Blowing a beautiful tune

Hailing from a family of traditional Sundari players, Bhimanna Jadhav hopes to popularise this wind-blown instrument, which was originally invented by his grandfather's elder brother. Watch him play the female version of the shehnai at NCPA

At Saz-e-Bahar, a festival of Indian instrumental music at the NCPA, you can catch a glimpse of the Sundari, an instrument that resembles the Shehnai but is not as old or popular. Apart from the Sundari, melodious tunes from the Sarod, Santoor, Tabla and Pakhawaj can be heard at the two-day festival. Bhimanna Jadhav, who will be playing the Sundari at the festival, describes it as the female version of the Shehnai.

Sundari is the name of a woman in Maharashtrian culture, says Bhimanna as he begins to reveal the story behind the instrument. Baburao Jadhav, Bhimanna's grandfather's elder brother, was a Shehnai player who lived in Akkalkot in Solapur district. "This took place sometime in 1918. One day, Baburaoji had gone to a store, picked up a large bobbin used to make bedsheets in Solapur and brought it home.

He made a few holes in it and after a couple of modifications he started playing on it. It sounded like a Shehnai, only softer," says Bhimanna. One day Baburao was invited along with other musicians by the erstwhile ruler Patesinh Maharaj to play in his durbar. The chamber where the performance was to be held echoed a lot. "When Baburaoji started playing the shehnai, the sound was too loud due to the echo and the King kept asking him to play softly. Then, Baburaoji took out his new instrument, which he called bobbin and began to play it.

After a few minutes the king came down to him and said the instrument was beautiful and it should be called Sundari. Since then, the Sundari has been played generation after another in our family," says Bhimanna.
Baburao's younger brother and Bhimanna's grandfather Sidram Jadhav popularised the Sundari to a large extent. He was also called the Sundari Samrat. Bhimanna's father Pandit Chidanand Jadhav is also an acclaimed Sundari player and Bhimanna started playing the instrument at the age of four.

He first learnt to play the Shehnai for a few years and then started practicing on the Sundari. He gave his first performance when he was 12 and since then has performed on several occasions. His award list includes the prestigious Akashwani Award at the AIR Musical Competition in Pune as well as the first prize in the Yuva Sangeet Mahostav at Guntur. "My aim is to teach more and more people and popularise the Sundari. I hope to fulfill my grandfather and father's dream of making it popular all over the world. Music is my life and I hope to spread the joy," concludes Bhimanna, who has plans to start training his four-year-old son as well.

On April 14, 6.30 pm
At NCPA, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point.
Entry Rs 50 for tickets
Call 22824567 / 66548135

A musical mystery
The popular Feluda series written by Satyajit Ray includes a story called Samaddarer Chabi, which has a plot that revolves around musical instruments. In the story, the private detective Feluda unravels the mystery with the help of an old instrument. The central plot is based on a man who collects musical instruments from around the world, which threaten to get extinct.