LAVENIR

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THE ART THAT WORKS WONDER IN SILENCE           

DEAR CUSTOMER,

 For most of us a concert brings the joy of listening. Music colors our mind and gets hold on it. Musicians are applauded and the aura behind them attracts us. Hardly ever do we take a moment to ponder over one simple question. What makes the magic out of such wonderful instruments? What master mind works behind the curtain to carve and shape the impeccable style, design and above all the tone? Here is a story that goes far into the blank of myths and legends and comes alive through chapters of history until the present scenario revealing truths and secrets that are not always discussed.

Indian musical instruments are divided into four categories - Chord phonic (Sitar, Sarod, Violin etc.), Membranophonic (Tabla, Phakawaj, Mridangam etc.), Aero phonic (Flute, Sehnai, Nagaswaram etc.)and Idiophonic ( Bell , Cymbal, Gong etc). LAVENIR inventory shows slightly different division of categories.

Dear Customer, A narrative account will contain thousand anecdotes and perhaps make a book. But we take your time only with essential information with some history that can not be helped. And we focus on the Chord phonic instruments as examples.

Myth has it that Veena is associated with Lord Shiva, Goddess Saraswati, and Sage Narada. Tanpura is the creation of Sage Tumburu and Murali (Bamboo flute) is related to Lord Krishna.

Veena is the oldest stringed instrument evolving through ages in different names and features. Rudra Veena (for Hindustani music) and Saraswati Veena (for Carnatic music) are the two major types these days. There are two types of Veena- with frets or without frets.Rudra Veena, Surbahar Sitar etc are the members of the first group and Rabab, Sursringar and Sarod belong to the second group. Each instrument was developed according to the progress of music and taste of the audience. All musical instruments were created by the joint effort of master- musicians in collaboration with expert craftsmen who had good perception about the music and the expectation of musicians. Some glimpses of history will be truly pertinent at this point. That Sitar was invented by Amir Khusro and Rabab by Tansen, is accepted by many despite controversy over centuries. Tansen’s successors have two lineages namely Seni-rababiya gharana and Seni-beenkar gharana. Zafar Khan of Rababiya Gharana invented Sursringar which was a modification of Rabab.On the other side Umrao Khan of Beenkar-Gharana created Surbahar for his devoted disciple Gulam Muhammad to teach him the techniques of Veena through this instrument. The talented musician Niamatullah Khan developed the instrument sarod with the combined idea of Rabab and Sursringar and also developed its playing techniques. As a controversy some others claim that Sarod is a modification of Afgan Rabab done by Gulam Bandegi Khan Bangash. These instruments were further modified and improved by their successors.

In the19th century A.D. Nawab of Lucknow Wajid Ali Shah came down to Calcutta and settled at Metiaburuz. More than one hundred musicians were attached to his court. After his demise a few musicians stayed back at Calcutta . Moreover Ustad Enayet Khan, the famous sitar player and sarod player Md. Ameer Khan groomed up a number of eminent disciples at Calcutta.As a result Calcutta became the prime centre for sitar and sarod culture which still continues. The best musical instrument makers also reside in Calcutta .

Since ages there is a close and unique bond between the instrumentalists and craftsmen. It is one of understanding where one set up expectations and the other meets it with his research. The laboratory is either the residence or the small shop, where the artist of a craftsman sits with a handful of very common tools such as files, chisels, hammers using wooden pins or lime glues, a paste made of iron dust and rice and so on. There is no precision tool or apparatus to use. All he has is his intuitive perception. His experience tells him which piece of wood would resonate properly in how many years , how thick or thin the sound box(Tabli) has to be and how much of scraping of jawari level would make it sound the way it is expected to.  They are constantly trying to improve the size, the shape and the tonal quality of the instruments in consultation with the master musicians. For example, Ustad Enayet Khan was the man who standardized the size of the sitar with the help of his maker Kanailal Das.There after Pt. Ravi Shankar enlarged its tonal compass to four octaves with the researches made by Nodu Mallick throughout his life. Ustad Vilayet Khan adopted a new process of tuning and gave the sitar an extremely sonorous and lyrical tone appropriate for heavy bending (meend) technique to suit the khyal style of phrases. Its tonal grace was further enriched and given a new dimension by Pt.Nikhil Banerjee . He sought to blend the grandeur of Dhrupad style with the lyricism of khyal and the man whose unique help line took him to his goal was none other than Hiren Roy who is regarded as the best sitar maker of the present generation. Modern sarod is shaped by Ustad Allaudin Khan with the help of his brother Ayet Ali Khan and later its tonal quality had been improved beyond measure by his son Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. All the musicians tried to feel the genius of their instruments and enhance the beauty and resonance of them with the help of skilled and inventive craftsmen. These craftsmen maintain their specialties just like the musicians holding on to their artistic acumen and secrets not to be taught to many. The method of making the jawari, which brings life to the instruments, is perhaps the main trick (andaaz – the intuitive perception behind).Thus musicians can not but depend on the craftsmen

Some reputed and standard makers of Calcutta are Hiren Roy & Sons, Hemen & Company, Monoj Kumar Sardar & Brothers, P& Brothers, Narayan Badya Bhandar, Kanailal & Sons, Paul and Company, and Pakrashi & Company.

At this point the purpose and policy with which LAVENIR operates should be known and projected to the international community of buyers and users of Indian musical instruments. We are not producers but we offer the best services through which such unique handicrafts can reach out to musicians, music lovers and connoisseurs with authentic brand and marvelous finish. As these are not products of any large scale industries and find no outlet in the modern commercial market, we collect them from where they are made and supply them to all. Having a total perception of this tradition we know exactly how to guide our shoppers, help them choose according to their taste and budget, the best item. Our agency thrives for its services and caters to the demand of some of the biggest stores in Europe and the U.S.  

                Courtesy:   Dr.Pradip Kumar Chakraborty

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