I. Tick the right answer.
1. The (shehnai, pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
Solution :
Evelyn was seventeen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
2. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
Solution :
Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual. Her deafness was first noticed by her mother when Evelyn was eight years old. She was once waiting to play the piano. When her name was called, she did not move. That was when her mother realized that Evelyn had not heard anything.
For quite a while Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from her friends and teachers. Her deafness was confirmed when she was eleven. Her marks had deteriorated and her headmistress had urged her parents to take her to a specialist. It was then discovered that gradual nerve damage had severely impaired her hearing.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).
Solution :
While most of her teachers discouraged her percussionist Ron Forbes was the first person to notice Evelyn’s potential and helped her continue with her music. He began by tuning two large drums to different notes. He asked Evelyn not to listen through her ears but to try and sense the sound in some other manner.
Suddenly Evelyn realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower drum from the waist down. Forbes repeated the exercise and Evelyn realized that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body.
4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux,
Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).
Solution :
Evelyn always delighted her audience. She had toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra. She auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She gradually moved from orchestral work to solo performances.
She had a very hectic international schedule. Apart from the regular concerts, she gave free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She gave high priority to classes for young musicians and was a shining inspiration for deaf children.
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).
Solution :
Evelyn heard music by sensing the notes in different parts of her body. When Ron Forbes tuned two drums to different notes and asked her to sense the sound without using her ears, she realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower drum from the waist down.
She learnt how to open her mind and body to sounds and vibrations. It was sheer determination and hard work. When she played the xylophone, she could sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she could feel the resonances flowing into her body.
On a wooden platform, she removed her shoes so that the vibrations could pass through her bare feet and up her legs. She herself said that music poured in through every part of her body. It tingled in the skin, her cheekbones and even in her hair.