What is Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar?

March 2, 2023

The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar would be given annually to young performers under the age of 40 who have shown exceptional skill. The age of the nominees would be calculated based on their age on April 1 of that year. The Yuva Puraskar will be granted in one of five areas, namely- music, dance, theatre, and puppetry, as well as contribution/scholarship in performing arts. No more than 33 Yuva Puraskar awards will be granted each year.

Who is Ustad Bismillah Khan?

Bismillah Khan was a popular Shenai musician. He lived between 1916 and 2006. He is known for his Hindustani Classical music. The legend is credited for taking the instrument to high status. His performances and concerts revived the forgotten Shenai and increased its reputation. Slowly, Shenai became the music of five-star hotels and business parties. Though Khan was a Muslim, he performed in both Hindu and Muslim functions.

The connection between Bismillah Khan and India’s independence day celebrations

The legend was selected to perform at the Red Fort when India celebrated its first independence. Since then, his music is played on television every year.

What is Shenai?

Shenai is a musical instrument that originated in India. It is made of wood. The sound of Shenai is believed to bring in sanctity and auspiciousness. The Shenai is very much similar to the Nadaswaram of South India.

What is the meaning of Ustad?

USTAD is a Persian word. However, it is used in different languages like Arabic, Punjabi, Kurdish, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Hindi, etc. The word means MASTER.

Persian is a subdivision of Indo-European languages.