Tanpura

Tanpura

Subject: Art and Culture

Context: With declining patronage in the domestic market for stringed instrument makers, distressed artisans seek the help of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) which is sponsoring their workshops in the U.S and U.K.

Concept:

• Tanpura also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument or drone instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian Music.
• By the end of the 16^th century, the tanpura had “fully developed in its modern form”, and was seen in the miniature paintingsof the Mughals.
• It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of another instrument or singer by providing a continuous harmonic bourdon or drone.
• A tanpura is not played in rhythm with the soloist or percussionist: as the precise timing of plucking a cycle of four strings in a continuous loop is a determinant factor in the resultant sound, it is played unchangingly during the complete performance. 
• Tanpuras are designed in two different styles:
  • Miraj style: the favourite form of tanpura for Hindustani performers. It is usually between three and five feet in length, with a carved, rounded resonator plate (tabli) and a long, hollow straight neck, in section resembling a rounded capital D. The round lower chamber to which the tabli, the connecting heel-piece and the neck (dandh) are fixed is cut from a selected and dried gourd (tumba). Wood used is either tun or teak; bridges are usually. cut from one piece of bone.
  • Tanjore style: this is a South- Indian style of tambura, used widely by Carnatic performers. It has a somewhat different shape and style of decoration from that of the miraj, but is otherwise much the same size. Typically, no gourd is used, but the spherical part is gouged out of a solid block of wood. The neck is somewhat smaller in diameter. Jackwood is used throughout; bridges are usually cut from one piece of rosewood.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):

• Founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It completed 70 years in 2020.
• It is an autonomous organisationof the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations i.e., cultural diplomacy.
• Objectives:
  • to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations.
  • to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries,
  • to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people, and to develop relations with nations.
• It is running 36 cultural centres in different countrieswith the promotion of Indian culture and projecting India as a hub for higher education.
• It instituted several awardsfor foreign nationals as a way to promote India’s culture abroad:

1. Distinguished Indologist Award
2. World Sanskrit Award
3. Distinguished Alumni Award – Citation and Plaque
4. Gisela Bonn Award