Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUSIC

Dahara or Laddi Shah : Played by Laddi Shah singers of Kashmir Valley. It is an iron rod about 3/4 mm in length, bent like a walk- ing stick at the top with a small cross handle at the other end - Metal rings are put on the bar which is shaken to the rhythm of faqir's song. Raponi of Assam. Itis simpiyabamboo stick, of a metre in length with serrations along it. Is is held somewhat like a violin. In the same hand a cowrie is held in the palm and moved up and down rapidly over the notches. Plates are very common as music instru- ments in tribal and folk music. Except in Kathakali they are rarely used in sophisticated music. They are invariably made of bell metal. The simplest ones are just plain metal discs beaten with sticks. Examples are thali (N. India), the jagte of Karnataka and Andhra, chenkala or chennala played in Kathakali ensemble. Sree Mandal : A folk instrument from Rajasthan it has a number of plates tied to a metal frame the whole contraption being about a metre and half in length. The plates being of varying thickness and diameters they give out tones of different pitches in a musical scale. Pirai : Drums, about 25 cm in diameter, consist of an iron rod bent in the form of a circle or crescent across which is stretched specially treated hide. The frame bears a handle and to its farthest end is attached a curved band also of iron. This band is tried round the forehead of the player who strikes the instrument on both sides of the membrane with small sticks. It is divided into two types Soorya pirai, which is completely circular and Chandra pirai which is crescent- shaped. Daff : They all comprise a wooden or metal strip which is bent round to form a circle. Sometimes the shape may be even oc- tagonal. It is used in tribal or folk music. Gna : Drum of Ladakh and adjoining ar- eas. This has a frame like the daff though extremely well decorated with ritualistic motifs in coloured lacquer. It is covered on both sides and there is a longish handle to hold it. It is beaten with a stick with a characteristic curva- ture. Pambai : Generally seen in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, it is a folk musical instrument. It is not one drum but in reality a pair of long cy- lindrical or near cylindrical ones tied together. The unit of two is held near the waist of the player and beaten with curved sticks.

Chenda : Drum of Kerala, seen in Kathakali, Kodiyattam and related forms of dance. It is cylindrical in shape, made of jackwood and covered at both ends, Only one surface is beaten. The drummer suspends the chenda from his neck so that it hangs more or less vertically and strikes the upper parchment with a pair of sticks. Suddha Maddalam : It resembles a mri- dangam but is played in dances such as Kathakali. Srikhole : Drum of Bengal, it is associ- ated with Keertans especially of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is usually about three quarters of a metre in length with one face wider than the other. The body could be of wood or burnt clay with the two heads made of multiple membranes as in the mridangam.

Nala-Taranga : Introduced by Ustad Al- lahuddin Khan of Maihar. He had selected 22 pipes of zinc that are used as water pipes, of different size, between the length of 2 feet to 6 inches, with a diameter of one and a half to half an inch to cover a range of about two octaves of any musical scale, They are tuned to a desired note by filing and shortening and also lengthening them. It is played with two small iron rods that are to be held in both the hands of the player just like a jalatharanga. It can be played either seated on the floor or seated on a stool. Karatala Manjira : 'kara' means hand and 'tala' means clapping i.e. instruments played by hands to keep rhythm. They are used for keeping rhythm in devotional song, kirtana and dance. Both these instruments are pairs of flat but round or circular discs having a hole in the centre, which are fastened by a cotton cord to one another. These discs are played by both the hands holding each disc in each hand by striking each other at an interval. This produces a kind of metallic sound. The largest of this type is known as jhanjha. Their use is restricted to folk music and dance and also to devotional songs and kirtanas.

The Development Centre for Musical Instru-

ments had its birth in 1956, as an ancillary of the

All India Handicrafts Board. It is the first and

only one of its kind in the country. It is now

situated at Mylapore, Madras.

The

gallery

of

musical

instruments

was

opened in 1956. Prof. P. Sambamoorthi, Head

of the Dept, of Indian Music, University of

Madras was its first Hon. Director. From 1964-

76 Sri. B.K. Mishra was the Director. From

1979, Dr. T. Lokandha Sarma is the Director.

The gallery has at present a collection of

nearly 200 instruments, belonging to both East-

ern and Western music.

The latest improvised instruments :

Vasmee Sruthi, 17-8-1979

Sruthi Dandi, 15-11-1979

Vamsee Sruthi Dandi, 24-3-1980

MUSIC AWARDS

1.

Padma Awards

Panchamukha Vadya : Drum, seen in some southern temple sculptures. It is a large vessel - either of copper or brass - and has to be mounted on a small wooden cart for trans- portation within the temple precincts. On the top of the vessel there are five tubular projec- tions which are the drum heads and each is covered with the skin of a milch cow. In actual performance, two small pot drums also of metal, the 'kudamuzha', are placed by the side of the panchamukha vadya so that there are in all seven faces, it is claimed that these are tuned to the seven tone ancient scale technically known as 'shadja grama'. The five faces are named after those of Lord Siva, the central one is Isana, the northern is Vamadeva, eastern is Tatpurusa, southern is Aghora and the western is Sadyojata. Eminent Panchamukha vadyam player : T. S. Sankaramurthi (L).

2.

Sangeet Natak Akademi - Delhi

3.

Madras Music Academy - Madras - T.N.

4.

Tamil Isai Sangam - Madras - T. N.

5.

Indian Fine Arts Society - Madras - T. N.

6.

Kalidas Samman- M.P.

7. Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat - Bangalore 8. Percussive Arts Centre Bangalore, Karnataka 9. State Academies

Selected References

1.

Journals of Madras Music Academy

2. Journals of Musicological Society of India, 3. Publications of Kalakshetra, Madras 4. Publication of Percussion Art Centre, Bangalore (on Tala and Laya) 5. Publication Suraprathi Mahal Library - Tanjore 6. Publication Oriental Research Institute , Mysore University- Karnataka) 7. Bulletins of Sangeeti Natak Akademi, Delhi 8. Journal of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bombay (NCPA). 9. Publications of Saraswati Mahal 10. Marg Publications.