02. The Sound of Music
Part I
Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It
Thinking About The Text
I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
Q1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Ans - Evelyn was 17 years old when she went to the Royal academy of music in London.
Q2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Ans - Her deafness was first noticed when she was about eight years old. It was confirmed when she was 11 years old.
II. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30–40 words).
Q1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Ans - Pursussionist Ron Fobes helped her to continue with music. He began by turning two large drums to a different notes. He asked her not to listen to those drums through her ears but try to sense the sound of those drums in some other manner.
Q2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Ans - Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals . She gives much preference to classes for young musicians. She is doing it to give inspiration to the deaf children.
III. Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100–150 words).
Q1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Ans - When Evelyn was 17 years old she joined Royal Academy of Music in London. She was not able to listen music because of her deafness. But she was not going to give up. Evelyn determined to lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music. One day she notice a girl playing a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it too. Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Fobes spotted her potential. He began by tunning two large drums to a different notes. “Don’t listen through your ears,” he would say, “try to sense it some other way.” Says Evelyn, “Suddenly she realised she could fell the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist down.” Fobes repeated the exercise, and soon Evelyn discovered that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body. “she said, she had learnt to open her mind and body to sounds and vibrations.” The rest was her sheer determination and hard work.
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).
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).
Ans –
1. Pungi
2. A barber
3. Professional musicians
4. Ali Bux
5. 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.
feelings about
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
Ans -
1. Positive
2. Neutral
3. Negative
4. Positive
5. Positive
6. Positive
7. Negative
III. Answer these questions in 30–40 words.
Q1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Ans – Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill unpleasant sound.
Q2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Ans – A Shehnai has a longer and broader pipe than a Pungi. Where as Pungi has seven holes on the body of the pipe.
Q3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Ans – In the past, the shehnai was a part of the naubat or traditional ensemble of nine
instruments found at royal courts. Till recently it was used only in temples and weddings. Bismillah Khan brought it on to the classical stage.
Q4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Ans – When in 1938 All India Radio was opened in Lucknow, Bismillah got his big break. He often became an often- heard shehnai player on radia.
Q5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
Ans – When India gained independence on 15 August 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 Jawaharlala Nehru.
The event was historic because on that day India got his freedom from the Britishers.
Q6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Ans – Bismillah Khan didn’t want to leave India, Benaras and Dumrao. Due to it he refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. when one of his students desired so.
Q7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Ans – Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras both. Whenever he is out of India, he desires to she India. While in Mumbai, he thinks only of Benaras and river Ganga. These text tell us that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Thinking About Language
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?)
Ans –
1. to win the match
2. to succeed in life
3. to consult to a specialist
4. to play
5. to help deaf children
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) ________________________
6. quickly and in large quantities (9) _________and __________
Ans –
1. Royal Residence
2. Solitude
3. Indispensable
4. Invent
5. Effortlessly
6. 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).
7. When we come to terms with something, it is (still upsetting/no longer upsetting).
Ans –
1. Lives again
2. Stopped
3. Welcome it
4. Interesting
5. Find it good and useful
6. Second time
7. 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.
Look at these entries from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005)
adjective 1 [only before noun] adjective [ not before noun] not
(of people, especially two asleep (especially immediately
members of the same family) before or after sleeping ): to be
older: my elder brother • his half / fully awake; to be wide
elder sister 2 (the elder) used awake, I was still awake when
without a noun immediately after he came to bed.
it to show who is the older of two
before or after sb’s name to show
that they are the older of two
people who have the same name:
the elder Pitt • Pitt, the elder.
Consult your dictionary and complete the following table. The first one has been done for you.
adjective only before noun not before noun both before and after the verb be
indispensable ✔
impressed
afraid
outdoor
paternal
countless
priceless
Use these words in phrases or sentences of your own.
Ans –
adjective only before noun not before noun both before and after the verb be
indispensable ✔
impressed ✔ ✔
afraid ✔ ✔
outdoor ✔
paternal ✔
countless ✔
priceless ✔ ✔
Using these words in phrases or sentences.
Indisputable :- Ram made himself indispensable to the department.
Impressed : – I am very impressed with his art work.
Afraid :– Rakul is afraid of dogs.
Outdoor :- Children like to play outdoor.
Paternal :– She gave me a piece of paternal advice.
Countless :– They warned me countless time.
Priceless :– The palace is full of priceless pictures
Writing
“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
Ans –
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