Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya is a book (ISBN 81-263-0727-7) written by Dr. Lalmani Misra

Lalmani Misra

Lalmani Misra , M.A., Ph.D., D. Mus. , M.Mus. , B.Mus. , Dean & Head, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, was an eminent Indian classical musician known as much for his art as for his scholarship.-Initiation into music:Lalmani learnt Dhruvapada Dhamar in the...

. It was published under the Lokodya Granthmala series (Granthak / Volume No.: 346) of Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

. The first edition was published in 1973, the second in 2002. The book was written in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

.

The book carries an exhaustive documentation of musical instruments, right from the ancient Vedic

Vedic period

The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...

age to modern times. The book has always been in great demand by scholars and musicians for it also gives insight into fundamentals of playing instruments and traces the development in content along with that of the instrument.

The book is currently under translation; an English version may soon be available.

Chapters

The book has fourteen chapters:

The first deals with discussion of music; its elemental essence; its relation to life and theories of its evolution.
The second chapter examines the primary elements of singing, instrument and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

and categorizes the musical instruments.
Third chapter describes in detail the Tat-Vadya or string instruments from Analambi, Alapini, Ektantri Veena to Kand, Kinnari, Ghoshvati, Rudra
Rudra
' is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as "The Roarer", or "The Howler"....

, Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

and Vichitra Veena
Vichitra veena
The vichitra veena is a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. It is similar to the Carnatic gottuvadhyam . It has no frets and is played with a slide.-The structure:...

. Almost fifty different veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...

-s have been individually taken up apart from some minor instruments.
Avanaddh Vadya (literally Sound on striking) or percussion instruments of all types belonging to ancient and middle period are described and their playing style discussed in fifth chapter.
Fifth chapter deals with Sushir Vadya (wind instruments) of ancient and medieval period.
Ghan Vadya(Idiophonic or stroke-based instruments) in India have taken various forms—wood on wood, metal on metal and possible combinations. These are discussed in sixth chapter.
Musical instruments that are not mentioned in classical texts like Jal tarang
Jal tarang
The Jal Tarang , Jaltarang, Jal-tarang, Jal-yantra, Jalatarangam or Jalatharangam, is an Indian melodic percussion instrument. It consists of a set of ceramic bowls tuned with water...

, Ghunghru Tarang, Kans Tarang etc. having evolved in medieval to modern period, are documented in the seventh chapter.
A comparative study is made of ancient, medieval and modern instruments in eighth chapter.
The structure of instruments in their modern evolution is discussed in the ninth chapter, with ample details for building them from scratch despite there being meager details available in ancient texts. This chapter discusses several modern instruments like Vichitra Veena
Vichitra veena
The vichitra veena is a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. It is similar to the Carnatic gottuvadhyam . It has no frets and is played with a slide.-The structure:...

, Rudra Veena
Rudra veena
See also veenaThe rudra veena is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It is an ancient instrument rarely played today...

, Sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...

, Dilruba, Santoor
Santoor
The santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...

, Sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

etc.
The Tenth chapter contains a discussion on availability and evolution of the content for instruments.
The Eleventh chapter examines the genre of folk-music and evaluates the role of folk-instruments.
A modern scientific classification of instruments based on intensity, pitch, range etc. has been envisaged in the twelfth chapter.
Iconic and aesthetic elements of instruments have been discussed in the thirteenth chapter. Instruments are a vehicle conveying essential nature of others to the artiste while transporting his emotions to listeners.
The concluding chapter rearranges the whole gamut of Indian musical instruments
Indian musical instruments
Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified into four categories, mainly classical, western and folk. See Carnatic music and Hindustani music. The instruments are further sub-classified into the type based on the science behind the same....

highlighting the interdependence of evolution of instruments with texts mentioning them. The curve of development being successive, often provided a method to arrange two texts. Finally it established the ancient principles of Indian music in the light of reason rather than tradition or mere convention.

Chapters

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