Punam Flutes

An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is depicted in Buddhist paintings from around 100 AD. It is intimately associated with Krishna's Rasa lila; the tunes on his flute are poetically associated with driving the women of Braj mad. The North Indian bansuri, typically about 14 inches long, was traditionally used as a soprano instrument primarily for accompaniment in lighter compositions including film music. The word bansuri originates in the Sanskrit bans [bamboo] + swar [musical note]. There are two varieties of bansuri: the transverse, and the fipple. The fipple variety is usually played in folk music and is held away from the lips like a whistle. Because of the flexibility and control it offers, the transverse variety is preferred in classical music. Pandit Pannalal Ghosh (1911-1960) elevated the Bansuri from a folk instrument into serious classical music.He improvised with the length and number of holes and eventually came up with longer bansuris with larger bores and a seventh hole placed 90 degrees around from the line of the other six holes. Longer bansuris provided better coverage in the lower octaves. Bansuris vary in length. They range from about 7.5 inches up to about 42 inches ( 35 scales made by Punam flutes ). E natural bass bansuri is common for north Indian classical music. Another common and similar Indian flute played in South India is the venue. The index, middle, and fourth fingers of both hands are usually used to play the six hole bansuri. For the seven hole bansuri, the fifth finger (pinky) of the right hand is usually used. The sound from a bansuri comes from resonance in the air column inside it. The length of this column can be varied by closing or opening the holes. At the same time, keeping a hole half-open helps in getting a flat note.