LIFE WITHOUT MUSIC IS LIKE MUSIC WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS.
MUSIC WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS IS LIKE A DOCTOR WITHOUT A PATIENT.
This review took me down memory lane, when we kids with parents used to attend live concerts like Vishnu Digambar
Jayanti and several others at Mandi House. We were those lucky kids born in an atmosphere where our Hindustani Classical Music, be it vocal or instrumental or dance, drama used to flow most of the time.
We got a chance to listen to Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Alla Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain and hundrends of other well-known artists LIVE.
One of my Uncles told us a beautiful story about
AN ORCHESTRAL FAMILY!
*Once upon a time, there lived a family in a small corner of our planet. The family had its Master, his wife and three kids - the Sitarist-Sitaria, the Flutist-Bansuria and the Percussionist-Tabalchi. As kids they were taught to play with instruments instead of toys unlike other kids of their age. First they played *GILLI-DANDA or KABADDI *with them, but time took its own course. One day they formed their own Orchestral Band.
This is how three different families of musical instruments were presented in a symphony orchestra for the first time.
Members of the orchestral family are also related by the similar ways in which they produce sound. *
So, here is a part of the story, Sitaria told me about her family of Sitars:
STRING INSTRUMENTS
String Instruments known as ’Tantu Vadya’ in Hindi are those, which have strings.
Sitar:
An instrument that reflects the culture of both Indian and Persian characteristics as it was developed at the collapse of the Moghul empire(circa 1700).
Sitar is one of the most popular and the oldest among this category in the Indian music world. It is now as popular among the music lovers all over the world as it is in India. A long necked instrument with a varying number of strings(usually 17). The main body of the sitar is made of
Seasoned Teakwood, the toomba or the gourd is of pumpkin, which acts as a resonator or a sound box. The strings are plucked with a wire finger plectrum-mizrab.
The frets in a sitar are curved and of metal, which helps the artist to play different scales and vary the pitch. The instrument is used in a variety of genre like in North Indian Classical music, Film Music and Western Fusion Music.
(Some of the famous Sitarists are Rash Behari Datta, Pt. Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee)
Tanpura:
Tanpura is a drone instrument but with no frets. The toomba, like sitar, is made of pumpkin. It has four strings
and comes in two pitches, male and female. The tanpura is known for its very rich sound. Tanpura is an instrument, essential to classical music of both south and North India. A thread edged between the bridge and each string produces the characteristic twangy tone quality called jawari. There are three main styles;
the Miraj style - characterized by a pear shapped, well rounded tabali(resonator face) and non-tapering neck.
the Tanjore style - the neck tapers toward the top and the front plate is very flat.
the small version called tamburi - Its most striking characteristic is its size, averages only about 2 to 3 feet in length. extremely portable, all wood(i.e., no gourds), so virtually indestructible. These points makes the tamburi very popular with the travelling musician.
Now-a-days, Tanpura is gaining popularity in meditation centers because of its beautiful, rich, soothing sound that
has a very relaxing effect.
Sarod:
An instrument which was found in the 1st century in Champa temple and also in the paintings of Ajanta caves. It is a fretless instrument and there are four main strings. Its body is carved out of teakwood with the belly covered with goatskin. It is played with a pick made of coconut shell. It has a metal plate, instead of the fret board, which helps in sliding the fingers faster enabling the musician to get wonderful gamak. The instrument was first modified by Ameer Khusroo and later by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan to improve the quality of tuning.
There are a number of artists who have excelled at this instrument, the most notable are Amjad Ali Khan and Madhu Rani Saran
Veena:
A traditional string of southern India, made of jack fruit wood with wax lining. The frets german strings and rich beautiful artwork of old period makes it a distinct instrument.
Saraswati Veena
Saraswati veena is the instrument associated with the goddess of learning and the arts. The entire body carved from a single block of wood is considered to be the Best Quality. There are 24 frets made of brass bars set into wax. It has two resonators at either side. The one at the top of the neck is no longer a functioning resonator, mainly used to position the instrument when it is played. It has only four playing strings and three drone strings. The main bridge is a flat brass bar, slightly curved. This light curve gives the veena its characteristic sound.
Rudra Veena
One of the oldest instruments, also known as the’Been’.The style of its construction is depicted on the walls of ancient temples. This instrument consists of is a bamboo stick and two large gourd resonators at either end. It has frets which are set into wax. It usually has four playing strings.
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar is among the well-known Rudra Veena players.
Sarangi:
The name Sarangi suggests Sau Rang/hundred colors. it is made of a block of tun wood, with a goatskin covered over the body. This is a bowed in shape. It has three main strings and thirty five to forty sympathetic strings. The instrument is without frets, the strings float in the air. Its pitch is determined by sliding the fingernail against the string rather than pressing it against a fingerboard(like violin). It has been associated with the kathak dance and the vocal styles of thumri, dadra and khayal.
The well-known sarangi players are Ustad Sultan Khan, Pt. Ram Narayan and Ustad Sabri Khan
There are several other string instruments like Swarmandal, Violin, Santoor.
Bansuria had this version of the story about his family: WIND INSTRUMENTS.
Wind Instruments known as ’Susir Vadya’in Hindi are those, which produce music when blown.
Shehnai:
The word’shahnai’ is derived from the Persian’shah’and’nai’ meaning King and flute. Therefore, it is played on special occasions. The body is of wood with a brass bell. It is a double reed and has seven, eight or nine holes. The two holes at the last are used for tuning. The rest are stopped with fingers when its blown to produce a tune.
Ustad Bismillah Khan and Pt. Anant Lal needs no introduction.
Bansoori/Flute:
They are typically made of bamboo or reed and has six or seven holes. The tone is controlled by breath control. Traditionally regarded as the folk instrument and has been in use since the time of Lord Krishna.
Some of the Flutists, who are known worldwide are Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Raghunath Seth.
contd.