Artists
Album Info
Release Date: 2008Label: Chhanda Dhara
Bismillah Khan made a valuable contribution to the world of music through the ‘shehnai’. For this, he was honoured with India’s highest civilian honour – the Bharat Ratna in 2001.Khan was a devout Muslim, yet performed at both Hindu and Muslim ceremonies and was considered a symbol of religious harmony. His fame was such that he was selected to perform for the ceremony at Delhi’s historic Red Fort as the Indian flag unfurled at the hour of India’s independence on August 15, 1947; his music was played on television every Independence Day.
His name was indelibly linked with the woodwind instrument, shehnai. While the shehnai had long held importance as a folk instrument played primarily schooled in traditional ceremonies, Khan is credited with elevating its status and bringing it to the concert stage.
Original name: Qamruddin Khan Born: March 21, 1916, Dumraon, Bihar and Orissa province, British India.
Died: August 21, 2006, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India (aged 90).