Flute
The flute is India’s most ancient wind instrument, depicted in the frescoes at Ajanta and in centuries-old temple sculptures. Remnants of flutes made of bone that are thousands of years old have been found in Europe and elsewhere, but the Indian flute developed independently of its western counterpart.
The flute is a simple instrument generally made of hollow bamboo though other materials may also be used. It has five or more holes along its length and a mouthpiece. The musical notes are produced by blowing into the mouthpiece and opening and closing the other holes with the fingers, in correct order. In India we have two main types—the bansuri, used in the Hindustani classical music of north India and the venu, used in Carnatic music.
The venu has eight holes and is smaller in size than the bansuri, which is typically around 35 cm (14 inches) in length but can be as long as 82 cm (32 inches) and has six or seven holes.
Lord Krishna is often shown playing the bansuri, an instrument with which he produced music that enthralled not only the gopis and others but also wild beasts. Two of his several names are Murlidhar or ‘one who holds the flute’, and Venugopal.
One of the greatest exponents of the flute is Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
