Newsletter October 2022 – March 2023

Content

1. New in our Assortment - Harmonium Bhava Mini, Recon Shruti Boxes, Modified Dholak & Ebony Bridges
2.
Special Offers - String Instruments, Harmoniums & Shrutibox, Drums, Wind Instruments
3.
Yoga & Harmonium (1) - The Effect of the Harmonium
4.
Internet Guru - Online Lessons in Classical Indian Music
5.
Brief News: Sangit Natak Akademi Awards, Saint of the Santoor, Honours for Tabla Players
6.
How to Make (Indian) Music? (30) - Listening & Attentiveness
7.
Workshops - April to August
8.
Concerts - April to July




1. Harmonium Bhava Mini, Recon Shrutiboxes, Modified Dholak & Ebony Bridges

- New in our Assortment -


Bhava Mini Standard Edition

- Harmonium Bhava Mini Standard Edition - 799 €
The foldable Bhava Mini Standard Edition offers a handy size, robust construction, low weight, high quality, good sustain and a full, round sound - ideal for travelling yogi*nis and kirtan fans. It has evenly grown and well-seasoned wood, cleanly sprayed and especially durable lacquer, rust-free screws and specially manufactured fittings, extra soft bellows springs for long sustain and soft fade-out, high-quality reeds for instant response and harmonious sound, tasteful, noble design and a flawless exterior without scratches, dents or stains.
Further details & pictures

- Bhava Studio Standard Edition - 899 €
High-quality stand-up harmonium - in our assortment since autumn 2022.

- Bhava Classic Standard Edition - 899 €
High-quality collapsible harmonium - in our assortment since autumn 2022.

Bhava stands for harmoniums of the best quality and with ethical standards. More about Bhava harmoniums in the previous newsletter.

Shrutibox Paloma Recon

- Shrutibox Paloma large Recon 432 hertz - 399 €
Nowadays, it is difficult to get high-quality teak wood for musical instruments at affordable prices in India. Therefore Paloma has developed shrutiboxes made of Recon. Recon is industrially produced by moulding bamboo fibres and retains the properties of natural wood. Sound and stability are completely equal. Appearance and feel are also convincing. In this way, Recon helps keep prices and quality stable and reduces the environmental impact of teak deforestation. The popular large Paloma shrutibox is now also available in Recon with 432 hertz tuning.
Further details & pictures.

Shrutibox Paloma Recon klein


- Shrutibox Paloma small Recon - 339 €
Paloma small Recon is our smallest and lightest shrutibox - great for travelling! The manufacture from Recon, the silk-matt finish and the very fine quality of workmanship give the instrument a particularly noble character.
Further details & pictures.

 

Dholak NBB mit Spannmechanik

- Dholak Narayan Badya Bhandar with combined tuning system – 329 €
Tuning dholaks with rope system is hard because any change to the rope tension affects both heads. Therefore we now offer our dholaks with separate tuning systems for each head. The bass head is tuned with a nut and bolt mechanism. The treble head is tuned independently with a traditional rope system with rings. Thanks to this combination of innovation and the tried and tested, it’s now easy to combine a crisp treble with a rich, powerful bass sound.
Further details & pictures.

Sitar Bridge Ebenholz

- Sitar javari bridge ebony - 59 €

The horn of the sambar deer traditionally used for sitar bridges is no longer available due to species protection laws. Nowadays acrylic is usually used for high-quality sitar bridges. Acrylic bridges offer very good sound and last longer than horn bridges. If you prefer natural material instead of plastic, we now offer sitar bridges made of ebony. They have very good tonal qualities and are very durable thanks to the hardness of the wood.
Further details & pictures.

 


2. String Instruments, Harmoniums & Shrutibox, Drums, Wind Instruments

- Special Offers -


Bargains and rarities, curiosities and precious items are not sold in our regular online catalogue. All these second-hand instruments, samples, remaining stock, discontinued models and instruments with minor defects or special features are individual items - so please enquire quickly if you are interested. Here is a current overview. Enjoy browsing!


