Solution of Chapter 2. The Sound of Music (NCERT - Beehive Book)

Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each:

How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?

Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each:

When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?

Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph. (30-40 words)

Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?

Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph. (30-40 words)

Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.

Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100-150 words):

How does Evelyn hear music?

Tick the Right Answer.

1. The (shehnai, pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’

2. (Bismillah khan, a barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.

3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).

4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux, Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).

5. Bismillah khan’s first trip abroad was to(Afghanistan, USA, Canada)

Find the words in the text which show Ustad Bismillah Khan’s feelings about the items listed below. Then mark a tick (√) in the correct column. Discuss your answers in class.

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

How is a Shehnai different from a pungi?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?

Answer these questions in 30-40 words:

Find at least two things in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.

Look at these sentences.

● Evelyn was determined to live a normal life.

● Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers.

The italicized parts answer the questions: “What was Evelyn determined to do?” and

“What did Evelyn manage to do?” They begin with a to-verb (to live, to conceal).

Complete the following sentences. Beginning with a to-verb, try to answer the questions in brackets.

1. The school sports team hopes………………………... (What does it hope to do?)

2. We all want ………………… (What do we all want to do?)

3. They advised the hearing-impaired child’s mother ………………………… (What did they advise her to do?)

4. The authorities permitted us to ………………… (What did the authorities permit us to do?)

5. A musician decided to ……………………… (What did the musician decide to do?)

From the text on Bismillah Khan, find the words and phrases that match these definitions and write them down. The number of the paragraph where you will find the words/phrases has been given for you in brackets.

1. the home of royal people (1)…………………..

2. the state of being alone (5)……………………

3. a part which is absolutely necessary (2)………………….

4. to do something not done before (5)….......................

5. without much effort (13)…………………

6. quickly and in large quantities (9)…………………and……………………..

Tick the right answer

1. When something is revived, it (remains dead /lives again).

2. When a government bans something, it wants it (stopped /started).

3. When something is considered auspicious, (welcome it /avoid it).

4. When we take to something, we find it (boring /interesting).

5. When you appreciate something, you (find it good and useful / find it of no use).

6. When you replicate something, you do it (for the first time / for the second time).

7. When we come to terms with something, it is (still upsetting /no longer upsetting).

“If you work hard and know where you’re going, you’ll get there,” says Evelyn Glennie.

You have now read about two musicians. Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bismillah Khan. Do you think that they both worked hard? Where did they want to “go”?

Answer these questions in two paragraphs, one on each of two musicians.

What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your language, if you know them)

What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

What should we do to make friends with the wind?

What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

How does the poet speak to the wind - in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “Crumbling lives.” What is your response to this? Is it like the poet’s?

● The sound of the shehnai is auspicious.

● The auspicious sound of the shehnai is usually heard at marriages.

The adjective auspicious can occur after the verb be as in the first sentence, or before a noun as in the second. But these are some adjectives which can be used after the verb be and not before a noun. For example:

● Ustad Faiyaz Khan was overjoyed.

We cannot say:*the overjoyed man.

Consult your dictionary and complete the following table. The first one has been done for you.

Use these words in phrases or sentences of your own: