6

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

THE HISTORY and evolution of the musical instruments of any culture are
extremeBy important aspects of the music of that society. For, there exist no
actual auditory records of the music of ancient human groups, at least in many areas.
Scales and tunes have been nebulous, though a study of tribal and folk music alive
today can yield very fruitful evidence of evolution of music. Instruments, however.
are more tangibie and through them, not only the music but also many facets of the
material culture of an ethnic group can become clear. For instance, the wood used
in making a drum, the metal of a cymbal, the hair of a bow-all these provide guides
to the geographical distribution of the plants and animals available to the people of
aregion. Again, the migration of instruments traces the wanderings of human socie
ties Lmplements of music are also associated with variou_ taboos: it is often seen
that ouly soroe communities play certain instruments-in the villages of South India
nagassaran was played exclusively by barbers and in some districts of Orissa only
the ganda community beats the drums, while others dance and sing. Since many
instruments are associated with gods, they also get their share of worship and tote
mistic values. Such aspects, therefore, help us in the study of the social and religious
Customs of a people.
Ia India the contribution of various cultural groups to the general pool of
instru
ments is a very significant aspect of their history. For, the present civilization of
this iand is but a resultant of many a current of human activity. The tribal inhabi
tants of ancient times, some of whom are still with us, have their own part in this
drana. It issaid, for example, that the Savaras were the inventors of flute. The
Aryan inyaders brought with them venu (flute) and veena (harp) which, we know,
were used in vedic rituals. The yazh (harp) was a contribution of the
culture. Later on the mid-Western hordes which swept the country might have Dravidian
us instruments-or, at least, their names-ike sarangi, given
tabla, sitar and so on.
This migration has not been a one-way movement. From India
instruments have
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 53

travelled outside. What is known as the Grcater India provides uncquivocal evidence
to this. We know that Indonesia has received from this subcontinent much of its
rilualand culture, and along with them insiruments. Á notable example is the
ravanahasta vecna. A bowed instrument of the western areas of India, it is, accord
ing to some scholars, the precursor of the violin. Curiously enough, the violin, after
a grcat degrce of sophistication, has come back to our concert platform, after ages.
There arce at least five hundred instruments known, inclusive of those used in
classical, folk and tribal musíc. These are generally considered as of four kinds:
tala) vadya (stringed instruments), sushira vadya (wind instruments) avanaddha
vadya, (covered instruments or rams) and ghana vadya (solid instruments). The
classes correspond to the Western chordophones, aerophones, membranophones
and idiophones.

}Tala/ Vadya
The earliest stringed instruments in this country were, perhaps, the harps. A
most all of them were bow-shaped, with varying number of strings which were made
of either ibre or gut. There used tobe one string for each note and it was plucked
either with the fingers or with a plectrum called kona. They were known by the
generic term veena, with specific distinguishing names. The chitra had seven strings
and the vipanchi nine; the former was played with fingers and the latterwith a kona.
The playing of such instruments was an integral part of vedic ritua. While the priests
and performers of the rites chanted the verses, the wives of the priests strummed the
kanda veena, probably aharp made of jointedreeds; pichola (a fute?) was also used.
The ceremony was concluded with some kind of dance and some of the instrumentalists
were, perhaps, even sacriñiced in rites like the Mahavrata. The yazh of the ancient
Tamil land was also of similar kind and description of many kinds of yazhs is available
in old Tamil works dating from 2nd cent. A.D. Excellent representations of veenas
and yazhs can be found in many sculptures and murals of bygone days. The Bharhut
stupa (1-2 cent. B.C.), the frescoes of Ajanta (2nd-8th cent. A.D.) and many others
vividly illustrate these.

Another group were of the dulcimer type. Here a number of strings are stretched
on a box of wood (resonator) to increase the volume of the sound. The best known
was the satatantri veena, the hundered-stringed dulcimer. This is usually identifhed
with santoor stillexistent in Kashmir. The modern svaramamdal, a small dulcimer,
has a box of wood on which are placed about thirty metal strings. While santoor is
played with thin sticks, savaramandal is strummed with the fingers.
The structure of these veenas seems to have been a handicap to the further deve
lopment of Indian instrumental music. For, melodic lines began to become more
and more intricate with greater enmphasis on glides, slurs and trills. Obviously, such
instruments were incapable of producing these finer tonal niceties and they gradually
lost all importance. The newer trends in melodic enunciation were better suited to
 AN
64

those instrunnents which could be

made to produce
such
We therefore, find that the harp-like veena being
INTRODUCTI O N TO
delicate INDIAN
MUSIG
instruments such as RIOdera eena, sitar, sarod and so on.
the rènakas, but a whole roga can be played on even
single-stringed reena of ancicnt times
nens or "Brana reCRG" and Sarasvati, the
(ekatantri one
veena) is
extolled
distring.
These
Thhat
Goddess of Learning,as why a
ornamcfnintageiro-nbgooar
splacedmot only
is
by
can giye
to ive in t

Finger-bOsrd instraments are of various

subdivde into plucked and bowed. Each varieties, and so this class
Herself theoriginal
is said
sub-class is again of two can be
kinds: furtfretheerd
ani non-fretted.

The simplest of pucked instruments we now have

Al these are only drones: that is, they are used to are ek tar, tuntune and
give
and Ma (Doh, Sol and Fa) which formthe
played on then, The ek tar and tuntune are of merely
foundation the basic notes Sa.
melody. tamboora.
No raga is
Village mendicant is a familiar figure, with his ubiquitous folk
ballad on his lips. Both these instruments have
only
tarstring). It runs along abamboo rod which is fixed one
instruments actualPlaym
unassuming accompaniment and the
string of metal and a
to a
vessel, on shich is a thin bridge of wood. gourd or a small (ewooden
k-one,
The modern tamboora consists of a
indian variety) almost large gourd (or a wooden bowl, as in
hemispherical in shape, acting as a the Soml
this is covered with a fairly fiat and thin plate of wood. resonator. The ton of
bears a sTnali neck to which is The upper end of the bowi
the resonator rests awide attached long hollow stem. On the flat
a
bridge
netal strings tuned to Pa (or Ma)made of ivory, horn or
wood. surface of
Sa, Sa, Sa (Sol or Fa, Doh, Over this pass four
nthe centre are in the
middle
and the last Sa are in the lower octave, the normal Sa of the Doh, Doh). The pair
singer. The Pa(or Ma)
of the instrunent, though the register or mandra sthayi. A very important part
the bridge. This, caled the jee most inconspicuous, is the thread
gives the tone an van or javari, when placed in under the wires on
extraordinary the proper position,
richness.
The better known fretted
veena) of North India and yeenainstrunents are sitar. been (sometimes known as Rudra
(Saras vati veena) of South India.
Sitar: The word 'sitar' is
sírings. Amir Khiusro (13thusually derived from. seh-tar which in Persian means three
cent.) is often credited with the invention
But there is no of this lute.
evidence anywhere, either in his own
contemporaries, to substantiate this. It is possible thatwrit1ngs
sitar is orainmodified
those ofyersion
his nearof
indigenous fretted lutes depictcd in sculptures from
about the 12th cent.
The instrument is made
end is a gourd which is entirely of wood and is a long-necked lute. At the lower
the
a long
finger-board which sound-box
may often bearFrom this projects a neck extending into
a small gourd at the upper end acting as
The santoor, Kashmir.

A baul singer of Bengal playing the gopi yantra.

 The horizontal flute.

A Rajasthan folk satara,

double barrel beak flute.
The violin;
Indian style of playing.

The kommu of Andhra Pradesh.

 Folk singers of Rajasthan playing the sarang
Fa singes ef Kasbmir.
 The shehnai.

The nagasvaram.
4kasva ladvaTInda-the national orchestra of Al! India Radio.

The jaltarang.
Devotional singers from the north.

A vocal music concert in the Karnatak style

 Pandit Vishnu Narayan
Bhatkhande.

Pandit Vishnu Digamber Paluskar.

IDASUDWALASAM

Sant Tyagaraja, the musician-composer.

Rabindranath Tagore.
MUSICAL INSTAUMENTS 55

resonator. On the finger-board curved frets of metal are tied by means

secondary of the raga to be plaved.I
seatDroper placcs to Suit tne scale
five metallic strings passing over a wide bridge on the cover of the lower
There are finger-board. They are tuned as Ma, Sa Pa, Sa, Pa (Fa,
and along the
resonator,
Doh, Sol) of lower octaves. While these are used for playing the melody,
Doh, Sol, more, called chikari, tuned to Sa(Doh), middle and upper register5,
two
there are and for playing the progression, jhala. Underneath the frets runs a
drone
Usedas
(tarab) tuned to the raga being played. Whenever a note is struck
Set ofthin wiresupper string, the tarab wire tuned to this note begins to vibrate, thus
on the main
sympathetic vibrator; this extra resonance enriches the sound of the
acting as a
instrument. The addition of larab is typical of many concert and folk stringed
North India, curiously enough absent in the South, except in
instruments of
gottuvadyam.
simple in construction. It has two gourds, uncut and whole unlike in
Been is On these is affixed a bambo
which help in increasing the volume of sound.
sometimes a wooden tube which is the
sitar, finger-board (dandi). This bears a number
or of wax, making them immovable.
Such
to the bamboo tube by means
f freis. fixed where they can be slid up and down tosuit
Exed frets are in contrast to those of sitargreater in been than in itar. Another dif
the raga. That is why their number is and
edges, whereas in sitar they are wider
rence is that in been the frets are thin Doh. Soh
tuned as Sa, Pa, Sa, Pa (Doh, Sol.
convex. Four strings of metal usually fixed at the lower end of the dandi. Besides
are streiched over a wide bridge which is played, there are four auxillary ones
these main wires on which the actual meiody is to Sa, Pa, Sa. Doh, Sol. Doh and
Tuned
three on one side and one on the other.
notes -and also are employed for playing
Sa (Doh), they form the drone-the basic manner, with the upper gourd resting
ihala. Been is held across the body in diagonal
instrument is, it is not very popular as it
on the shoulder. Venerable though the
but is ponderous. Been is closely
does not have quick-silver quality of sitar played on it is heavy.
associated with the dhrupad style and the music
an ancient instrument found in western
The folk counterpart of been is kinnari,
constructed like been; however, there are
and southern parts of the country. It isIncidentally, this word kinnari is an interest
sometimes three gourds instead of two.
of instruments: the plucked type which was
ing one, as this term is used for three types and a lyre of Central
violin' in South India
just mentioned, a bowed kind of folkthat the Bible talks of a kinorrah which, perhaps,
Asia. It may be of interest to note
was a lyre.
sometimes as Sarasvati veena) is diferent from
Veena of South India (also known hollow inger-board is also of wood,
made entirely of wood. The long
been by being neck. But in special cases, the whole
Ihough separatcly made and attached to the such a lute is called ekandaveena. This
instrument is carved out of one log of wood: is greatly valued.
At the
supposed to be of very high quality and
Kind of veena is
 AN
INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIC
it there is
farther c of the ênger-vard and under than another gourd acting as an
revator. The frets of metal are
broader in becn and are fixed by extra
wa. means asof
e sirings of metal, four in rumber, pass ovcr a wide bridge and are tuned
Sa Pa, S Pz(Doh, Sol, Doh, So). Besides arethese, there are three drone strings
NSing over aR aUiiary bride of metal;
they tuncd to Sa, Pa, Sa and
tala. uscd both
as &drone and for giving the