Sitar Radha Krishna Sharma Full Deco

SAITENINSTRUMENTE
- Sitar Radha Krishna Sharma Full Deco – 1359 €
- Sitar Full Deco anonymous - 650 €
- Sitar Full Deco anonymous - 590 €
- Sitar Bharat Music House – 490 €
- Swarmandal Monoj Kumar Sardar - 99 €
- Sitar resonator toomba, various models – 49 – 89 €
- Sarangi case artificial leather – 49 €


Harmonium Pakrashi Coupler

HARMONIUMS & SHRUTIBOXEN
- Harmonium Maestro Pakrashi collapsible – 1089 €
- Harmonium Scale-Changer Monoj Kumar Sardar – 989 €
- Harmonium Compactina Pakrashi #2 – 589 €
- Harmonium Compactina Pakrashi #3 – 589 €
- Harmonium Compactina No-Name – 489 €
- Shrutibox MKS large – 299 €


Baya Calcutta Standard

DRUMS
- Baya Calcutta Standard – 199 €
- Tabla Narayan Badya Bhandar Premium 5 3/8 Zoll – 269 €
- Tabla Narayan Badya Bhandar Premium 5 1⁄2 Zoll – 239 €
- Dholak JAS Musicals  with nut and bolt tuning system – 99 €
- Dholak NBB B-stock - 259 €


WIND INSTRUMENTS
- Various professional Bansuris – 69 to 149 €
- Bansuri Premium SA = e’ – 159 €

Special offers overview.

 


3. Yoga & Harmonium (1) - The Effect of the Harmonium

- Feature Series by Alice Radha -


Harmonium - the name already implies what it spreads with its sound: Harmony. And isn't that what everyone wants? Harmony. There are certainly many paths that lead to harmony. Yoga is one of them. Traditional yoga practice teaches us meditation, pranayama, asana, relaxation and a healthy, integral way of life. Even though many people come to yoga through the physical side of the asanas, the path does not stop there. The more one engages with yoga, the more practices are applied. The goal is to connect body and mind. Yoga means connection. And it is this connection that then becomes tangible. The moment of feeling good.




Harmony

Music can also be a way to feeling good, because the energy of the sound waves evoces a feeling of connectedness. Music can be experienced by all and the effect is undeniable. For example, if you watch a romantic movie without music, there are hardly any tears. But these very tears represent the fact that music touches people. In yoga we call this the bhakti tears. When I am asked during kirtan what to do when tears come, I say: let them flow. This achieves one goal of the practice of mantra singing. The music touches and thus leads to a balance. And that is harmonious.

So the music in yoga enhances the effect. Especially mantra singing, accompanied by chords, has become an integral part of the yoga movement in Europe. The mantra OM is probably the first one that yoga learners come across. As soon as the first chords of the harmonium spread through the room, the energy changes perceptibly. When the first OM is then superimposed on these sounds, it spreads further. And when everyone sings along, it can be very touching.

Even if the students are hesitant at the beginning, at some point they dare and start singing along. In my experience, it is important to invite people to singing together. Many believe that they cannot sing. That is not true, of course. If you can speak, you can sing! Maybe the pitch is not quite where it should be, but that doesn't matter at first. The harmonium can help to overcome initial inhibitions. With the underlying chord, it is easier for many to get involved with the sound wave and find their tone. Thus singing is a powerful part of yoga pratice, either at the beginning, at the end or after a yoga class, depending on the yoga style. Some yoga centres even have satsangs with mantra singing, or kirtans, or mantra concerts regularly.


AliceRadha Kirtan

I first came into contact with the harmonium through Sivananda Yoga. Both in the ashram and in the centres, it is used to accompany the daily mantras. As a musician, the daily mantra singing was always my favourite moment in all my Sivananda yoga teacher training courses. They mainly took place in India. When I came back to Europe in 2010 after my first yoga teacher training, I wanted to continue singing mantras. Unfortunately, there were hardly any offers at that time. So, as a musician and yoga teacher, I started to offer mantra singing and kirtan myself. Since then, the harmonium has become part of everyday yoga life everywhere and is standard equipment in many yoga studios. A harmonium creates harmony. That's what people feel when they immerse in its sound, as many feedbacks confirm to me again and again: "Mmh, it was so beautiful and the instrument accompanied your voice so nicely, it all felt so harmonious."

