Chapter 2: The Sound of Music Poem: Wind

Answer: Evelyn was sixteen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music.

Answer: Her deafness was first noticed when she was just eight years old. It was confirmed by the time she was eleven.

II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).

Answer: Ron Forbes who was a percussionist, helped her to continue with music. He asked Evelyn not to listen through ears but to try to sense it some other way.

Answer: Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn performs in prisons and hospitals. She also takes classes for young musicians.

III. Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).

Answer: Evelyn hears music through different parts of her body. Ron Forbes asked her to try to sense the music some other way instead of ears. He started by tuning two big drums to varied notes.

Evelyn realized that she could feel the higher drum from her waist up and the lower drum from her waist down. Forbes kept repeating the same exercise, and then Evelyn realized that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body.

She says that when she plays the xylophone, she can feel the music passing up the stick into her fingertips. When she leans against the drums, she could sense the resonances flowing into her body. When she performs on a wooden platform, she removes her footwear so that the vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs.

Part II

The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

I. Tick the right answer.

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).

1. The pungi was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’

2. A barber transformed the pungi into a shehnai.

3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were professional musicians.

4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from Ali Bux.

5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to Afghanistan.

II. 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.

III. Answer these questions in 30–40 words.

Answer: Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi because of the shrill unpleasant sound of the instrument.

Answer: A shehnai’s stem is hollow, longer and broader than that of a pungi. Shehnai has holes in its body.

Answer: Traditionally, shehnai was a part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts. It was played in temples and at marriages.

Bismillah Khan took it onto the classical stage.

Answer: Bismillah Khan got his big break with the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.