Bismillah Khan

Early Life

Born on March21, 1916 Bismillah Khan belonged to a family of professional shehnai players. At the age of 6, he moved to Banaras where his material uncle Ali Bux introduced him to the nuances of playing the simple reed instrument, the shehnai. For years to comethe temple Balaji and Mangla Maiya and the banks of Ganga became the young apprentice's favourite haunt where he could practice for hours in solitude. The flowing water of Ganga inspired him to improvise and invent 'ragas' that were earlier considered to be beyond the range of shehnai