Choscty similar to the above but without frets are vichitra veena of North
ARd gatrad an of the suthern parts of the country.
The former is
akin to India
beex and the latier to Saras1ati veena. both in
construction and manner of rudra
A l asmall cyinder of glass (or hard ebony wood) is slid along the plucking.
wires to
pizy the meloty. The structure and technique of such instruments place severe
handkaps on the player. The absence of frets is itself a dificulty; but to
the pressure of the kodu or batta (the slider) is an extremely delicate process andadjust
the slightest change in pressure introduces deviationssin pitch. It is therefore rare to
find really competent players of these instruments.
Srod is another instrument without frets and is very much like rabab of mid.
western and ccntral Asia. It has a small and deep body of wood which nroit
into a short nock and finger-board. The body is covered with parchment and the
bard vith a steel plate. Asmallbowl of metal is screwed to the farther cnd of
the fnger-board into its Jower side. Unlike sitar, been and veena, sarod has a
rarrow bridze, like in a violia The melody strings are six, tuned as Ma, Sa, Pa.
Sa, Pa, Sa (Fa, Doh, Sol, Doh, Sol, Doh) of lower octaves. The strings are
plucked with a riangular' piece of wood held in one hand while the other hand is
employed for pressing the strings onto the board. As in sitar there is a pair of drone
strings (chikari) and a tarab. Lutes of this kind appear quite carly in the history
of Iadian instrumcnts as can be seen in the frescoes of Ajanta (2nd-8th cent. A.D.),
and the remains of the Buddhist city, Nagarjunakonda (2nd cent. A.D.), Amaravati
(ist B.C-2nd cent. A.D.) and many others.
Surprisingly, bowed instruments have not risen to the same standing in con
certs as the plucked ones. Till very recently they have been geetanuga, that is,
accompaniment to singing. While sarangiin the north is still so (though onc does
come scross a solo recital), the violin in the South (and even in North India) has
stowiy emerged as a solo instrument. In folk and tribal music, however, they are
quite ubiquitous. Ravanahasta veena, for instance, has come to us from centuries
and is popular in Western India even today. Pena of Assam, kinnari of South India
and banam of Orissa are some of the common fiddles that one comes across. The
folk sarangi of North Western India has been known from at least the 13th century
and in issophisticated form has been admitted to the concert platform. The body
of the instrument is hollowed out of wood, the resonator being covered with skin and
the finger-board with wood. It is held as an inverted violin. The bow is a heavy
one and dfferent in shape and construction than that of a violin. The gut strings
are three, and are tuned to Sa, Pa,Sa (Do, Sol, Doh) in the lower octave. They
 57
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

nails along the side.

are not stopped with the balls of the fingers but by sliding the
A sct of turab passcs under the main strings.
Another bowed instrum cnt popular in North India is the dilruba. In Bengal, there
is like that
is a similar instrument called the esraj. In both the cases tie sound box
sarangi,
of sarangi. But the finger-board is much longer and bears frets. Unlike in
veena or sitar.
the strings arc presscd with the balls of the fingers as in the violin,
of drone
The main strings are four tuncd to Ma, Sa, Pa, Sa. Besides, there is a pair
strings and a tarab, all of metal.
Avanaddha Vadya
avanaddha)
Drums are instruments, hollow and covered with skin (hence the term
and used in music and dance as rhythmic acCompaniments. But all drums are not
always put to musical uses. For example, the slit-drums of Assam, common in
many areas and to tribes, are hollow boat shaped wooden implements kept on the
ground and beaten. We cannot really call these drums as usually understood. Also,
drums have not always bcen musical in function. The ranabheri was a martial
instrument; there are also the signalling drums of Africa, whereon codes are tat
tooed out-a precursor of the Morse code! The village announcer with his strident
daff is a familiar figure to all of us.
The musical uses of drums start, however, with primitive dance-music rites and
rituals. Even today the great variety of folk drums is nrityanuga, i.e., accompani
ments to dance. Of course, in primitive and folk levels dance and music are insepar
able and because of the ritualistic association in early human societies, avanaddha
vadyas have had magical valuc. "The drum is indispensable in primitive life; no
instrument has so many ritual tasks, no instrument is held more sacred'". The
sacred symbolism of dmaru of Lord Siva is profound to the highest degree. Once
the Aord was dancing in ecstacy on Mount Kailas. Great sages gathered round the aveelel
Divine Dancer, cntranced and spellbound. When the dance came to an end, they
prostrated at His feet and begged that the knowledge of the Sound be made available
to humans. He then teok up His damaru and played on it fourteen times, giving
birth to the fourteen aphorisms of grammar which also are the base of all music.
Pushkara is the ancient Sanskrit word for the drum. This is how the instrument
came to be invented: Once th sage Svatiwent to fetch water from a lake (pushkara
also means a lake or pond) near his abode. Just then Indra (pakasasana) sent
torrential rains onto the earth. Svatilistened deeply to the patter-sweet and pleasing
-of the rain drops on the lotus leaves (pushkara again means blue lotus). With the
sounds stillringing in his ears, he returned to the hermitage. Then he made mridanga
and pushkaras such as panava and dardura, with the assistance of Visvakarma, the
godly craftsman. On sceing dmdublhi he fashioned muraja and other drums.
Mridanga type of instruments are to be found in terracota figurines of the Indus
valley civilization, according to some. Vedic literature refers to bhumi dundubhi,
 AN
INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIC
naTg and such others. The formcr was, perhaps, the most ancient. It
3pit in the ground covend with skin which was
beaten. compriscd
Drums madc of carth
appear later in the history of musical instruments; but,, bcing fragilc, they
have largely
given piaY lo woden ones. These latter come next in the ficld and cven
pakhava mridame and zabla are made of ood. today,
Avanakiha vàdvas are of various ypes and they have been classified
on the basis
of their position of play, shapes and structure. For example, urdhvaka,
and aiinevG are three kinds, diflerent by the way they are placed when ankya
vake drums are trtt terticattythenda of Kerala, tabla, nagara and SO Urdh-
playing.
on.
Ank va are those that are kept horizontally: dholak, pakhavaj, mridang, khol ant
similar pushkaras are of this category. Alingya are "embraced"; that is-are held
under one arm and struck with the other, like tinila of Kerala.

