| Told by | Mangla Prasad Sharma |
| Obtained by | Suranjita Paul |
| Date | 14th September 2016 |
| Place | 128/1A, Raja Ram Mohan Roy sarani (Amherst Street), Kolkata – 9 |
| About the speaker | Mangla Prasad Sharma is a renowned manufacturer and exporter of Indian traditional musical instruments. |
| Tags | Hafiz Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Gwalior, Rampur, Sindhia Darwar, Madhav Rao Sindhia, Ali Akbar Khan, Rampur, Rewar Darwar, Annapurna Debi, Rabi Shankar, Chikari, Taraf, Drum size, Bridge, Sarangi, Tota, Taraf, Roda, Zil, Debar, Kharaj, Magaz, Chhauni, Posli, Mahjid, Chhati, Peda, Gaz, Parampara, Kanethi, Sarangi, Sarod, Sitar, Sundari, Sahanai, South India, Violin, Tarafdar Sitar, Veena, Surbahar, Sitar, Rabab, Sarod |
| Language | Bengali, Hindi, English |
Mangla Prasad Sharma speaks:
A small video
Another small video
The old musical texts refer to the measurement of musical instruments and define the connection between the body of the musicians and the musical instruments. It is nice to observe the pride of Mr. Mangla Prasad Sharma as a possessor of the ancient wisdom and knowledge. — Editor
Verbatim:
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?? ????????-??? ??? ???? ??? (Kids) ????? ???????? ??? ???????, ?????? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???, ??????, ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???, ?????? ???? ????, ??? ?? ?????? ?????, ??? ?? ??? ???? ??, ????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??????, ?????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???, ????? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???????? (???????) ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???????? (???????) ??? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? ??? ? ??? ??????, ??? ???? ????, ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ?? ????? ????? ????? ????, ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ?????, ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?????
?? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ??????????????? ????? ????? ??? ??????, ??? ????? ??? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??, ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ???, ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????…?? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?????, ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ????? ??? ??? ??? ? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ??? ???, ?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ??????????????
?? ??? ???? ???????? ?????, ???????? ????????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???????? ???????, ???????? ??????, ???????? ????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ????????? ??????, ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ??? Kid, Professional and Medium? ?? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????, ?????? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????? ??? ??? ?????? ??????? ????? ????, ???? ???? ????????, ???????? ???? ?????, ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???????? ?????????????, ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???????? ??, ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ?????, ??? ?? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????????? ???? ?????? ???
Verbatim by: Dr. Suranjita Paul
Translation:
Hafiz Ali Khan’s father Amjad Ali Khan, along with his brothers originally belonged to Gwalior. But they came to live in Rampur, when according to the Rajas of Rampur’s wishes, they moved to the Sindhia Darwar, which was then under Madhav Rao Sindhia. And Alauddin Khan was at the Rimpur state of Mewar under the Rampur Gharana. This Gharana was created by Ali Akbar Khan. Annapurna Ji, the wife of Ravi Shankar, also belonged to this place. Ali Akbar used to play his Sarod in eleven or twelve inches drum. But they used to play in nine inch drum. There are six ears in this type of instrument, but they have eight ears in Ali Akbar’s Gharana. There are two chikaris of 10 in each, while they have eight chikaris. Both Gharanas have fifteen. To measure these, one needs a plate size of eighteen inches. The neck and drum sizes hugely differ. But if we come to the main strings, there are four strings in each. One has teo chikaris and the other has two chikaris, accompanied by two Dhars.
There are three types of Sarangis. First, we have the Tota, which is used to introduce the Sarangi to children for learning. On the Tota, there are seven Tarafs and three Rodas. The names of the Rodas are Zil, Debar and Kharaj. The Zil is the main string, the Debar is the one in the middle, which can go both ways. On the sides of the instrument, there are seven strings. The Tarafs lie on the front of it. The head of the instrument, also known as Magaz, contains eleven to thirteen tarafs. Do you understand? If I am to name the parts of the Sarangi from the top, there is first, the Magaz, then the Masjid, and the Chhati. From below, there is the Peda, and the Chhauni, which is made of leather. The strings on the side are known as Posli. There are nine Poslis on the side of the Sarangi and fifteen on the Chhati.
Till today, no one had dared to alter the language of these terms in the instruments along with the measurements, no matter how far we have come. These terms have always remained intact, for example, Ped Kabala, Ped Dalil. Same applies for Sarangi- it retains its original structure. The hair is kept in braids, which resembles the braids of women’s hair. Today, people might not even know how to tie the hair of the Sarangi. The knob which is used to tune is still called the Kanethi. Similarly, the Sarod and the Sitar, the Sundari, the Sahnai has retained their original form. The Sahanai also exists in three types. The most popular and the largest one is the professional Sahanai, then there is the Surbahar and lastly there is the third type, which people from South India plays. The two types of Violin that we know of are the Professional and the Medium. Among Sitar also, we have the Plain Sitar and the Tarafdar Sitar. Today, what we get to learn is all wrong. We are taught Sarod after Rabab, but actually it should be the other way round. All the instruments used to arrive from the West to the East, and it still continues and there has been no significant change even after Indian independence.
Translated by: Ankana Das
Picture Courtesy: Google
http://vadya.in/product/sarangi-for-concert/
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/tarafdar-sitar-14090015630.html
Edited & Designed: Dr. Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.