Chapter 2: The Sound of Music Poem: Wind

1. The school sports team hopes to win the competition.

2. We all want to succeed in our lives.

3. They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother to take care of the child.

4. The authorities permitted us to perform the dance in the stadium.

5. A musician decided to play the music in front of an audience.

II. From the text on Bismillah Khan, find the words and phrases that match these definitions and write them down. The number of the paragraph where you will find the words/phrases has been given for you in brackets.

1. the home of royal people (1) ________

2. the state of being alone (5) ________

3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2) ________

4. to do something not done before (5) ________

5. without much effort (13) ________

1. the home of royal people (1) royal residence

2. the state of being alone (5) solitude

3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2) indispensable

4. to do something not done before (5) invent

5. without much effort (13) effortlessly

6. quickly and in large quantities (9) thick and fast

III. Tick the right answer.

1. When something is revived, it (remains dead/lives again).

2. When a government bans something, it wants it (stopped/started).

3. When something is considered auspicious, (welcome it/avoid it).

4. When we take to something, we find it (boring/interesting).

5. When you appreciate something, you (find it good and useful/find it of no use).

6. When you replicate something, you do it (for the first time/for the second time).

1. When something is revived, it lives again.

2. When a government bans something, it wants it stopped.

3. When something is considered auspicious, welcome it.

4. When we take to something, we find it interesting.

5. When you appreciate something, you find it good and useful.

6. When you replicate something, you do it for the second time.

7. When we come to terms with something, it is no longer upsetting.

IV. Dictionary work

• The sound of the shehnai is auspicious.

• The auspicious sound of the shehnai is usually heard at marriages.

The adjective auspicious can occur after the verb be as in the first sentence, or before a noun as in the second. But there are some adjectives which can be used after the verb be and not before a noun. For example:

• Ustad Faiyaz Khan was overjoyed.

We cannot say: *the overjoyed man.

Consult your dictionary and complete the following table. The first one has been done for you.

Indispensable: Electronic gadgets have become indispensable to modern life.

Impressed: He was impressed by his friend’s speech.

Afraid: Raghav is afraid of dark.

Outdoor: Outdoor games are necessary for keeping yourself healthy.

Paternal: My paternal uncle lives in Mumbai.

Countless: There are countless stars in the sky.

Priceless: Children’s smiles are priceless.

Speaking

I. Imagine the famous singer Kishori Amonkar is going to visit your school. You have been asked to introduce her to the audience before her performance. How would you introduce her?

Answer: Do it yourself.

II. Use your notes on Kishori Amonkar to introduce her to an imaginary audience.

You may use one of the following phrases to introduce a guest:

I am honoured to introduce…/I feel privileged to introduce…/We welcome you…

Answer: I am honoured to introduce you to the finest female vocalist of her generation, Kishori Amonkar. She is a Padma Bhushan awardee who was born in 1931 to another great artist Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar. She is a singer besotted by the mysterious world of the ragas. She dissects them until the most subtle of shades emerge and re-emerge. She is highly inspired by the teachings of the Vedic sages. She has been bestowed with several significant awards – Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1985), the Padma Bhushan (1987), and one of the most prestigious awards in Indian Classical Music- Sangeet Samradhini Award (1997).

Writing

I. “If you work hard and know where you’re going, you’ll get there,” says Evelyn Glennie.

You have now read about two musicians, Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bismillah Khan. Do you think that they both worked hard? Where did they want to ‘go’?

Answer these questions in two paragraphs, one on each of the two musicians.

Yes, they both worked extremely hard. They wanted to pursue music as their career and achieve heights.

Evelyn Glennie is an inspiration to everyone. She became profoundly deaf by the time she was eleven years old. But, she did not let the disability become a hurdle in pursuing her career in music. She auditioned at the Royal Academy of Music in London when she was not even seventeen years old and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. In a field like music that’s entirely linked to listening, she began to sense music through different parts of her body. She brought percussion to the front of the orchestra. She was awarded with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Soloist of the Year Award in the year 1991. She inspires people with her life and optimism.

Ustad Bismillah Khan belonged to a family of professional musicians. Shehnai was being used in temples and at marriages, but the credit of bringing the shehnai onto the classical stage goes to Ustad Bismillah Khan. He took to music in the early years of his life. At the age of three, he was quite fascinated watching his uncles play the shehnai. On the day of  India’s independence, he was the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. He was strongly bonded to Benaras and the holy Ganga. He was awarded India’s highest civilian award – the Bharat Ratna.

Access Answers to NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 2 Poem Wind