Short Questions
1. Who is Evelyn Glennie?
→ She is a world-famous multi-percussionist who is deaf.
2. When was Evelyn’s deafness first noticed?
→ It was first noticed when she was eight years old.
3.When was Evelyn’s deafness confirmed?
→ It was confirmed when she was eleven.
4.Who helped Evelyn to continue with music?
→ Percussionist Ron Forbes helped her.
5.How did Evelyn sense music?
→ She felt music through different parts of her body.
6.At what age did Evelyn join the Royal Academy of Music?
→ She joined it at the age of seventeen.
7.What award did Evelyn receive in 1991?
→ She received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Soloist of the Year Award.
8.What does Evelyn do for young musicians?
→ She gives high priority to classes for young musicians.
9.Who transformed the pungi into a shehnai?
→ A barber transformed it into a shehnai.
10.Where was Bismillah Khan born?
→ He was born in Dumraon, Bihar.
11.Who taught Bismillah Khan to play the shehnai?
→ His maternal uncle, Ali Bux, taught him.
12.Where did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
→ At the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938.
13.When did Bismillah Khan play at the Red Fort?
→ He played on 15 August 1947, India’s Independence Day.
14.Which was Bismillah Khan’s first foreign trip?
→ His first trip was to Afghanistan.
15.Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to settle in the U.S.A.?
→ Because he could not leave Benaras and the River Ganga.
Long Questions
1. How did Evelyn Glennie learn to hear music without hearing?
→ Ron Forbes taught her to feel music through vibrations. She sensed different notes in different parts of her body. She felt the higher drum from the waist up and the lower one from the waist down. She opened her body and mind to sounds and vibrations.
2.What was Ron Forbes’s role in Evelyn’s life?
→ He recognized her potential and encouraged her to feel the music instead of hearing it. His training helped Evelyn discover new ways to sense sound through her body.
3.What are Evelyn’s achievements in music?
→ She became a top percussionist, mastering thousands of instruments. She performed all over the world, received awards, and inspired many deaf people to follow their dreams.
4.What lesson does Evelyn Glennie’s life teach us?
→ Her life teaches that determination and hard work can overcome any disability. She proved that nothing is impossible if we have courage and dedication.
5.Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
→ Because it had a shrill and unpleasant sound that disturbed people in the royal court.
6.How is the shehnai different from the pungi?
→ The shehnai has a longer and broader pipe with seven holes, producing a soft and melodious sound unlike the harsh sound of the pungi.
7.How did Bismillah Khan bring the shehnai to the classical stage?
→ Earlier, the shehnai was played only in temples and weddings. Bismillah Khan played it at concerts and made it a part of classical music.
8.Describe Bismillah Khan’s love for India and Benaras.
→ He loved India deeply and refused to live abroad. He said he could not live without the Ganga and the atmosphere of Benaras and Dumraon.
9.What honours and awards did Bismillah Khan receive?
→ He received the Padmashri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and Bharat Ratna. He also performed in many countries and was respected worldwide.
10.What message do we learn from the lives of Evelyn Glennie and Bismillah Khan?
→ Both showed that success comes from hard work, passion, and love for one’s art. They proved that real talent has no limits.
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