Drums are also differentiated as barrel and frame; in other words, closed and
onen Closed ones are those in which the hollow body is covered, either at one end
or both ends bv membrane. Of the former kind are tabla, bayan, nagara, ghunar
Of the latter type are mridang. pakhavj. dholak, damaru, ctc. An open drum.
on the other hand, consists of a circular frame covered with skin on one side: for
instance, daf, khanjira and similar lambourines. ~-d 203 H¿/ 5) Ba)R,(
Mridang (pakhavaj ): The word mridang itsclf suggests an carthern structure
(mrt-carth, clay, arga-body). And we know that a number of drums are
made of burnt clay: even dagga used in North Indian concert music is often earthen.
However, zccording to some, mridang was so called not because of its carthen body
but because of the clay paste which was applied to the leather surface. But in
current practice a blackish mixture of manganese or iron dust callcd syahi (Hindi)
or soru (Tamil) is afixed to the beaten surface of the instrument.

Mridang is one of the most ancient drums of India. In its present form, it is a
barrel-shaped wooden body,bulging in the middle and tapering towards the cnds.
The membrane forming the drum face is complex--that is, it is not one singie laycr
of skin, but a set of two or more suitably cut circular pieces glucd together. The
two faces are held to the body by means of plaits and with cach other by a strap of
leather passing through the plaits. Underneath the braces are placed cylindrical
wooden blocks (usually eight) which are employed for tuning. Finer tuning is done
by striking the plaits with a hammer. The wooden cylinders are used only in the
North Indian variety, conmonly called pakhavaj; South Indian mridangam does not
have these.

A very interesting part of Indian drums is the loading of the leather suraces.
This was known as vilepana in older Sanskrit works. Nowadays the popular word
is syahi in North India and soru in South India. Generally, it isthe right lace that
carries apermanent loading. Vilepana makes the sound of theinstrument musi
and climinates the noisy quality so characteristic of plain leather drums lIke dd,
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
59
lambourinc and even the kettle drum. The left surface is not fixed with this kind of
pastepermanently; but, just before the time of actualplaying soft dough mixed with
water is stuck to it.