*****

Alice Radha is a musician, mantra expert and yoga acharya in the Sivananda tradition. She gives mantra and harmonium workshops, trains yoga teachers, teaches harmonium for yoga practice and has developed contemporary learning material for harmonium.

Alice Radha’s Website , Facebook , Instagram  & Youtube.
Alice Radha’s learning material at India Instruments.

 


4. Internet Guru - Online Lessons in Classical Indian Music

- Research Review by Yogendra -


The contact and travel restrictions during the corona pandemic 2020 to 2022 have given a huge boost to online communication. Also in Indian classical music. This was and is quite obvious in the offer of virtual online concerts. But teaching also took place almost exclusively online during the pandemic. However, online teaching in Indian classical music has not been invented because of the pandemic - it took place before and continues even after contact and travel restrictions have ended. In a globally connected world, it seems like a good medium to to bring together learners and teachers from different cities, countries or continents. But what does online teaching change in an oral music tradition that only lives on through the personal transmission from masters to students? What is lost through technology and virtuality? And what is gained?

Jeff Roy

Ethnomusicologist, musician, filmmaker and queer activist Jeff Roy explored these questions in his paper "The Internet Guru: Online Pedagogy in Indian Classical Music Traditions". It was published in 2016 at the University of Texas. Roy first defined formative elements in traditional face-to-face teaching: Repetition, simultaneous playing or singing, extra-musical aspects, the importance of time and place, and the concept of devotion. Then he examined the role of these elements in online teaching. Roy gathered his information from interviews with several gurus and learners, from observing various teaching situations, and from his own 6-year learning experience as a student of sitar master Imrat Khan with a mixture of online sessions and face-to-face teaching.

Roy's findings on online teaching: Simultaneous playing or singing does not take place because of the slight time difference in transmission. Repeating pre-played material takes more time and uses more complex patterns. There is more verbal explanation and more use of notation. Extra-musical aspects such as personal exchange play a much smaller role. Time usually has a fixed, strictly limited framework, for which payment is also fixed. The suggestive power of the consecrated music room in the house of the teacher as a place of instruction is eliminated. The only thing that remains fundamentally unchanged is the central importance of the learners' dedication to the process of practising and learning, and to the teacher as a mediator of traditional knowledge and skills.

Roy's conclusions: Online lessons change teaching a lot - in subtle and in drastic and obvious way. The most profound change is the displacement of implicit, direct and experiential learning that leads to full musical embodiment and a physical automaticity. It is being replaced by analytically based methods that require translation of information from notation or verbal instructions into music. Despite these changes, however, many traditional values and pedagogical practices remain intact and the integrity of the overall learning experience is maintained for many students. In this respect, Indian classical music pedagogy in online classes proves the tradition’s ability to translate embodied learning into analytical learning.

E-Learning

Technology has evolved since 2016. New tools allow playing together online in real time. Online teaching has become an ubiquitous form of teaching and learning in Indian classical music. Teaching formats for groups and structured courses with fixed modules are increasingly being offered, in addition to traditional individual lessons.  As a result, those who want to learn can basically access learning opportunities anywhere and at any time. Indian classical music practice has thus become accessible in unprecedented breadth and depth. It may look as if its pedagogical adaptability could secure the future of Indian classical music traditions.

But is that true? What would be lost if learning only happened online? Who would still engage in decades of learning and practising in order to fully masterthe tradition? How can spontaneity and improvisational skills develop in an analytical teaching system? If embodied learning were to be completely displaced by analytical learning, essential characteristics of today’s classical Indian music might vanish. In the long run, therefore, a meaningful combination of embodied and analytical learning may be needed so that the tradition can continue to develop organically without losing its roots.

The Internet Guru: Online Pedagogy in Indian Classical Music Traditions.
Website von Jeff Roy.


