A long-stemmed musical instrument very ordinary to look at. But when touched by the experienced lips, it is soulful. Its heart-rending sound, often with a melancholy strain, forces one to stop, even if for a second, and enjoy the blissful music. Welcome to the world of the shehnai.
At the crack of dawn, if one is fortunate, one can hear the maestro polishing his art, or a novice trying to perfect the strains of music.
The dip and the shrill, the sudden almost whisper of the notes, to the extent that one may wonder, whether it has stopped, to the sudden blare coming out, the quick change of scales and the ability to hold onto a particular note for so long, one might think that the player might just choke, are some of the colours of the music that this instrument doles out.
The smile on the artiste’s eyes, shows that he is happy that he was able to surprise the listeners. It seems as if the artiste is playing to us individually, so great is the skill and so personal is the music! We are enthralled.
Whether listening to the radio, TV or attending a live concert, one does not have to be an expert in music. Without us realising we tap our fingers, shake our heads and at moments open our eyes (which had shut even without realising) to the expected three beats (called “tehai”) and then a contented smile.
It is sublime
It fills us so much that once a piece ends, there seems to be a sudden silence so deep, as if unfathomable — and then the applause. The expert often it seems is playing with us. With the shehnai, the maestro makes us smile, makes us expectant and so engrossed we are that the tears running down don’t shame us. It is sublime. Sometimes overwhelmed by his own emotion, the player’s voice tends to give a shake and we nod as if to say “we understand”.
So why did I pick up the shehnai? Almost any musical instrument, be it a sitar, a tabla, a cello, a piano create the same magic. The reason is, the shehnai is one of those instruments that is played during weddings, sometimes during festivals a little more than any other instrument.
The soulfulness of its strain tends to blend in with the occasion. The sound of the shehnai in a girl’s wedding sounds painful. To the father and the mother, it seems to remind them that the time has come to let go of their most precious jewel. The strings that pull the heart seems to blend in with the strains of the shehnai.
When the music is a playful up and down of the seven “surs” (notes), for a fraction of a second the parents tend to go back to the time when there now bridal clad daughter used to run around in careless happiness. Hiding their tears, they brave up the smile and go about their duties.
Like a love song
To the ones getting married, the sound of the shehnai plays out like a love song. The beautiful strains tend to pull them into togetherness, from where they start a new journey, a joyous one albeit. It seems to pave a path of dreams, of expectations and of nothing is impossible. Promises that they mean to keep and the realisation that the territory they are about to enter is new get enhanced.
To the groom’s family, the same shehnai sounds joyous. Here there is no pain, no leaving anyone behind. It is of addition, acceptance and moving forward. The same strains seem to pull at the heart differently. The soulfulness of the music is one of completion. It is a sound of fulfilment. The notes of playfulness gives a sense of expectation, that the new addition to the family will bring in joy and happiness.
We feel similarly during the festivals. At the beginning of festivities, such music seems to be at the background. But as it progresses towards the end, we realise that soon it will be life as usual, the power of the shehnai hits us literally. Unabashedly tears form and we try to swallow them.
Such is the wonderful power of music — any music. It draws us into togetherness — into a whole, where there is no divide — because we are all human beings with the same feelings. What a wonderful instrument — the shehnai. I am humbled in front of it.
Mamata Bandyopadhyay is a homemaker based in Dubai.
