Indian musical instruments 29.12.1998

Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified according to the Hornbostel–Sachs system into four categories: chordophones (string instruments), aerophones(wind instruments), membranophones (drums) and idiophones (non-drum percussion instruments). The instruments depicted on the stamps are:-

(Rs2.00) Veena. The Veena  is a plucked stringed instrument originating in ancient India, used mainly in Carnatic classical music and Hindustani classical music. The name is used for several instruments belonging to different families, mainly the Rudra Veena (a zither) and the Saraswati veena (a necked bowl lute) but also

(Rs6.00) Flute. The flute is a family of a musical instrument in the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel–Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophons. A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player,flautist, flutist or, less commonly, fluter or flutenist.

(Rs8.00) The pakhawaja  or mridang is an Indian barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, a variant and descendant of the older mridang. It is the standard percussion instrument in the dhrupad style and is widely used as an accompaniment for various forms of music and dance performances. The pakhavaja has a low, mellow tone, very rich in harmonics. Set horizontally on a cushion in front of the drummer's crossed leg, the larger bass-skin is played with the left hand, the treble skin by the right hand. The bass face is smeared with wet wheat dough which acts as the kiran and is the cause of the vivid bass sound the pakhavaja produces.

(Rs10.00) The sarod (or sarode)  is a lute-like stringed instrument of India, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments in Hindustani classical music. The sarod is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet, overtone-rich texture of the sitar, with sympathetic strings that give it a resonant, reverberant quality. It is a fretless instrument able to produce the continuous slides between notes known as meend (glissandi), which are important in Indian music.