| Other names | Muraḷi, Vēṇuvu, Pillana grōvi, Kūḷalu, Pullangkuḻal, Oodakuḻal |
|---|---|
| Classification | Indian Woodwind Instrument |
| Playing range | |
| More than 2.5 Octaves (8-hole bamboo flute) | |
| Related instruments | |
| Bansuri | |
| Musicians | |
| List of Indian Flautists | |
| More articles or information | |
| Palladam Sanjiva Rao, H. Ramachandra Shastry, T. R. Mahalingam, T. Viswanathan etc.. | |
The venu[1] (Sanskrit: वेणु; vēṇu/मुरळि; muraļi) is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music.[2] It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the South Indian Carnatic music tradition.[3] It is referred to as nadi and tunava in the Rigveda and other Vedic texts of Hinduism. In northern Indian music, a similar flute is called bansuri.[4] In the south, it is also called by various other names such as pullanguḻal (புல்லாங்குழல்) in Tamil (Tamil Nadu), oodakuḻal (ഓടകുഴൽ) or kurungu kuḻal (കുറുന് കുഴൽ) in Malayalam (Kerala) and ಕೊಳಲು (koḷalu) or ಮುರಳಿ (muraļi) in Kannada (Karnataka) . It is known as pillana grōvi (పిల్లన గ్రోవి) or vēṇuvu (వేణువు) in Telugu (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana). It is also called as Carnatic Flute.
The venu is discussed as an important musical instrument in the Natya Shastra, the classic Hindu text on music and performance arts.[5] The ancient Sanskrit texts of India describe other side blown flutes such as the murali and vamsika, but sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. A venu has six holes, is about the thickness of a thumb, and twelve fingers long. A longer murali has four holes and two hands longs. The vamsika has eight holes, between twelve and seventeen fingers long.[6]
A venu is a part of the iconography of Hindu god shree Krishna.[2]