It also suggests that musicians themselves are improving.” For instance, the sitar can do exactly what the surbahar did, while retaining its own qualities, and that’s why it has taken over. Some of these instruments have died a natural death, only to pave way for something that is better and more deserving. To hear them really becomes a task, let alone making, teaching or playing them. Their volumes are very low and they cannot be connected to amplifiers. Says Ashok Ranade, “Some of the instruments that are dying out sound really sweet, but they are not able to adapt to current times. ![]() Some perceive this as part of a natural evolution of music. Surprisingly, not everyone sees this as a cause for alarm. One would assume that their loss would be mourned. It is commonplace to find Indian musical instruments that are dying out for lack of players, teachers and instrument-makers. The artist was delighted with his hospitality and interest -then he slipped into oblivion. ![]() ![]() ![]() He invited him to tea and recorded a few tunes. Someone in the street was playing a rare instrument called the Ravana hatta, now lost in the sands of time. It was in the noisy streets of Mumbai, amidst the clamour of the traffic, that Ashok Ranade, eminent musicologist and former Head of Department of Music, Mumbai University, heard a familiar, yet unfamiliar sound. Is there a future for the rudra veena, dilruba, esraj and jal tarang? Should we mourn their decline or not? Mayuree Rao weighs the options.
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