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During the G20 summit in September, dignitaries from the around the world were treated to a showcase of India’s musical heritage with 78 artists playing some of the rarest Hindustani, Carnatic and folk instruments—from Tuila, believed to be the first variant of the plucked string instrument Rudra veena to the Matta Kokila, a 21-stringed harp which roughly translates to an “intoxicated cuckoo”.
But these were not the only rare instruments that are being revived. It was a veena with the visage of a peacock that took centrestage recently at the Guleria Ghat in Varanasi for the 7th edition of the Mahindra Kabira Festival which concluded on December 17.
Called Taus (in Persian) or the Mayuri veena, the 17th century instrument with the face of a peacock is believed to have been played by the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, in the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
“Mayuri veena has a ‘gambhir’ (solemn), sad sound. And when you hit the high notes, you can almost hear the cry of the peacock,” says Sandeep Singh, the only A-grade Taus player in India in the classical tradition. It’s an elder sibling of a lighter Dilruba which is a cross between a sitar and a sarangi. (The Beatles often used Dilruba in their songs).
Singh played the Dilruba for G20 guests but chose to regale the Kabira festival audience full of music connoisseurs with his early morning recital of Taus.
The Mahindra Kabira Festival has become a calendar event to celebrate the life and philosophy of the 15th century mystic-poet
Many verses and hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib, the main holy book of the Sikhs, are also attributed to Kabir and Singh sang the ancient day-time raag gujri todi at the festival with Avirbhav Verma on the tabla
Closely associated with Sikh devotional music, the sculptural Taus—richly painted and patterned with feathers—has not found dedicated learners to continue the tradition, even though the fretted instrument played with a bow is easier to pick up than a sitar or a sarangi.
Singh on his part is trying to change that. “I run an academy in Punjab where I am training 20 students who are serious about playing it in the classical tradition. Five of them are women. I also take online classes for those interested anywhere in the world,” says the 39-year-old, Jalandhar-based artist who was introduced to Taus by his father at the age of 11 and went on to train under the legendary Hindustani classical singer Ustad Dilshad Khan.
In 2006, when the main governing body of all gurdwaras, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), called on raagis and kirtan singers of the Golden Temple to perform with traditional instruments, Singh was invited to play the taus then.
Last year, the Akal Takht (one of five seats of power) asked SGPC to phase out the harmonium (seen as a colonial legacy) from the Golden Temple and replace it with traditional stringed instruments like dilruba, sarangi and taus for kirtans.
“But after having played on the harmonium for so many years, the raagis may find it difficult to adapt to these instruments. They require years of riyaaz,” says Singh.
But he is certain that the tribe of Taus players will grow. “We call this instrument rare. But it’s we who have distanced ourselves from our roots. My father wanted me to master this instrument and I will keep his dream alive.”
But these were not the only rare instruments that are being revived. It was a veena with the visage of a peacock that took centrestage recently at the Guleria Ghat in Varanasi for the 7th edition of the Mahindra Kabira Festival which concluded on December 17.
Called Taus (in Persian) or the Mayuri veena, the 17th century instrument with the face of a peacock is believed to have been played by the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, in the Golden Temple of Amritsar.
“Mayuri veena has a ‘gambhir’ (solemn), sad sound. And when you hit the high notes, you can almost hear the cry of the peacock,” says Sandeep Singh, the only A-grade Taus player in India in the classical tradition. It’s an elder sibling of a lighter Dilruba which is a cross between a sitar and a sarangi. (The Beatles often used Dilruba in their songs).
Singh played the Dilruba for G20 guests but chose to regale the Kabira festival audience full of music connoisseurs with his early morning recital of Taus.
The Mahindra Kabira Festival has become a calendar event to celebrate the life and philosophy of the 15th century mystic-poet
Many verses and hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib, the main holy book of the Sikhs, are also attributed to Kabir and Singh sang the ancient day-time raag gujri todi at the festival with Avirbhav Verma on the tabla
Closely associated with Sikh devotional music, the sculptural Taus—richly painted and patterned with feathers—has not found dedicated learners to continue the tradition, even though the fretted instrument played with a bow is easier to pick up than a sitar or a sarangi.
Singh on his part is trying to change that. “I run an academy in Punjab where I am training 20 students who are serious about playing it in the classical tradition. Five of them are women. I also take online classes for those interested anywhere in the world,” says the 39-year-old, Jalandhar-based artist who was introduced to Taus by his father at the age of 11 and went on to train under the legendary Hindustani classical singer Ustad Dilshad Khan.
In 2006, when the main governing body of all gurdwaras, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), called on raagis and kirtan singers of the Golden Temple to perform with traditional instruments, Singh was invited to play the taus then.
Last year, the Akal Takht (one of five seats of power) asked SGPC to phase out the harmonium (seen as a colonial legacy) from the Golden Temple and replace it with traditional stringed instruments like dilruba, sarangi and taus for kirtans.
“But after having played on the harmonium for so many years, the raagis may find it difficult to adapt to these instruments. They require years of riyaaz,” says Singh.
But he is certain that the tribe of Taus players will grow. “We call this instrument rare. But it’s we who have distanced ourselves from our roots. My father wanted me to master this instrument and I will keep his dream alive.”
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