The Sound of Music
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Evelyn was sixteen year old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Her deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old and it was confirmed when she was eleven.
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Percussionist Ron Forbes helped Evelyn to continue with music. He began by tuning 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.
2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
2. Evelyn, with a hectic international schedule, gives solo performances at regular concerts. Apart from these, she gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also accords high priority to classes for young musicians.
III. Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Evelyn heard music by sensing the notes in different parts of her body. When Ron Forbes tuned two drums to different notes and asked her to sense the sound without using her ears, she realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower drum from the waist down. She learnt how to open her mind and body to sounds and vibrations.
It was sheer determination and hard work. When she played the xylophone, she could sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she could feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removed her shoes so that the vibrations could pass through her bare feet and up her legs. She herself said that music poured in through every part of her body. It tingled in the skin, her cheekbones and even in her hair.
Part II - The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan
Answer these questions in 30 – 40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill and unpleasant sound. It became the generic name for reeded noisemakers.
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Shehnai is a pipe with a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than the pungi. It has seven holes on its body. When it is played, the closing and opening of some of the holes produces soft and melodious sounds.
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Traditionally, the shehnai was part of the traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. It was used only in temples and weddings. However, Ustad Bismillah Khan brought in the change by bringing it onto the classical stage.
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Bismillah Khan had accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad Music Conference at the age of fourteen. At the end of his recital, Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted his back and told him to work hard and he shall make it big in life. He got his big break with the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort. It was a historic day as India gained independence on that day. He became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. His audience included illustrious names such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not. He himself said that whenever he was in a foreign country, he kept yearning to see Hindustan.
7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Bismillah Khan immensely loved India, particularly Benaras and Dumraon. In his initial years, the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maiya, and the banks of River Ganga in Benaras became his favourite haunts where he could practice in peace and solitude. River Ganga’s flowing waters inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were once thought to be beyond the range of shehnai.
Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Evelyn was sixteen year old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Her deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old and it was confirmed when she was eleven.
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Percussionist Ron Forbes helped Evelyn to continue with music. He began by tuning 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.
2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
2. Evelyn, with a hectic international schedule, gives solo performances at regular concerts. Apart from these, she gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also accords high priority to classes for young musicians.
III. Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Evelyn heard music by sensing the notes in different parts of her body. When Ron Forbes tuned two drums to different notes and asked her to sense the sound without using her ears, she realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower drum from the waist down. She learnt how to open her mind and body to sounds and vibrations.
It was sheer determination and hard work. When she played the xylophone, she could sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she could feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removed her shoes so that the vibrations could pass through her bare feet and up her legs. She herself said that music poured in through every part of her body. It tingled in the skin, her cheekbones and even in her hair.
Part II - The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan
Answer these questions in 30 – 40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill and unpleasant sound. It became the generic name for reeded noisemakers.
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Shehnai is a pipe with a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than the pungi. It has seven holes on its body. When it is played, the closing and opening of some of the holes produces soft and melodious sounds.
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Traditionally, the shehnai was part of the traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. It was used only in temples and weddings. However, Ustad Bismillah Khan brought in the change by bringing it onto the classical stage.
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Bismillah Khan had accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad Music Conference at the age of fourteen. At the end of his recital, Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted his back and told him to work hard and he shall make it big in life. He got his big break with the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort. It was a historic day as India gained independence on that day. He became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. His audience included illustrious names such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not. He himself said that whenever he was in a foreign country, he kept yearning to see Hindustan.
7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Bismillah Khan immensely loved India, particularly Benaras and Dumraon. In his initial years, the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maiya, and the banks of River Ganga in Benaras became his favourite haunts where he could practice in peace and solitude. River Ganga’s flowing waters inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were once thought to be beyond the range of shehnai.
Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not.
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