Bismillah Khan learned to play the shehnai, a reed wind instrument traditionally used in weddings and temple ceremonies in North India, from his uncle, who was employed as a court musician. At the time, the shehnai was considered a folk or ceremonial instrument rather than one suited for serious classical concert performance.
He spent decades developing a level of technical and emotional depth on the instrument that had rarely been attempted before, gradually earning the shehnai a place on the same classical concert stages as instruments like the sitar and sarod, which had far longer histories of formal concert recognition.
On the eve of India's independence in August 1947, he was chosen to perform live from the Red Fort in Delhi as part of the nation's first Independence Day celebrations, a broadcast moment that introduced his particular style of shehnai playing to a national audience for the first time.
He continued performing for decades afterward, becoming so closely associated with his instrument that he is widely credited with single-handedly elevating the shehnai's status in Indian classical music, and in 2001 became only the third classical musician to receive the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.