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II
The article has touched one of the most visible aspects of corruption in the health and education departments. State-run institutions are the worst hit. Though the doctors are considered next to God, not all are fair and just. Despite being paid non-practising allowance, they do private practice at home. Similarly, chemists run shops on the certificates of other persons, Even veterinary doctors run dog clinics and earn thousands of rupees. Where as poor villagers in the countryside are left to fend for themselves. One can lose sight of the school and college teachers. They show their skills somewhere else and not in their institutions. Those who take tuitions cannot do justice to their genuine students. All this is happening because of the poor and ineffective political leadership. These evils should be curbed and the culprits be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law. RAJESH VASHISHT, Bathinda
III
Clearly, corruption is deep-rooted in Indian society. But it is doubtful if we can ever remove it. The writer has given some instances of corruption over a period of a fortnight or so, but there are innumerable examples almost every day in each and every government department! And if don’t take firm and drastic measures, corruption will eat up the whole system one day. GURCHARAN KAUR
THIND, Ludhiana
In memoriam
With the death of Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, the country has lost a dazzling beauty who was not only vivacious and graceful but also a princess of the poor. She did a lot to bring the women of her region out of the purdah system.She worked for the common people and the underprivileged. She never complained against Indira Gandhi who had put her in jail. When she died, she carried with her the people’s love and loyalty. May her soul rest in peace!n MULTAN SINGH
PARIHAR, Jalari (Hamirpur)
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Shehanshah of shehnai
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi had once said that to reach the pinnacle of perfection in an art one needs the grace of God, diligence, constant practice and above all, the piety of soul. Having all the aforesaid virtues along with tonnes of humility, Ustaad Bismillah Khan, whose third death anniversary fell on August 21, ruled over the hearts of music lovers for decades. He was a great musician and a man of high ideals. Shehanshah-e-Shehnai Ustaad Bismillah Khan was born on March 21, 1916, at Dumrao, a sleepy village in Bihar. He was the youngest son of great shehnai player Paigambar Baksh. Bismillah Khan used to be called Kareemudin in his childhood. Shehnai was his favourite musical instrument childhood. He used to accompany his father and elder brother to the Banke-Bihari Temple in his native village and the three of them enjoyed playing heart-capturing tunes on shehnai there. A few years later, Bismillah Khan went to Varanasi to live with his uncle Ali Baksh. Here he very often visited the shores of the Ganga and practised playing shehnai. His talent soon came to be recognised by the local people and he got a direct entry into the Naubatkhana of Balaji Temple in Varanasi where he revealed new depths of his talent to the audience. Bismillah Khan brought the shehnai out of royal gatherings or Naubatkhanas and let the common masses enjoy its enchanting tunes. He gave his first public performance when he was just 14 in Allahabad and it was a roaring success. He performed successfully not only in the country but in Europe, America, Canada, Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, Japan and Hungary. Music, for Bismillah Khan, was not a business like thing. It was rather “ibaadat” for him. Apart from being the maestro of classical music, he was extremely perfect in performing thumri, kajri, chaiti, hori, jhula and dadra too. Though he was the recipient of many prestigious awards and honours, he remained simple and sober all through his life. It was really the most memorable moment of his life when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited him to the Red Fort on August 15, 1947 and urged him to
perform. Indeed, he was a true Bharat Ratna. Prof PARAMJIT SINGH, Gurdaspur
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