5. Brief News: Sangit Natak Akademi Awards, Saint of the Santur, Honours for Tabla Players

- Scene Info -


E-Learning

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards – Honours for Musicians & Instrument Makers

Founded in 1952, the Sangeet Natak Akademi is India's national academy for the preservation of cultural heritage in music, dance and drama. It supports cultural institutions, maintains an archive and library and awards grants. It usually presents the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards annually as the highest national recognition to cultural practitioners in various categories. However, during the Corona Pandemic, the awards were suspended for 2019 to 2021 and not made up until autumn 2022. Most of the over 100 awardees are largely unknown outside India. But there are also awardees with international reputation: Kushal Das (sitar, expected to tour Europe again in autumn 2023), Sangeeta Shankar (violin), Sumitra Guha, Subhra Guha and Arati Ankalikar Tikekar (all Khyal Vocal), Uday Bhawalkar and Prem Kumar Mallick (both Dhrupad Vocal), Sudha Ragunathan (Carnatic Vocal), Dal Chand Sharma (Pakhawaj) and Bickram Ghosh (Fusion).

The awards for instrument makers Majid Gulabsaheb Satarmaker from Miraj and Dulal Kanji from Kolkata are particularly noteworthy. Many Indian instrument makers complain of poor working conditions, lack of young talent, low earnings, low status and lack of recognition. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for two of them are therefore an important gesture. Dulal Chandra Kanji, a student of the legendary Hemen Sen, was one of India's best sarod makers in the 1980s and 90s and was also quite well known in the West at that time. Today, his son Naba Kumar Kanji continues the tradition. Majid Gulabsaheb Satarmaker already carries his craft in his name and represents the instrument making tradition of Miraj. A flourishing network of several families of plucked instrument makers has developed there since the mid-19th century.

 

Website of Dulal Kanji.
Website of Majid Gulabsahib Sitarmaker.

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Sopori

Bajan Sopori - Saint of the Santur

Bhajan Sopori came from a family that had cultivated the unique combination of Shaivism, Sufism and classical North Indian musical tradition in the Kashmir Valley for centuries. Several generations of his ancestors had played santoor, and so Bhajan Sopori learned santoor from his father and grandfather since early childhood. Over the years, he developed his own style and modified the santoor according to his artistic ideas. Among other things, he extended the range to more than 5 octaves, added sympathetic strings and used the gentle pitch modulations (meend) so important for classical ragas by pressing down the strings behind the bridges with his fingers. Bhajan Sopori was particularly concerned with the spiritual power and healing effect of his music. He saw himself as a peace ambassador for Kashmir, which was torn violently between India and Pakistan, composed prayer songs and ran his own music academy. In 1992 he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and in 2004 the Padma Shri. On 2.6.2022, he died of cancer at the age of 73 in Gurugram near Delhi.

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Zakir


Honours for Tabla Players - Zakir Hussain & Swapan Chaudhuri

Normally, the tabla is only an accompanying instrument in Indian music - but in the hands of Zakir Hussain (*1951), it steals the show from many a soloist and becomes a star itself. After learning the traditional art of tabla from his father Alla Rakha from an early age, Zakir went to the USA as a teenager and founded the legendary group Shakti, alongside John McLaughlin, L. Shankar and Vikku Vinayakram. In this and many other groundbreaking world music projects, Zakir Hussain proved to be an open-minded, creative composer and improviser as well as a brilliant entertainer. His charisma, infectious joy of playing and wealth of tonal nuances have influenced generations of tabla players. To this day, Zakir is almost constantly on tour worldwide, playing with stars of Indian classical music as well as with jazz and world musicians. On 26 January, India's Republic Day, commemorating the enactment of the Indian Constitution in 1950, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest state decoration. Zakir Hussain is only the second tabla player after Kishan Maharaj to receive this award. Previously, Ravi Shankar (sitar), Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), Bismillah Khan (shahnai), Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri), Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), Ram Naryan (sarangi) and singers Asha Bhosle, Girija Devi, Gangubai Hangal and Kishori Amonkar, among others, were awarded a Padma Vibhushan
Zakir Hussain live on tour with Shakti – see concert calendar below.

