Maarg Manthan · Topic 4.6

Musical Instruments (Tata, Sushir, Avanaddha, Ghana Vadya)

Art & Culture › Music · Topic 4.6

Indian musical instruments are classified into four groups in the Natya Shastra system: Tata vadya (stringed), Sushir vadya (wind), Avanaddha vadya (membrane percussion) and Ghana vadya (solid percussion). The same scheme appears in the Hornbostel-Sachs system as chordophones, aerophones, membranophones and idiophones. Examples are the sitar, sarod, veena and violin (Tata), the flute, shehnai and nadaswaram (Sushir), the tabla, mridangam and pakhawaj (Avanaddha) and the manjira, ghatam and jal tarang (Ghana). Ustad Bismillah Khan made the shehnai famous, and Ravi Shankar did the same for the sitar.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Art & Culture · Music

At a Glance

Tata String instruments
Sushir Wind instruments
Avanaddha Membrane percussion
Ghana Solid percussion
Famous exponents Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Zakir Hussain
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Art and Culture: Music

Where Does It Fit?

This topic follows forms of music and shows the instruments used to perform them. It is rich in match-the-following questions. Previous topic: Forms of Indian Music (Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri, Ghazal, Qawwali, Varnam, Kriti). Next topic: Institutions Related to Music in India (Sangeet Natak Akademi).

What Are the Four Classes of Instruments?

Class	Meaning	Examples	Notes
Tata vadya	Chordophones, sound by plucked, bowed or struck strings	Sitar, sarod, veena, sarangi, esraj, dilruba, tanpura, santoor, violin, ektara	Sitar has frets and sympathetic strings, sarod is fretless. Santoor is struck with mallets, and violin is used in Carnatic music
Sushir vadya	Aerophones, sound by air	Bansuri, shehnai, nadaswaram, pungi, algoza, harmonium, shankha, tarpa	Bansuri is bamboo flute. Nadaswaram is a temple oboe of the south
Avanaddha vadya	Membranophones, covered with a skin	Tabla, pakhawaj, mridangam, dholak, dhol, damru, nagara, khol, dhak	Tabla is two drums, dayan and bayan. Mridangam is the main Carnatic drum
Ghana vadya	Idiophones, solid instruments that sound by themselves	Manjira, jhanj, ghatam, kanjira, jal tarang, ghungroo, kartal, chimta, kharataal	Ghatam is a clay pot. Jal tarang uses porcelain cups of water

Which Instruments and Exponents Are Most Important?

Instrument	Class and region	Exponents and facts
Sitar	Tata, North India	Ravi Shankar (Bharat Ratna 1999), Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, Anoushka Shankar. Associated by tradition with Amir Islam Khan from 1608; Dacca made capital Mewar Settlement with…">Khusrau
Sarod	Tata, North India	Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan of the Maihar gharana
Veena (Saraswati veena)	Tata, South India	Emani Sankara Sastry, Karaikudi Brothers, Doreswamy Iyengar. Also used in Rudra veena in the north
Santoor	Tata, Kashmir	Shivkumar Sharma popularised it as a classical instrument
Shehnai	Sushir, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar	Bismillah Khan of Banaras (Bharat Ratna 2001), widely reported to have played the shehnai at the Red Fort on 15 August 1947 at the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru
Bansuri	Sushir	Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pannalal Ghosh
Tabla	Avanaddha	Zakir Hussain, Alla Rakha, Kishan Maharaj; gharanas of Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Banaras and Punjab
Mridangam and pakhawaj	Avanaddha, south and north	Mridangam for Carnatic music, pakhawaj for dhrupad
Ghatam	Ghana, Tamil Nadu	Vikku Vinayakram

What Else Should You Remember?

Alternate names: sitar is also spelt sithar, shehnai as shahnai or sahnai, tanpura as tambura, veena as vina, nadaswaram as nagaswaram or nadhaswaram, and ghatam as ghadam. Avanaddha is also written anaddha vadya, and Ghana vadya is also called solid instruments
Hornbostel-Sachs: the international system with four groups equal to the Indian ones: chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, idiophones
Tanpura: the drone instrument that gives the tonic for vocal and instrumental performance
Bharat Ratna musicians: M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998), Ravi Shankar (1999), Lata Mangeshkar (2001), Bismillah Khan (2001), Bhimsen Joshi (2009), Bhupen Hazarika (2019, posthumous)
Sitar parts: the sitar has main playing strings, chikari strings, and sympathetic strings called taraf
Folk instruments: ektara, dotara, pungi, algoza, nagara, dholak, tumbi, khamak
Sarangi: a bowed instrument close to the human voice, used to accompany khayal and thumri
Harmonium: introduced by missionaries in the 19th century, now common but banned in All India Radio for some time because it does not suit ragas
Shankha: conch used in ritual
Rudra veena: a large stringed instrument of the north with two resonating gourds, linked with dhrupad and the Dagar tradition, which is among the oldest classical instruments still in use
Violin in India: the European violin was adopted in Carnatic music in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Baluswami Dikshitar, younger brother of Muthuswami Dikshitar, is credited with introducing it into concerts. Today it is the standard accompanying instrument of the south and is played in a seated posture with the scroll resting on the foot
Jal tarang: a set of porcelain or metal bowls filled with different levels of water and struck with sticks, an uncommon melodic ghana instrument
Instrument-making centres: Miraj in Maharashtra is known for sitars and tanpuras, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu for the veena, and Kolkata for sarods, and several of these crafts are seen as living heritage
Temple music: Nadaswaram and thavil in south Indian temples, played at weddings and festivals
Early sources: Harappan finds include rattles and whistles and a seal showing a stringed instrument; the Vedic vina and dundubhi are in early texts
Sangeet Natak Akademi: has a Museum of Musical Instruments, and the Akademi awards help artists, as in Institutions Related to Music in India (Sangeet Natak Akademi)

