Beauty of India and its People

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Pepa

'Pepa' is a flute-like musical instrument that is used in traditional music in Assam.

It is usually with a very short stem made from small diameter bamboo/cane/reed with the end away from the mouth capped with the horn of a buffalo.

It is an integral part of the culture of Assam.

 

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Pungi



A pungi or been is a wind instrument played by snake charmers in India. Pungi is similar to Chinese Hulusi but has no metal reed and instead uses three small bamboo pipes inside the gourd called "Jeevala". The Pungi was improved to produce the Shehnai. Pungi originated in India and is usually played by the snake charmers on streets even today.

 

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Kuzhal



The kuzhal is a traditional double reed wind instrument used in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is similar in construction to a nagaswaram or a large shehnai, and has a very shrill and penetrating tone.

Kuzhal is used primarily used as an accompaniment for chenda-led ensembles Panchari Melam and Pandi Melam, where the piper plays the anchor role. However, as prelude to melams, it is also used to present solo concert (with a couple of accompanying instruments), in which case it is called Kuzhal Pattu.

The instrument has a wooden body with a conical bore, at the end of which is affixed a brass bell. The player, who is almost always male, blows through a double reed and closes small holes with both hands.

 

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Nadaswaram

The nadaswaram (also spelt nadhaswaram, and also called nagaswaram) is one of the most popular classical instruments of South India and the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument. It is a wind instrument similar to the North Indian shehnai but larger, with a hardwood body and a large flaring bell made of wood or metal.

In India the nadaswaram is considered to be very auspicious, and it is the key instrument which is played in almost all Hindu marriages and temples in South India. It is part of the family of instruments known as a Mangala Vadya (lit. mangala means auspicious, vadya means instrument). The instrument is usually played in pairs, and accompanied by a pair of drums called thavil.

 

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Shehnai

The Shehnai is an aerophonic instrument, a double reed conical oboe, common in North India, made out of wood, and play through a metal flare bell at the end [1][2][3]. Also known as Mangal Vadya, its sound is recognized as creating and maintain a sense of auspiciousness and sanctity, and as a result, is widely used in North India for marriages and processions. The South Indian equivalent of the shehnai is the nadaswaram.

This tube-like instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs two sets of double reeds, making it a quadruple reed woodwind. By controlling the breath, various tunes can be played on it.

Ustad (Master) Bismillah Khan was a well-known shehnai player. Another player of the shehnai is the Ahmadi Black American jazz musician, Yusef Lateef. Dave Mason played shehnai on the Rolling Stones' 1968 hit song "Street Fighting Man".

 

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Harmonium

A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion.

The harmonium is very popular in India.

 

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Chenda

The Chenda (pronounced [tʃeɳʈa]) is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, India. It is also used in some parts of Karnataka where it is called the Chande.

The chenda is mainly played as an accompaniment in the Hindu religious art forms of Kerala. The chenda is used as an accompaniment for Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Kannyar Kali and among many forms of dances and rituals in Kerala. It is also played in a dance-drama called Yakshagana which is popular in Karnataka. It is traditionally considered to be an 'Asura Vadyam' which means it cannot go in harmony.

 

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Kanjira

The kanjira or ganjira is a South Indian frame drum of the tambourine family. It is mostly used in Carnatic music concerts (South Indian classical music) as a supporting instrument for the mridangam.

 

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Damaru

A damaru (Devanagari: डमर&#2370 or damru is a small two-headed pellet drum from India and Tibet, shaped like an hourglass. The drum is typically made of wood, with leather drum head, or made out of human skulls.[1] Its height ranges from a few inches to a little over a foot. It is played one handed. The strikers are typically beads fastened to the ends of leather cords around the waist of the damaru. Knots in the leather can also be used as strikers. As the player waves the drum using a twisting wrist motion, the strikers beat on the drumhead. The damaru is used by itinerant musicians of all stripes due to its small size. It is used in Tibetan Buddhism in a ritual manner, particularly with the trance sadhana of the Chöd which was traditionally often performed in the charnel ground.

 

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Dhol

The dhol (Assamese: ঢোল, Punjabi: ਢੋਲ, ڈھول; Hindi: ढोल; Pashto: ډهول; Urdu: ڈھو&#1604 and also dohol (Persian: ده&#1604, is a drum (a percussion musical instrument) widely used in the Indian subcontinent, especially Assam Valley (during Assam's Bihu festival), the Punjab region, and especially among the Sikhs of East Punjab. Apart from Punjab, Dhol has been adapted into the music of other regions throughout South Asia and abroad including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sindh and Maharashtra. It is very popular in modern Punjabi music.

 

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Dholak




The Dholak (Punjabi: ਢੋਲਕੀ, Devnagari: ढोलक sometimes dholaki or in Suriname & Holland dhool) is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum. It may have traditional lacing or turnbuckle tensioning: in the former case rings are used for tuning, though the dholak is mainly a folk instrument, lacking the exact tuning of the tabla or the pakhawaj. It is widely used in qawwali, kirtan and various styles of North Indian folk music. It was formerly much used in classical dance.

 

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Carved Buddhist Mani Stones, Zangla, Kingdom of Zanskar, India



the confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers



The confluence of Bhagirathi and Alakananda rivers forming the Ganges

 

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Likir Monastry, Ladakh




lADAKH



Grazing Yaks, Ladakh

 

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Barapani, Meghalaya



Statue of Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) near Namchi, Sikkim

This is the tallest statue (135 ft) of Padmasambhava in the world



Ujjayanta Palace (Tripura Legislature), Agratala

 

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manila pass HP

Amazing sight - A deer swimming in the sea, Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar