillah Khan bring the shehnai to the classical stage?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan did a great service to shehnai as it came to be regarded as an instrument of classical music because of the new melodies produced by him.

Question 5.
As a five-year old, Bismillah Khan played gilli-danda near a pond in the ancient estate of Dumraon in Bihar. He would regularly 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, a prize given by the local Maharaja.

(a) Where did Bismillah Khan grow up?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan grew up in Dumraon in Bihar.

(b) How did Bismillah Khan spend his childhood?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan spent his childhood playing gilli-danda and singing in the temple.

(c) Why did Bismillah Khan go to the nearby Bihariji temple daily?
Answer:
He used to visit the temple daily to sing the Bhojpuri Chaita for which he was given a big laddu by the local maharaja.

(d) Which musical instrument did Bismillah Khan play? From whom did he learn it?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan played the shehnai. He learnt to play it from his maternal uncle, Ali Bux.

Question 6.
For years to come the temple of Balaji and Mangala Maiya and the banks of the Ganga became the young apprentice’s favourite haunts where he could practise in solitude. The flowing waters of the Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent raagas that were earlier considered to be beyond the range of the shehnai.

(a) Who does “the young apprentice” refer to?
Answer:
“The young apprentice” refers to Bismillah Khan.

(b) Why is he referred to as the young apprentice?
Answer:
An apprentice is one someone who has agreed to work for a skilled person for a particular period of time and often for low payment, in order to leam that person’s skills. He is referred to as the young apprentice because from a very young age he had been getting lessons in playing the shehnai from his Uncle, Ali Bux.

(c) What kind of impact did the waters of the Ganga have on ‘him ‘?
Answer:
The waters of the Ganga inspired him to improvise the old raagas and invent new ones for the shehnai.

(d) How did he widen the range of the shehnai?
Answer:
There were certain raagas or musical notations which were considered to be outside the range of the shehnai. He modified those raagas and invented and played new ones on the shehnai and made its range wider.

Question 7.
When India gained Independence on August 15, 1947, Bismillah Khan became the first Indian to greet the nation with his Shehnai. He poured his heart out into Raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience which included Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who later gave his famous Tryst with Destiny speech.

(a) Who was the first Indian to greet the nation?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan was the first Indian to greet the nation with his Shehnai on 15th August 1947.

(b) What was the occasion? Which raaga did he play on the occasion?
Answer:
He played Raag Kafi just before Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech declaring India’s independence.

(c) Why was he chosen to play on the occasion?
Answer:
He was chosen to play on the occasion as he played upon the shehnai, the music of which is considered auspicious in India.

(d) Explain the expression: “He poured his heart out.”
Answer:
The expression implies that the music played on the shehnai came from the depths of the heart of Bismillah Khan who, as a true patriot, was excited at the declaration of the independence of India.

Question 8.
Despite this huge success in the celluloid world, Bismillah Khan’s ventures in film music were limited to two: Vijay Bhatt’s Gunj Uthi Shehnai and Vikram Srinivas’s Kannada venture, Sanadhi Apanna. “Ijust can’t come to terms with the artificiality and glamour of the film world, ” he says with emphasis.

(a) What is meant by celluloid world? Why is it so called?
Answer:
The term celluloid world refers to the film world because celluloid is a name for film used in shooting movies. Because of its use in making films, this term came to stand for movies in general.

(b) What did Bismillah Khan do in the celluloid world?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan provided music for two films.

(c) Which two characteristics of the film world did he dislike?
Answer:
He disliked the artificiality and glamour of the film world.

(d) What do you leam about his character from this incident?
Answer:
It indicates that truthfulness and simplicity were two significant traits of Bismillah Khan’s character.

Question 9.
A student of his once wanted him to head a shehnai school in the U.S.A., and the student promised to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples there.

(a) Why did Bismillah Khan’s student want of him?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan’s student wanted him to shift to USA and head a shehnai school there.

(b) What did he promise to do?
Answer:
He promised to recreate the atmosphere of Benaras in the USA by building similar temples as the ones in Benaras there.

(c) What was Bismillah Khan’s reply?
Answer:
Bismillah Khan refused to accept the offer as he did not wish to leave the Ganga.

(d) What do you leam about him from this?
Answer:
It reveals that Bismillah Khan was a true patriot, who passionately loved the Ganga and never wanted to live away from it.