Ustad Bismillah Khan was born on 21st March in Dumraon (Bihar). His parents, Paigambar Khan and Mitthan, had first named him Qamaruddin. The story goes that his grandfather (Paigambar Khan’s father), Rasool Bux Khan, on seeing the infant Qamaruddin exclaimed “Bismillah!” — and the name stuck. He was a Shehnai Maestro and had a very important role in popularizing the musical instrument in India. For his contribution towards Indian classical music he was awarded India’s highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna by the Indian Government in 2001 and he became only the third musician to receive this award after MS Subbulakshmi and Ravi Shankar. Other than Bharat Ratan, Bismillah Khan — was awarded Padma Bhushan (1968), Padma Vibhushan (1980) and the Padma Shri (1961).

Bismillah Khan came from a family of court musicians. While Paigambar Khan played the shehnai in the court of Maharaja Keshav Prasad Singh, Rasool Bux Khan was a shehnai player in the Bhojpur court. When he was six years old, Qamaruddin moved to Varanasi. He was trained in the shehnai by his uncle, Ali Baksh, who used to perform in Varanasi’s Vishwanath Temple.

Bismillah Khan played the shehnai in the Kannada film ‘Sanaadi Appanna’. He also played the small role of a musician in ‘Jalsaghar’, the 1958 film by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

He remained rooted to Banaras (Varanasi), and rejected an offer to go to the United States, reportedly saying that he would only go if he could take the river Ganga with him!

Besides being a great musician, Bismillah Khan became a symbol of India’s pluralism. In Banaras he often prayed by the banks of the holy Ganga and dedicated his music to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. A few years before his death, he said in an interview:

“I spent a major part of my life worshipping in Banaras temples including Balaji, Mangala Devi and others. If you have faith in God you simply touch the stone of the temple. You will feel a great power. There is no religion, or caste. You call it religion, I say it’s music, you call it caste, I say it’s sur. Music is my religion, music is my caste.”

Bismillah Khan — died on 21 August 2006 following a cardiac arrest. The Government of India declared a day of national mourning on his death. His body along with a Shehnai was buried at Fatemaan burial ground of old Varanasi under a neem tree with a 21-gun salute from the Indian Army.