Zakir Hussain live mit Shakti am 7.7. in der Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Swapan

On 23 February, tabla player Swapan Chaudhuri (*1945) received an extraordinary honour as well. Swapan got the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from the hands of Indian President Draupadi Murmu as a lifetime achievement award. Swapan Chaudhuri has made a name for himself primarily as a classical Indian tabla master. As an accompanist, he played with Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, Amir Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, M. Balamuralikrishna, Birju Maharaj, L. Subramaniam and V.G. Jog, among others. His congenial interplay with Ali Akbar Khan over several decades was outstanding. In addition, he has also played with greats from pop, jazz and world music. To this day he teaches tabla with great dedication at the Ali Akbar Colleges of Music (AACM) in San Rafael, California, and in Basel, Switzerland.
Workshops and concerts with Swapan Chaudhuri at AACM Basel.


6. How to Make (Indian) Music? (30) - Listening & Attentiveness

- Quote by T.M. Krishna -


In der Reihe „Wie geht eigentlich (indische) Musik?“ bringen wir seit Frühjahr 2016 assoziative, prägnante Anregungen
von Künstler*innen und Intellektuellen.

We always talk about music, but we rarely talk about listening. What we are discussing is actually being able to listen. I think listening embodies a certain amount of quietness and humility. To actually pay attention. And art is all about paying attention. It's about acutely being attentive. And in the most humble manner, because you do realise that something is growing and developing in that moment and you were just watching it and learning from it.

TM Krishna


Thodur Madabusi Krishna (* 1976) is a singer in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. He has become known for his creative and innovative use of classical forms. Today, he uses his popularity to open up the elite exclusivity of the Carnatic tradition through new performance formats and collaborations with marginalised groups. He has published several books and is an activist for environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and against caste discrimination.
Quote from: Musically Speaking (with Zakir Hussain and TM Krishna), 145. Bangalore International Centre Talks Podcast, 25.8.2021, 23:40-24:15


7. Workshops – April to August

- Scene Info -


16.04. CH-BIEL: Harmonium Learning with Andreas Reese
30.04. HAMBURG: Harmonium-Workshop with Alice Radha
08.-10.05. CH-CHEMIN: Naad Yoga Retreat with Manish Vyas
21.-26.05. HORUMERSIEL: Harmonium & Kirtan Week with Devadas
21.05. CH-BERN: Mantras with Krishna Das
27.05. N-OSLO: Mantras with Krishna Das
31.05. DK-COPENHAGEN: Mantras with Krishna Das
02.-04.06. BAD MEINBERG: Harmonium Beginner Workshop with Jürgen Wade
03.06. SE-STOCKHOLM: Mantras with Krishna Das
08.-11.06. KLOSTER GERODE: Nada Yoga – Healing Power of Sound with group Swaramandala
11.-16.06. OY-MITTELBERG: Harmonium & Kirtan Week with Devadas
17.06. GB-LONDON: Mantras with Krishna Das
02.07. FRANKFURT: Mantras with Krishna Das
09.-14.07. BAD MEINBERG: Harmonium & Kirtan in Classical Indian Style with Ram Vakkalanka
13.07. BERLIN: Mantras with Krishna
14.-16.07. HORUMERSIEL: Harmonium Beginner Workshop with Annette Pritschow
16.-21.07. BAD MEINBERG: Harmonium & Kirtan Week with Devadas
27.08.-01.09. HORUMERSIEL: Yoga Mantra Vacation Week with Sundaram

Details of all workshops in our workshop calendar.


