Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUSIC

Joshi, Vishnu Govind Jog, N. Rajam. SARANGI

PERCUSSION

The sarangi is the most important of In- dian bowed instruments. The concert model is made of one block of wood and is about 60 ..centimetres in height. It is very much in demand in Hindustani classical music con- certs in the north both as an accompaniment in singing and occasionally in solo recitals but is totally shunned by Karnatak musicians. Sarangi is available in three sizes, one and a half, two, and two and a half, magzi. The term 'magzi' is used by Sarangi players all over India. This is perhaps on the basis of the number of strings. Budaun (a small town in Uttar Pradesh) makes the best Sarangis in the country. It is a home industry of that place. It is played with a bow, made of a hard round stick of wood to which hair of tail of horse is fixed at both ends and a small wooden triangular but curved bridge is placed at one end to keep the hair tight. The bow is held in the right hand and moved from one end to the other vertically on the main guts to produce sound. The first, second, and also the third from the extreme left guts of a Sarangi are tuned to Madhya-Madhyama or Punchama (F or G), Madhya Sadja (C), and Mandra Punchama (G of the lower register) respectively. All the side strings are tuned to a Achala-Thata, i.e. the scale having all the twelve notes both flat and sharp (Suddha and Vikrta) in their con- secutive order of an octave or according to the notes of the Raga intended to be sung or played. The tone of this instrument is not only rich in respect of tone and volume, but also sweet, melodious and delicate. All the fluc- tuations, inflections and also variations of the human voice can be produced on the Sarangi exquisitely. Esaraja: Most popular string instrument of bowed type prevalent throughout Bengal. The lower part is like a sarangi and the upper part similar to that of a sitar. It is available in 3 sizes, such as 6" x 4", 7" x 5" and 8" x 6". The Danda or stem of the instrument, which serves the purpose of the fingerboard is half round at the back and flat at the top side. The length and width of the danda is 2'/ 2 feet and 2'/ 2 inches to 3 feet and 3 */ 2 inches respectively. It has four main strings of steel and brass. The sympathetic side strings either of steel or of brass are numbered eleven to eighteen only. These strings are adjusted on a separate wooden frame fixed to the stem of the instrument with screws on both the ends. Eminent Sarangi players : Shakoor Khan, Ram Narain (L), Gopal Misra, Sabri Khan (L), Hanuman Prasad Mishra (L), Abdul Lateef Khan (L), Sultan Khan (L).

It keeps time for the soloist, it underlines the melody, it makes the phrasing clearer. In short it sets the melody in its correct perspective and provides a framework for it.... The accompanist on the percussion has also to be a fine musician who understands all the traditions of our music, all of its science and most of its art. The tabla or mridanga player in a recital is thus not just an accompanist who trails behind but an equal participant, a highly trained musician who is a soloist in his own right" (Narain Menon). Eminent Mridangam players: Madras Venu Naicker, Kurthalam Siva Vadivelu Pillai, Kurthalam Kupuswami Pil- lai, Umayalpuram Kothandarama Iyer, Tanjavur Ramdas Rao, Palani Subramania Pillai, Narayanaswami Appa, Alazhanam- biar Pillai, Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer, Tan- jore Ramdas Rao, T.S. Palgat Mani Iyer, C.S. Muruga Bhoopathy, T.K. Murthy, Palghat Raghu, T.M. Puttaswamiah, M.L. Veerabhadriah, Umayalapuram Sivar- aman, Vellore Ramabhadran, Karaikkudi Mani, T.V. Gopalkrishnan, C.S. Murugab- hoopatny, Kolanka Venkata Raju TABLA The invention of tabla is credited to Amir Khusrau but it is possible that the instrument itself is Indian and the word 'tabla' is from the word 'tabal', or Persian drum. Sculptures of pairs of tabla appear in India as early as the 6- 7th C. A.D.

The pakhawaj is, like the mridangam, a two-headed drum with a body of wood. As in the mridangam a black mixture called the syahi is applied to the right face while the left face is pasted with dough. Unlike the mri- dangam the pakhawaj has cylindrical wooden blocks under braces which can be moved up and down the barrel for tuning. Finer tuning is done by striking the plaits which hold the two faces to the body with a metallic hammer. The pakhawaj was once the king of drums in Hindustani music and was used as an accom- paniment in kathak dance, devotioonal sons and dhrupad, to which its tonal qualities were well suited. But with khyal singing and sitar coming into vogue, the tabla with its softer sound has become more popular.

The mridangam (South Indian) and tabla (North Indian) are percussion instruments. The mridangam has a barrel - shaped hollow wooden body bulging in the middle and taper- ing at the ends. The two ends are covered with parchment. At the centre of the right head there is a black circular patch made with a paste of manganese dust, boiled rice and tam- arind juice. This vocative instrument to maintain thala, gathi, lay a and the varied aesthetic syncopa- tions to enliven a concert, is of superb charm and said to be invented and played by Shiva's sacred bull Nandikeshwara. It is a permanent accompaniment for any and every concert. The tabla is practically a mridangam divided into two drums. The two heads are on each of the two drums which are placed erect on the ground. The drum which is played with the fingers of the right hand is called tabla and the other is called bayan. "In Indian music, like in many other cultures of Asia, percussion plays a role which is very different from Western music. In Western music percussion is used sparingly to heighten a dramatic climax or bring the right colour or accentuation to a musical situation. As a matter of fact in a great deal of chamber music and small orchestral combinations percussion is hardly ever used. But in India percussion is the life and soul of a performance.

'Tabla' is actually a pair of drums. While the pair is together called tabla, strictly speak- ing the right drum is the tabla, while the left drum is called the 'dagga' or 'bayan'. While the tabla has a wooden body with a covering of leather on the top, the dagga or bayan is made of metal or burnt clay. Both the drums are kept erect on the ground and played with the fingers. While the paste on the drum face of the tabla is in the centre, in the bayan it is not centrally placed. Unlike mridanga, tabla has a lighter and sweeter sound. It is, there- fore, well suited for accompanying kheyal, thumri etc and softer instruments like sitar, sarod etc.