CBSE Class 9 English Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing Worksheet

(MOMENTS)

Part I - Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It)
By Deborah Cowley

Introduction

The title of this story itself is very interesting. Here the author says Evelyn Glennie listens to sound without hearing it. Now we all wonder, we are confused. How can you listen to sound when you can’t hear? So, this is something we will discover – that how Evelyn Glennie was able to listen to sound although she could not hear.

Evelyn Glennie is a multi-percussionist. She can play about 1000 instruments with perfection. She listens to sound without hearing it. Evelyn fought against a physical disability & became a source of inspiration for thousands of disabled persons. She was profoundly deaf. She was 11 years old when it was discovered that she had the hearing disability. She wanted to pursue her career in music but her teachers discouraged her, it was Ron Forbes who recognized her potential & supported her in achieving her goal. He advised her not to listen through her ears but try to sense & feel it in some other way. Soon she was excited. She felt the vibrations of the higher drum from the waist above & the lower drum from the waist down. Later she realized that she could feel the vibrations in every part of her body. These tingle in her skin, her cheekbones and even in hair. She had learned to open her body & mind to the sounds and vibrations. After that, she never looked back.

Evelyn joined the prestigious royal academy of music & scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She worked hard with strong determination. She got right to the top. In 1991, she was presented with the royal philharmonic society’s prestigious soloist of the year award. Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn gives free concerts in prisons & hospitals. She is a shining inspiration for deaf children. She has accomplished more than most people twice her age. She has earned a name in the orchestra. She has inspired those who are handicapped made them believe that if Evelyn could do that, why not they.

Part II - The Shehnai Of Bismillah Khan: This lesson is an effort to understand Indian classical musicians and instruments especially the origin of shehnai and Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. Shehnai replaced pungi which had an unpleasant sound. Pungi’s tonal quality was improved by a nai (barbar) of sah (emperor Aurangzeb); hence it was named as shehnai.

The lesson beautifully deals with the early life of Bismillah khan in Dumraon in Bihar. His grandfather was a shehnai-Nawaz of the bhojpur king’s court. Bismillah Khan took to music early in life when he was 3 years old in the company of his maternal uncle. His life is a source of simplicity and communal harmony from the very beginning when he used to sing ‘ Chiata’ in Bihariji temple and practicing shehnai in Vishnu temple and Mangala Maiya temple of Varanasi. Bismillah khan got his big break with the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He also played shehnai on 15 August 1947 from Red Fort in presence of Pandit Nehru.

Bismillah khan gave many memorable performances both in India and abroad where he was honored with so many awards. He also gave music in two movies ‘Gunj Uthi shehnai’ and ‘Sanadhi Apanna”. He was so fond of his motherland India, Benaras, and the holy Ganga that he refused an offer to be the Head of Shehnai school in the USA. In 2001, Ustad Bismillah Khan was awarded India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. In the end, his life is a perfect example of the rich, cultural heritage of India, one that effortlessly accepts that a devout Muslim like him can very naturally play the shehnai at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

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

Question. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
Answer. She was 16 when she went for the audition of the Royal Academy of Music.

Question. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Answer. Her deafness was first noticed when she was eight years old. When she turned 11, her deafness was confirmed.

Question. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
Answer. It was a percussionist named Ron Forbes who spotted her potential in music. Everybody else discouraged her form pursuing music as they thought it impossible for a deaf person to learn music. Ron Forbes advised her to feel the music instead of listening it. He said her to feel it thorough her whole body.

Question. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Answer. Evelyn performs at music concerts. Apart from that she also performs at prison and hospitals. Through music she wants to spread the message of love and peace to prisoners and sick people.

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

Question. How does Evelyn hear music?
Answer. Evelyn hears music through her whole body. In fact she just feels the music. She tries to feel the vibrations which create sound. While playing drums she uses her upper and lower body to feel vibrations from different types of drums. While playing xylophone she feels the music pulsating through her fingers. When she has to perform on wooden floors, she removes her shoes.This enables her to feel the vibrations through her bare feet. She even feels the music through her hair.

Part-II The Shehnai of Bismillah Khan

Answer these questions in 30–40 words

Question. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
Answer. The pungi had an unpleasant shrill sound. Due to its irritating quality Aurangzeb banned the playing of pungi.

Question. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
Answer. Shehnai is the refined version of pungi. A barber, who was a regular visitor to the king’s palace, used a naturally hollow stems to put pungi’s reed into and made shehnai. Shehanai had pleasant sound unlike pungi. As it was played by a barber (nai in Hindi) before the king (shah in Urdu) so it was given the name Shahnai.

Question. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
Answer. Traidtionally the Shehnai was played in temples and during wedding ceremonies, as it was considered an auspicious instrument. Bismillah Khan brought Shehnai into mainstream music and changed the way people perceived shehnai.

Question. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
Answer. In 1938, when All India Radio started, Bismillah Khan got the big break of performing for the All India Radio.

Question. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
Answer. On 15th August 1947 Bismillah Khan played shehnai near the Red Fort in Delhi. It was the day when India became an independent nation. The gathering was full of eminent luminaries like Nehru and Gandhi.

Question. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
Answer. Bismillah Khan was in love with Benares and the Ganges flowing there. He used to get inspiration from the ambience of numerous ghats in Varanasi. He knew that he won’t be able to get that ambience in the USA. So, he refused to start a shehnai school in the USA.

ACTIVITY- MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE INDIAN INSTRUMENTS USED IN MUSIC.
PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY--WRITE A SHORT PARAGRAPH ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE INDIAN MUSICIAN.

Read the passage and choose the correct answer that follows:

YOUUntil two years ago, Clearing, Illinois was a peaceful suburb of Chicago. But residents grew anxious .They noticed alarmed teenagers on the streets, giving gang signals and shouting at passing cars. Then came burglars and graffiti messages on storefronts. By the time local authorities realized they had a gang problem, it was too late. Last December, two thirteen year old girls were shot outside their school as they sat in a car with two members of the local gang, the Ridgeway Lords.

Fifty states have recently passed laws that allow youth aged 14-17 to be tried in courts as adults. In about 25 states they have passed laws to punish parents for their children’s behaviour. And in 146 of the nation’s largest cities, they have imposed curfews to reduce violence by teenagers. When you look at the noticeable rise of violent crime among young people, it’s easy to understand the concern. Over the past decade, there has been a decline in adult murders in the US while murder rates have increased for youths aged 14-17.

For young offenders who aren’t sent to prison, the punishments vary: some are ordered to perform community service, others are placed in job training programs, still others sent to Youth Prisons. But the Republicans in Congress want to reverse a basic principle of juvenile justice: the separation of young criminals from hardened adult criminals in prison. The reasons are partly financial- to reduce the cost of having separate prisons and partly psychological - to end what Republicans consider as society’s openly protective attitude towards young criminals.

A. Clearing is located in_______
a. Spain
b. Great Britain
c. Australia
d. USA

B. Residents were unhappy because________
a. taxes increased
b. Rents were too high
c. gangs came into the town
d. There were no facilities

C.What happened in December?
a. A policeman shot a young man
b. Criminality decreased
c. two girls were killed
d. few criminals were released

D.What is the Ridgeway Lords?
a. a prison
b. A famous band
c. a gang
d. A hotel

E. The word ‘juvenile’ means
a. adult
b. election
c. Childish
d. None of these