The Sound of Music

Answer: Evelyn was seventeen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music.

Answer: Her deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old, while waiting to play the piano. It was confirmed when she was eleven years old, and her headmistress urged her parents to take her to a specialist.

Answer: Percussionist Ron Forbes helped her to continue with music. He began by tuning two large drums to different notes and told her, "Don't listen through your ears, try to sense it some other way." He repeated the exercise until Evelyn could sense different notes in different parts of her body.

Answer: Evelyn performs at regular concerts, and also gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She also gives high priority to classes for young musicians.

Answer: Evelyn hears music through her body. She feels the vibrations of music through every part of her body. It tingles in her skin, cheekbones, and even in her hair. When she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removes her shoes so the vibrations pass through her bare feet and up her legs. She has learned to open her mind and body to sounds and vibrations.

Answer: pungi

Answer: A barber

Answer: professional musicians

Answer: Ali Bux

Answer: Afghanistan

Answer: Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi because it had a shrill, unpleasant sound.

Answer: A shehnai has a longer and broader hollow stem than the pungi, with seven holes on its body. It produces soft and melodious sounds, unlike the shrill sound of the pungi.

Answer: Traditionally, the shehnai was played only in temples and at weddings. Bismillah Khan brought the shehnai onto the classical stage and gave it international recognition.

Answer: Bismillah Khan got his big break in 1938 when the All India Radio opened in Lucknow. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.

Answer: Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort on 15 August 1947. The event was historic because it was India's Independence Day, and he was the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai.

Answer: Bismillah Khan refused because he was deeply attached to Benaras, the holy Ganga, and Dumraon. He asked if the student could transport the River Ganga as well, showing his love for India.

Answer: (i) When asked to start a school in the U.S.A., he asked if the student could transport the River Ganga. (ii) He said, "Whenever I am in a foreign country, I keep yearning to see Hindustan. While in Mumbai, I think of only Benaras and the holy Ganga."

Answer:

• (i) The school sports team hopes to win the match.
• (ii) We all want to succeed in life.
• (iii) They advised the hearing-impaired child's mother to take her to a specialist.
• (iv) The authorities permitted us to organize the cultural program.
• (v) A musician decided to learn a new instrument.

Answer:

• (1) royal residence (para 1)
• (2) solitude (para 5)
• (3) indispensable (para 2)
• (4) improvise (para 5)
• (5) effortlessly (para 13)
• (6) thick and fast (para 9)