7 Lesser-Known Indian Musical Instruments

Music has always been an integral part of India. Be it singing the shlokas or exploring the gamakas, the world of Indian music has something to offer to everyone. From classical forms to indie pop, today there exist various different genres of music that can be heard or sung in the Indian subcontinent. Not only this, the various forms of music originating in ​India has traveled across the world and is popular in most of the foreign countries. It is even intriguing to know that there is a high demand by people from different countries around the globe to learn the different forms of Indian music.

Musical Instrument

But music is an amalgamation of 3 different aspects – instrumental, vocal, and dance. These three forms come together to form music and that what India has been known for since ages. Amongst these three, instruments play a very fundamental role in enriching and empowering the other two. From a simple Tanpura to the fusion instrument Zitar, everything plays a significant role in the context of music. However, even though India

Knowing The Unknown

has a rich legacy of musicians who played several different instruments, only a few got the opportunity to hone their talents and come to the forefront to propagate the knowledge of their respective instruments. And so, even today, there remains several instruments which aren’t mainstream but still the symphony they produce stand u paralleled.

Thus, to make you all aware of some of these age-old instruments here’s presenting 7 of the lesser-known ones. Happy exploring!

1. Ravanahatha

Ravanahatha

Believed to be first played, or built, by the Hela community during the era of King Ravana, this bowed string instrument has seen royal treatment through history and continues to be played in the traditional and tribal music forms of Rajasthan. This instrument is made out of a cut coconut shell covered with goat hide and the stick, known as dandi, is made from Bamboo and then attached to it. besides, it has 2 main strings – a steel string and a horsehair string .and jingle bells are attached along the longbow to give the instrument a final shape.

2. Yazh

Yazh

Considered as the ancestor of the modern-day Veena, Yazh is a plucked string instrument that was initially played during the early centuries in the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. It gets its name owing to ist curvature that resembles the head of the mythological creature, Yali. The earliest mention of Yazh could be found in the works of the great poet Thirukurral, around 200 BC.

3. Sursingar

Sursingar

Translating to ‘Embellishment of Melody’, this is believed to be a lute-derived sarod, but with a larger dimension and a much deeper tone. It was widely played during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Dhrupad performances. It has a neck made of a metal fingerboard and the strings that are made of steel and bronze are played with a metal pick, while the bridge is made of a flat horn. Besides, it consists of two resonant boxes and the min body of the instrument is made of wood or leather.

4. Gubguba

Gubguba

Looking similar to the tabla at first glance, Gubguba is a percussion string instrument that has a dried gourd through which a gut string is attached. This is one of the instruments which finds a special place in the folk culture and has more than ten different names and many different versions too. The Bengali Khomok or khamak, having two strings, is considered to be one of the many variants of this instrument.

5. Kuzhal

Kuzhal

A traditional double-reed wind instrument, Kuzhal is considered as a temple musical instrument belonging to the culturally rich land of Kerala. This instrument basically has a wooden body with a conical bore, with a brass bell affixed at the end of it. Having a very shrill and penetrating sound,  it is often compared to a nadaswaram and/or mistaken as a large shehnai.

6. Algoza

Algoza

An essential part of the Balochi, Sindhi, Punjabi, and Rajasthani folk music, Algoze finds its use especially in the genres of Jugni, Jind Mahi, and Mirza. It has been used by great Sindhi musicians like Late Ustad Khamiso Khan, to add symphonic beauty to their presentation and melody. This instrument is primarily made of bamboo and is played by keeping three fingers on each side of the reed and by breathing into it. In the recent past, it has gained a lot of popularity in countries like the USA where people cherish the folk flavor.

7. Gogona

Gogona

Traditionally used in the Bihu music of Assam, Gogona is a vibrating reed instrument that is made of bamboo or a horn. A type of jaw harp, it is an instrument that originated in the ancient land of China (Kouxian) and then was passed on to the Sino-Tibetan tribes who migrated to Assam. Today, primarily used by the Sadiyal Kacharis, this instrument and the other jaw harps play an important role in traditional customaries and spiritual forms of music.

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