Mridangam is still the premicr percussion instrument in Karnatak music. How

cver, pakhavaj, used for accompanying dhrupad and been, is slowly going out of vogue
and has given place to tabla.
Tabla : No one seems to know the correct history of tabla. There has been a
controversy as to whether it isan indigenous instrument or an import from the Arabic
and Persian arcas. Like many other controversial topics its 'invention' is credited to
Amir Khusro and Muslim culture, connscting it with the word tabal, a Persian drum.
While this may or may not be really so, we have sufficient evidence to show that
tabla might have had a local and pre-Muslim origin. Sculptures of pairs of
vertically placed drums appear very early (6th-7th cent. A.D.) and the application of
paste on drum faces is also an old practice as can be seen in the pushkaras depicted in
Ajanta. Even as early as Bharata's Natyasastra the technique of applying the load
(vilepana) was wellknown. Tiis possible that the instrument itsclf is Indian and only.
the word tabla is foreign. However, a legend is always there; and this particular
one ascribes the invention of tabla to one Sudhar Khan Dhadi, said to be a contem
porary of Akbar. There was, so the story goes, a pakhavaji called Bhagavandas.
Sudhar Khan and Bhagavandas were professional rivals and competitors. Having
failed to defeat the pakhavaji, Dhadi in a fit of understandable temper dashed his
pakhavaj down. It broke into two pieces and he, then, made these into tabla and
bayan (dagga). Quite a convenient accident.
While mridanga and pakhavaj are single drums, covered on both faces, tabla is
really a pair of drums--one like a cofee cup and the other like a tea cup. Though
the pair is together called tabla, strictly speaking tabla is one of the set of two, the
other being dagga (or duggi); dagga is also often referred to as bayan, meaning the
left drum. While the right one (tabla) has a wooden body with a
covering of leather
on the top, dagga is made of metal or burnt clay. The stretching of the leather in
both is as in pakhavaj. The former can be tuned accurately, but bayan has an
indefinite pitch, tlhough it is often assumed that it is tuned to an octave lower than
tabla. Also the loading of the black paste is centric in tabla and eccentric in dagga.
Both the drums are kept erect on the ground and played with the
fingers. Unlike
mridanga, tabla has alighter and sweeter sound; it is, therefore, well suited for accom
panying kheyal, thumri etc. and softer instruments like sitar, sarod and so on.
Just as there are kheyal gharanas there are schools (or baj) of tabla.
the Delhi gharana is said to be the mother of all later ones. Traditionally
The players of this group
use the rim of the tabla more than the centre, the first and middle
oher finger more than
conbinations, the sounds thus being delicate; their patterns are also Smaller.
The Ajrada gharana, called so after the town of that name where the
this style lived, while leaning on the Delhi one, uses combinations with originator of
heavier left
 AN
INTRODUCION TO INDIAN MUSIC
handed strokes and reves in adrhythms. The other major branch is the poorah
or easterR one which conpriss styles known as ihe Lucknowi baj, Banarasi
thaj ani Farrå habadi bgi The three have been highly intluenced by pakhawaj and
eNhibit some of ils characteristKS: opensounds, lat strokes and using thc central parts
of the drums tmore. There is one more: ihe Punjab gharana which does not trace
isetf to Delai but caims a separate origin and development. The style relies much
en ihe pod hewai,thus using heavy sounds and long patterns.
ihe instruments deseribed so fart are all uscd in concerts. There are, of course.
the ok aad tribal coanterparts of these. Dholak, khol, pung and such other drums
arc of the harrel tvpe; nagara, tamuku, tasa and so on are drums more or less cun
shaped and covered with leather on one side.

Ssaira Vadya
These are instrunents in whichsound is produced by the vibration of air columns.
Being houow fübes, with or without appendages, they have been termed as suslhira
(holiow) rad'ya (instrument).

of the concert instruments, the most important are flutes, particularly the cross flute
(the one heid across the face) and the mukha reena family (shehnai and nagasSvaran).

Flute: One of the conmonest of musical instruments of the world, the flute is also
one of the most ancient. t is a part of every musical system we know of, from the
most primitive people to the most sophisticated civilizations. Not only so, its form
is more or less the same throughout the world and has remained unaltered duringu
the course of kuman history.

Most commouy, the flute is made of bamboo. The bamboo used to make the
iDstrument should be straight, clean, smooth and free from cracks. It should be
neither too young nor too old. Flutes are also made of red sandal wood, khadira
wood (Acasia cateclu), black wood and cane; even ivory, cbonite, bronze, brass,
silver and gold have been used. The normal dianeter of the instrument is two
centimeters, thougn wider ones are also sometimes employed. The monumental
work on music, Sangeeta Ratnakara of Sarangadeva, written in the 13th century
lists eighteen kinds of ffutes, according to the distances between the blow hole and the
irst finger holethe distances varying îrom 2B cm, to 45 cm.