8. Conzerts – April bis July

- Scene Info -


01.04. GB-LONDON: Kaushiki Chakraborty (Khyal)
01.04. FR-PARIS: Sweety Cynthia (Kathak)
01.04. FRIEDBERG (HESSEN): K.Falschlunger (Sitar), C.Rofner (Bass), T.Steinberger (Framedrums)
01.04. STUTTGART: Supratik Sengupta (Sitar)
01.04. BERLIN: Matyas Wolter (Surbahar)
01.04. WOLTERSDORF: Roy Sunak (Bansuri)
02.04. BERLIN: Manickam Yogeswaran (karnatischer Gesang)
02.04. STUTTGART: Supratik Sengupta (Sitar)
07.04. FR-PARIS: Pushpraj Koshti (Surbahar)
07.04. ES-CARDEDEU: Pelva Naik (Dhrupad)
15.04. STUTTGART: Shirin Sengupta (Khyal)
16.04. STUTTGART: Shirin Sengupta (Khyal)
16.04. NL-DEN HAAG: Ashok Pathak (Sitar)
18.04. BE-MEISE: Sitardust Trio (World Jazz)
21.04. NL-DEN HAAG: Shashank Subramanyam, Pravin Godkhindi (Bansuri)
22.04. NL-Amsterdam: Shashank Subramanyam, Pravin Godkhindi (Bansuri)
22.04. FR-PARIS: Janaki Rangarajan (Bharatanatyam)
22.04. STUTTGART: Kalyanjit Das (Sitar)
22.04. NETTETAL: Anusya Pathmanathan (Bharatanatyam)
23.04. GB-LONDON: Jasdeep Singh Degun (Sitar), Saberi Misra (Kathak)
23.04. STUTTGART: Kalyanjit Das (Sitar)
23.04. MÜNCHEN: Pravin Godkhindi (Bansuri)
28.04. BERLIN: Bahauddin Dagar (Rudra Vina), Zafraan Ensemble
30.04. GB-LONDON: Season Unnikrishnan, Ritu Raj (Bharatanatyam)
30.04. BAD OLDESLOE: Pulsar Trio (World Jazz)
04.05. ESSEN: Shashank Subramanyam (Bansuri), Prashanti Sankaran (Gesang)
06.05. STUTTGART: Monalisa Ghosh (Odissi)
07.05. GB-LONDON: Srinidhi Raghavan (Bharatanatyam)
07.05. STUTTGART: Monalisa Ghosh (Odissi)
12.05. BERLIN: Matyas Wolter (Sitar)
13.05. STUTTGART: Subhankar Chatterjee (Khyal), Subramania Siva (Bansuri)
14.05. STUTTGART: Subhankar Chatterjee (Khyal), Subramania Siva (Bansuri)
18.05. BAD MEINBERG: Indigo Masala (World Jazz)
20.05. CH-BERN: Krishna Das (Mantras)
20.05. MÜNCHEN: Sneha Bharadwaj (Bharatanatyam)
26.05. VIERSEN: Pulsar Trio (World Jazz)
27.05. MÜNCHEN: Natya Fest (Bharatanatyam)
29.05. DK-COPENHAGEN: Krishna Das (Mantras)
01.06. DORTMUND: Pulsar Trio (World Jazz)
02.06. SE-STOCKHOLM: Krishna Das (Mantras)
08.06. HANNOVER: Yogendra & Carsten Bethmann (Sitar & Gitarre)
11.06. DARMSTADT: Partha Bose (Sitar)
15.06. GB-LONDON: Krishna Das (Mantras)
16.06. GB-LONDON: Krishna Das (Mantras)
25.06. WOLFENBÜTTEL: Hindol Deb (Sitar)
25.06. GERBSTEDT: Pulsar Trio (World Jazz)
27.06. GB-LONDON: Shakti (World Jazz)
27.06. FÜRSTENFELDBRUCK: Krishna Das (Mantras)
28.06. GB-LONDON: Shakti (World Jazz)
28.06. FÜRSTENFELDBRUCK: Krishna Das (Mantras)
04.07. NEU-ISENBURG: Krishna Das (Mantras)
05.07. NO-KONGSBERG: Shakti (World Jazz)
07.07. HAMBURG: Shakti (World Jazz)
08.07. NEUSTRELITZ: Pulsar Trio (World Jazz)
10.07. LEINFELDEN-ECHTERDINGEN: Krishna Das (Mantras)
12.07. BERLIN: Krishna Das (Mantras)
14.07. BERLIN: Krishna Das (Mantras)

Details of all concerts in our concert calender.

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