The shehnai won't sound the same again. For long — when I say long I only refer to the last last 22 years of my existence as a conscious being — he has been my only link to shehnai. Even Hindi movies now don't play the instrument during the marriage scenes. I still remember the Sunday afternoon concerts on DD1 in which i first heard him play. Besides being a top notch musician, Ustad Bismillah Khan had an unending jest for life. May his soul rest in peace.
Shaikh saahab se rasm-o-raah na ki,
Shukr hai zindagi tabaah na ki,
Tujh ko dekhaa to ser-e-chashm hue,
Tujh ko chaahaa to aur chaah na ki,
Tere dast-e-sitam kaa ajz nahin,
Dil hi kaafir tha jis ne aah na ki,
The shab-e-hijr kaam aur bahut,
Ham ne fikr-e-dil-e-tabaah na ki,
Kaun qaatil bachaa hai shahar me 'Faiz,'
Jis se yaaron ne rasm-o-raah na ki...
--- Faiz Ahmed Faiz
1 comment:
Ustad Bismillah Khan for me personified humility and integrity. May his soul rest in peace.
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