The commonly used material for making flutes being wood, it is obvious that it
gets decayedcasily. One does not, therefore, expect to find ordinary lutes in ancient
excavations. However, futes of bone, clay and metal can remain without disin
tegration for ages. Thus, no ancient sites in India have yielded flutes of wood. But
clay whistles have been found in the Indus valley town of Mohenjodaro (3000 B.C.).
This is, perhaps, the carliest evidence of a wind instrument in our country, of pre
vedic times.
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 61

Earlier and later vedic texts refer to flute as venu . It was used as an accompani
ment to vedic recitations along with veena (harp). These sources also refer to a kind
of fMute called tunava employed during sacrifices. Nadi was another variety, pro
bably made of recd, playedto propitiate Yama, the Lord of Death. Not only was it
an important instrument in religious ceremonies, but the flutist was one of the
victims of human sacrifice in Purushamedha yajna ritual.
The fute has thus been known from very ancient times in India, and is one of the
most widely distributed instruments in this country,called by various names: venu,
vamsi, bansi, bansuri, murali and so on in North India; in South India it usually goes
under the names pillankuzhal (Tami), pllanagrovi (Telugu), kolalu (Kannada), etc.
The transverse flute is the most common kind, very extensively met with. It is
held across the face of the player. Flutes in the South are generally short. In the
North, however, longer ones are used for playing alap and sometimes shorter ones
for faster passages.
Unlike the transyerse flute, in the beak-flute air is not blown directly into the
hollow of the instrument. At one end of the tube there is a slightly conical tapering
with an opening into which air is blown. This mouth-piece is known as the fipple, love is
and hence such a flute is called the fipple flute or the flageolet. While there is no
special Indian name for this type, it is yet/yery ubiquitous. However, it is rarely seen
in concerts and is more afolk instrument. mp e 3a2e
An interesting variety of such beak-flutes is the algoza, a double pipe. Actually
this instrument is quite old in India, for it has been depicted even in the Sanchi stupa
(circa Ist. cent., B.C.), showing a soldier (?), most probably a foreigner, playing it.
The instrument is itself a set of two flutes of the beak type. They are either tied to
gether tightly as one piece or the two may be held together loosely with the hands.
The player blows into both simultaneously; generally one of them serves as a drone
and the other is used for playing the melody.
Comparable only to-veena of Sarasvatianddamaru of Siva, the flute has always held,
for an ndian, a mystic fascination. For it is the call of Lord Krishna to his beloved
Radha. She is the human soul longing for union with the Lord. And Krishna is
the Adored, for ever beckoning to the Soul of Man. His calilis not merely the call
of the lover to the gopis (milk maids), but the divine invitation to everyone. The
soul of man responds:
"Still must I like a homeless bird
Wander, forsaking all;
The earthly loves and worldly lures
That held my life in thrall,
And follow, follow, answering
The magical flutc-call"*

*SarojiniNaidu, The Sceptred Flute, p. 161. Kitabistan, 1946.

 AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN MUSIc
eve Whe KN, the fute, is as od as thc vedas, the mukhaveena
famdy cpriing e hveTA RPLSYa, ofiu, shehnai and sundri is dcfinitcly of
mOt Jater xigia, ttragh the group s widely distributed throughout the country.
bh zveena, a smalker variety of nagaSVara is referred to by the Telueu noct
Palurki Sorasaiha who lived -ia 12th-13th cenlury. Nagasvara is mentioncd
ia the Tefagu poem Skanda anan, Srinatha's Kreedabliraman (14th cent.) and
Ahobala's Sgeeta parijata (17th cent.).

Even os examining such material carefully, it is not casy to conclude that such
refererces pertain to the wood wind instruments we now know of. For cxamplc.
whis muhawenc is a double-recd wood pipe in the South, it is described by the
axtat of Sangeeta sara (18th cent.) as a small bamboo tube wound round with
bharit keaves Similarly, nagasvara (nagasara) may mean both the present day
consert instrurent of Karnatak music as well as the snake charmers' pumgi (mahudi,
leen, ctc). Indeed, the name nagasraram itself points to association with the snake
came: 2a= Shake, svar2= SOund, note, music.

