Ustad Bismillah Khan Sahib playing the shehnai

The legendary Indian shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan Sahib is the third classical musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna (in 2001), the highest civilian honour in India. Bismillah Khan is perhaps single handedly responsible for making the shehnai, a famous classical instrument. Image File history File links Bismillah. ... The shehnai is an aerophonic instrument which is thought to bring good luck, and as a result, is widely used in North India for marriages and processions. ... Bharat Ratna is Indias highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The shehnai is an aerophonic instrument which is thought to bring good luck, and as a result, is widely used in North India for marriages and processions. ...

Khan was born on 21 March 1916. His ancestors were court musicians in the princely state of Dumraon in Bihar and he trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux `Vilayatu’, a shehnai player attached to Benares's Vishwanath Temple. He brought the shehnai to the center stage of Indian music with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. It was Khan Sahib who poured his heart out into Raga Kafi from the Red Fort on the eve of India’s first Republic Day ceremony. March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagari) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ... Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Raga (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (Anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ... There used to be a redirect from the Red Fort in Delhi to Agra Fort in Agra. ...

Khan has honorary doctorates from the Banaras Hindu University and Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. He has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, the Tansen Award of the Madhya Pradesh government and also the prestigious Padma Vibhushan. Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U.) is a major university located in Benaras, India. ... Established by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, the Visva-Bharati University, located at Santiniketan, West Bengal in India is a central university and an institution of national importance. ... Santiniketan is a small town in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, and approximately 180 kilomenters north of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). ... Madhya Pradesh (मध्य प्रदेश) is a state in central India. ... The Padma Vibhushan is Indias second highest civilian honour. ...

Despite his fame, Khan's lifestyle retains its old world Benares charm. His chief mode of transport is still the cycle rickshaw. A man of tenderness, he believes in remaining private, and that musicians are supposed to be heard and not seen. He is a pious Shia Muslim and also, like many Indian musicians regardless of creed, a devotee of Mother Saraswati. Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Rickshaw in Delhi, 2005 Velotaxi (Germany), 2005 Asian Rickshaw, 2005 Cycles Maximus, UK A velotaxi, also known as a pedicab, cycle rickshaw or trishaw (from tricycle rickshaw), is a human-powered vehicle for hire, usually with one or two seats for carrying passengers in addition to the driver. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... Saraswati, goddess of education Saraswati is the first of the three great goddesses of Hinduism, the other two being Lakshmi and Durga. ...