Bismillah Khan was very fond of both India and Benaras. He often yearned to go back to India whenever he was in a foreign country. Also, while in Mumbai, he only thought of Varanasi and the holy Ganga.

The two instances where this love could be seen were –

1. When he turned down one of his student’s request to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.

2. When he completely rejected the idea of shifting to Pakistan, leaving Benaras by Shekhar Gupta.