Sike huai is usually taken to be an imported instrument from the middle East. Its
Persian s ts sart tote surnai, changed to shehnai in Undia._The older Mongo
ias variety traced to Incia is also known as surnai. While the author of Sangeeta
sara entions an instranent sunari very much like a shehnai, perhaps it was the same
8s sundri, a diminutive double-reed pipe of Maharashtra.
AM the instrunents of this family haye the same basic structure and tcchnique of
playing, their dilerences lying mostly in their sizes and certain minor details. The
Tascaona parts are two:

The recds: These are two smal fiat pieces of reed held together leaving a small
eap between them. The pair is fixed to the tube of the instrument
eithcr directly or by means of a metallic slaple.
Thc sube: This is the main body of the instrument and acts as a resonator. Tt
is more or less conical in shape, narrow near the biowing end and
opening out gradualiy. Usually there is a 'bell' of metal at the farther
end. The tube is generally of wood, but may be of metal also. Nagas
saras of sitver, gold and even soapstone are known.)
The tube bears seven holes used for playing the melody by closing or opening
therr. The mmkhaveenas do not have keys, unlike the Western obocs; for such
mechanikcal arrangement cannot produce the finer srutis and gamak as, so essential
to ous sic.

This grour of instrunenis have generally been outdoor ones. Almost every
village in South India has the nayyandi melam (ensemble) of which mukhaveena is
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 63

the lcader. Indced the word melam, whjch strictly means an ensemble, has come
to rcfer to mukhaveena and nagasyara. No temple or marriage procession can go
without nagasvara or shehnai, for they are omens of auspicious beginning Natu
rally, such uses have made them loud and shrill; but they have now been taken to
concerts also, with changing techniques.
Other wind instruments found everywhere in the country are sankh (conch) and
trumpets like turahi, narsing, ekkalam, kombu (horn) and so on. SonE of these have
ever come to be used in sophfstrcated music; but they have been instruments of
announcement of battle and victory. Of course, they form an important part in
religious processions and the conch is even a sacred symbol of Lord Vishnu.
Ghana Vadya

The idiophones, though, perhaps, the earliest of instruments, have remained at

comparatively undeveloped stages to this day. They are more rhythm beaters,
suitable to folk music and dance: pots and pans, bells and jingles, rods and sticks-in
fact, anythíng from which sound can be elicited finds a place there. In art music,
however, there are two instruments of some prominence ghatam and jaltarang.
Ghatam is just what the word meansan earthen pot and nothing more. While
it is a folk instrument in some areas like Kashmir where it is known as noot, ghatam
is 'respectable' and admitted to concerts in South India. The pot, made of special
clay and carefully baked, is held with its mouth resting on the belly of player and
tapped on its surface with fingers. Though humble in appearance it can easily
produce an astounding variety of sounds.
Jaltarang is a set of porcelain cups of different sizes filled with varying amounts
of water. The size of the cup and the quantity of water in it determine its pitch.
Such water-flled bowls, one for each note, are arranged in a semi-circle; the player
sits in the centre of this semi-circle and plays on the cups with a bamboo stick in
each hand.

The Indian Orchestra

There has often been a question whether India evcr had an orchestra. If by
orchestra we mean harmony and all its implications, it is doubtul if we ever had
one, Certainly, there were instrumental groups known as kutapa in Sanskrit and
melam in South India. Bharáta in his Natya sastra describes in detaml the arrange
ments of instruments in kutapa, when and what itshould play and so on. Even today
nayyandi melam in the villages of South india, the pancha vadya (five instruments)
ensemble of Kerala and Orissa are common and popular. But the sophisticated
music of the country, has, till every recently, not admitted an orchestra and harmoniza
tion. The vgdya yrinda (instrumental group) heard on the radio is still to mature.
There is one arca, however, which has taken to orchestration in a big way---the flms.
 AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN
64 MUSIC
the rigours of tradition, musicians in films have harmonized L
Not inhibited by wholc pieces from jazz a
classical and folk music--and even Iitted unabashed
blues. While such art may not be acceptable to many, it has, no doubt, brouobs t
expression to Indian music.
a new dimension of