Bansuri

For other uses, see Bansuri (disambiguation).
"Indian flute" redirects here. For the Native American musical instrument, see Native American flute.

Bansuri
A 58 cm (23 in) long bansuri bamboo flute for concerts.
Other namesBaanhi, Baashi, Bansi, Basari, Murali
Classification Woodwind instrument
Playing range
2+1⁄2 octaves (six-hole), 3 octaves (seven-hole)
Musicians
List of Indian flautists
Sound sample
A Bansuri recording (54 s)
Krishna with a bansuri is sometimes referred to as Venugopal.

A bansuri is an ancient side-blown bamboo flute originating from South Asia. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in many Indian and Nepali Lok songs. A bansuri is traditionally made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with seven finger holes. Some modern designs come in ivory, fiberglass and various metals. The six hole instrument covers two and a half octaves of music. The bansuri is typically between 30 and 75 centimetres (12 and 30 in) in length, and the thickness of a human thumb.[1][2] One end is closed, and few centimeters from the closed end is its blow hole. Longer bansuris feature deeper tones and lower pitches.[1] The traditional design features no mechanical keys, and the musician creates the notes they want by covering and uncovering the various finger holes.[1][3]

The bansuri-like flute is depicted in ancient Buddhist,[4] Hindu[5] and Jain temple paintings and reliefs, and is common in the iconography of the Hindu god Krishna.[6][7] It is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha.[8] The bansuri is revered as Lord Krishna's divine instrument and is often associated with Krishna's Rasa lila dance. These legends sometimes use alternate names for this wind instrument, such as the murali.[9][6] However, the instrument is also common among other traditions such as Shaivism.[10] The early medieval Indian texts also refer to it as vaṃśi, while in medieval Indonesian Hindu and Buddhist arts, as well as temple carvings in Java and Bali dated to be from pre-10th century period, this transverse flute has been called wangsi or bangsi.[11]

  1. ^ a b c Ashok Damodar Ranade 2006, pp. 284–286.
  2. ^ Bettina Bäumer; Kapila Vatsyayan (1988). Kalatattvakosa: A Lexicon of Fundamental Concepts of the Indian Arts. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 181. ISBN 978-81-208-1402-8.
  3. ^ Dorothea E. Hast; James R. Cowdery; Stanley Arnold Scott (1999). Exploring the World of Music: An Introduction to Music from a World Music Perspective. Kendall Hunt. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7872-7154-1.
  4. ^ Patricia E. Karetzky (2000). Early Buddhist Narrative Art: Illustrations of the Life of the Buddha from Central Asia to China, Korea and Japan. University Press of America. pp. 44, 60. ISBN 978-1-4617-4027-8.
  5. ^ Alice Boner (1990). Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 157–163, 186–187. ISBN 978-81-208-0705-1.
  6. ^ a b Pratapaditya Pal; Stephen P. Huyler; John E. Cort; et al. (2016). Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent. Univ of California Press. pp. 37–38, 47–49, 59–60. ISBN 978-0-520-28847-8.
  7. ^ Martinez 2001, pp. xxvii–xxviii, 325, 342.
  8. ^ Sorrell & Narayan 1980, pp. 35–36.
  9. ^ Lochtefeld 2002, p. 370–371, 449.
  10. ^ Dalal 2014, p. 28, see entry for Shiva-dedicated saint Anaya.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kunst2013p25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).