Tota Ek Chantar & Shehnai

The Shehnai

The Shehnai is made from wood with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flare at the other. It is one of the nine instruments found in the royal courts. As it creates a sense of auspiciousness and sanctity, it is widely used during marriages, processions and in temples as well as concerts.

The skill and art of playing the Shehnai is almost beyond comprehension. The power it requires and how strong the facials muscles must be are astounding.

This is the sound that herald’s weddings all over the subcontinent of India. Its melancholy sweetness explains exactly the changing of one’s life at marriage…you are the same but different. Our father was blessed enough to be invited for one of Ustad Bismillah Khan’s final concerts and he came back mesmerised by the artistry of this humble man. He felt that he had listened at the open door of darbar for the heavens.