Only music left for me now: Bismillah Khan

NEW DELHI: Even at 87 when his health is failing, the sparkle in his eyes is not lost. But it is music that can truly transform his face with divine happiness. There''s little else that matters anymore.
Apart from his daily namaz. As for the rest, shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan is an angry man. And why not? On Saturday morning, members of a football association from Varanasi were outside his room in Hotel Tourist in Paharganj.
They wanted him to put in a word with the Football Federation of India for affiliation. But, the Bharat Ratna is not obliging. He says he has nothing to do with football, so why should he get involved.
Sitting on his bed with his shehnai for company, the maestro refuses to talk about anything but music. "There''s nothing else for me. I don''t keep track of what is happening to the rest of the world or about mundane chores of life. I don''t read newspapers or watch television. Unless I am unwell, I do riyaz everyday. That keeps me going."
But life was different 10 years back, says Mumtaz Hussain, Khan''s nephew. "He would get up at 4 am and prepare for namaz. Then, baba would start his training session with his pupils — mostly family members including his own children. This would continue till noon."
After lunch, he would rest for two hours, followed by evening prayers. Then would follow a ''must'' routine — he would talk to his friends from the neighbourhood for the next two or three hours. Anything from football to the cricket team''s performance to the latest political development would be discussed.
"He will listen most of the time. Even ask about the shamiana being put up in the neighbourhood to learn that a wedding was coming up. Or ask about the noise coming from two houses away the night before. On learning that it was a father and son quarrelling, his reaction would be la haul-walaqu-at (a typical exclamation of disgust)." Incidentally, Hussain plays the shehnai with him and grew up as part of the family.
No one dares to utter a word before him, except his adopted daughter, vocalist Soma Ghosh, with whom Khan performs a jugalbandi. "He''s always been his own person. He does what he feels is right because he believes he is what he is. He knows Allah''s blessings are on him. It has always been like this. If he''s angry, not just the family members, but the entire neighbourhood will be scared. Word would get around that ''Khan saab gusse mein hain''. The only one to speak would then be ''Khan saab"''.