Why Does It Matter for the Exam?

Classification: which instrument belongs to which of the four groups
Match the list: instrument with exponent or region
Bharat Ratna: musicians who received the award
Gharana link: Maihar for sarod and sitar, Senia for sarod
Common errors: putting the harmonium or mridangam in the wrong group, or saying the santoor is a wind instrument

As an analytical point, instrument making is a craft as much as a music tradition, with specialist families in places such as Miraj for sitars and Thanjavur for veenas. Support for makers is a part of heritage policy.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Classification Four-group scheme
Match Instrument and exponent
Awards Bharat Ratna musicians

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the institutions that support Indian music. Next topic: Institutions Related to Music in India (Sangeet Natak Akademi).

Key People and Terms

Tata String
Sushir Wind
Avanaddha Skin drum
Ghana Solid
Tanpura Drone
Chikari Drone strings on sitar

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Four groups: Tata, Sushir, Avanaddha, Ghana.
Shehnai: Bismillah Khan.
Santoor: Shivkumar Sharma.
Dhrupad drum: pakhawaj.
Carnatic drum: mridangam.

Do Not Confuse With

Sitar and sarod Fretted versus fretless
Pakhawaj and mridangam North versus south barrel drum
Tabla and dholak Paired classical drums versus folk drum

Memory Hook

Tata strings, Sushir blows, Avanaddha skins, Ghana strikes.

Mains Angle

Questions ask how traditional crafts survive. These points give a frame.

Craft Instrument makers
GI tags Craft products linked to music
Teaching Schools and institutions

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Indian musical instruments are an important part of intangible heritage. Discuss the need to protect them.”

How to Answer

Range Four groups.
Craft Makers face decline.
Support Awards, GI, museums.
Way Teach and document.

GS Relevance

Prelims: classification, instruments, exponents, associated gharanas. GS Paper 1: Indian heritage and culture, music.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Indian musical instruments classified?

Indian instruments are classified into four groups: Tata vadya (stringed), Sushir vadya (wind), Avanaddha vadya (membrane percussion) and Ghana vadya (solid percussion). The scheme dates from the Natya Shastra and matches the international Hornbostel-Sachs system of chordophones, aerophones, membranophones and idiophones.

Which instrument is associated with Bismillah Khan?

The shehnai, a wind instrument of the Sushir class, is associated with Ustad Bismillah Khan of Banaras. He is widely reported to have played it at the Red Fort on 15 August 1947, the first Independence Day, at Nehru's invitation, and received the Bharat Ratna in 2001 for his service to music.

What is the difference between sitar and sarod?

The sitar is a fretted, long-necked string instrument with sympathetic strings, played with a wire plectrum, and made famous by Ravi Shankar. The sarod is fretless with a metal fingerboard, played with a plectrum of coconut shell, and associated with Ali Akbar Khan and Amjad Ali Khan.

Which drums are used in Hindustani and Carnatic music?

In Hindustani music the tabla is the main percussion instrument, a pair of drums called dayan and bayan, and the pakhawaj accompanies dhrupad. In Carnatic music the mridangam, a two-faced barrel drum, is the main percussion, joined by the ghatam, kanjira and morsing.

What is the tanpura used for?

The tanpura is a four-stringed drone instrument of the Tata class. It sounds a continuous background of the tonic and fifth, which gives the singer or instrumentalist a fixed pitch reference. It is not played melodically and is used in nearly all classical concerts of both traditions.

Why are Indian musical instruments important for UPSC?

Prelims asks to classify instruments into Tata, Sushir, Avanaddha and Ghana and to match them with exponents and states, such as the shehnai with Bismillah Khan and the santoor with Kashmir. Mains links instruments to crafts, gharanas, patronage and the Bharat Ratna awardees who made them famous.

What is the difference between the tabla and the mridangam?

The tabla is a pair of drums, the dayan and bayan, used in Hindustani music and played with fingers and palms on a skin with a black spot. The mridangam is a single two-headed barrel drum of Carnatic music, played on both faces. The pakhawaj is the northern relative of the mridangam.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The santoor belongs to the Tata vadya group.

True

It is a struck string instrument of Kashmir.

2 Bismillah Khan was a master of the sitar.

False

He was a master of the shehnai.

3 The mridangam is the chief percussion instrument of Carnatic music.