Bansuri

The bamboo flute Bansuri is one of the oldest and most known instruments from India. It is held like a transverse flute and blown through a simple hole. The sound is produced in a similar way to blowing into a bottle-neck. The instrument has six finger holes which can be opened varyingly wide with the fingers. That way the tone pitches can be regulated accurately to quarter tones. It’s the finger skills which also add florid passages to the melodies.

The Indian Bansuri is related to one of the most known Hindu deities – Krishna. On pictures Krishna is depicted with crossed legs and a flute. The sound of his Bansuri is said to have had a magical effect on humans and animals: With his flute playing Krishna enchanted the animals and seduced the people. More than 2000 years ago the Bansuri was mentioned in Vedic texts. The term “Bansuri” derives from Sanskrit and essentially means “bamboo melody”.

The Bansuris available at DAN MOI come in two different tunings. They are tuned to the standard pitch A (A=440 HZ) and to the so called “divine tone” A=432 Hz. The 432 Hz tuning is related to the cosmology of numbers. Its timbre is said to touch humans more than those instruments tuned to standard A. Furthermore our instruments are tuned to different keynotes. They are 40 to 75 cm long and they reach a pitch range of more than two octaves. These Bansuris are made by Partha Sarkar who can look back to more than 20 years of experience as a master in instrument making.