The Shehnai - From Marriage to Mainstream
Posted on July 1, 2008 in Art & Culture by Gitanjali
India perhaps is a land which has produced the most number of musical instruments, each more variant in shape, material and sound than the other. For this reason, India has been able to boast a large number of instrumentalists. From tribal to the modern, musical instruments have been used to entertain people not only in formal concert stages but also, traditionally in festivals, celebrations and religious ceremonies.
Shehnai-Its Origin
One of the most popular musical instruments in India, ubiquitous in marriages among many cultures is the shehnai, an aerophonic instrument which is thought to bring good luck. The shehnai is believed to have originated in the Kashmir Valley, where people use the instrument in band-i-pather. The shehnai is thought to have been created by improving upon the pungi (a woodwind folk instrument used primarily for snake charming).
The varying legends of the shehnai’s origin are that it was:
- named after a shehnai player called Saina
- derived from ’sheh’ (breath) and ‘nai’ (flute)
- derived from the combination of the Persian words ’shah’ (king), and ‘nai’ (flute) to give the meaning “the king’s flute”.
The Structure of Shehnai
Shehnai is a wind instrument. The instrument has two reeds (some say it has four reeds due to the split of the upper and lower reeds). The body is made of wood with a brass bell-shaped end. The two parts are held together by strings. The reeds used in Shehnai is made of pala grass. Spare reeds and an ivory needle with which the reeds are adjusted are attached to the mouth piece.
Playing Technique
Shehnai is a very sensitive instrument and requires a lot of skill on musician’s part to play. It is considered one of the most difficult instruments to play. The shehnai has eight holes but it is common to find some of the holes partially or completely occluded with wax. Possessing a two-octave range, the shehnai is a difficult instrument to play, as the musician must master a wide range of finely nuanced embouchure and fingering techniques.
Ustad Bismillah Khan - The Lord of Shehnai
Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, the revered and the stalwart in handling the Shehnai is credited with bringing Shehnai out of temples and wedding halls and making it one of the mainstream Indian Classical instruments.
He brought the shehnai to the center stage of Indian music with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music Conference in 1937. He was credited with having almost monopoly over the instrument as he and the shehnai are almost synomyms.
Khan is one of the finest musicians in post-independent Indian Classical music and one of the best examples of hindu-muslim unity in India. His concept of music was very beautiful and his vision, superb. He once said, “Even if the world ends, the music will still survive” and he often said, “Music has no caste”.
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