Saturday 26 February 2011

Folk Songs from Bangladesh












Track: Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya
Collected From: Manikganj 

Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya
Rongeela desher naiya
Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya (2x)



O naiya re...
Eina nodir ghate ghate
Paal chipaiya paani uthe
Koto sadhu-r bagan gelo je vasia
(2x)
tumi bibek holud gaye mekhe re o naiya...
Keno jao maya nodi baiya


Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya
Rongeela desher naiya
Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya

O naiya re...
Eina nodir bake bake
Kumir thake jhake jhake
Baag e pele felbe je khaiya
(2x)
Tumi bibek holud gaye mekhe re o naiya...
Keno jao maya nodi diya


Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya
Rongeela desher naiya
Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya

O naiya re...
Eina nodir pichol ghat
Chhoy romoni dekhay daat

O tader roop dekhiya jaiona vulia
(2x)
O tumi roop dekhiya vuila gele re o naiya...
Morbi tui habu dubu khaiya...

Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya
Rongeela desher naiya
Maya nodi kamne jabi baiya

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Primitive Musical Instrument of Bangladesh: Dotora

Dotara - Body (top view)
The Dotora (a.k.a. Dotar, or Dotara) is an instrument much associated with the musical culture of the Bengali people. the Dotara consists of a wooden body covered with leather. The strings run across a bridge and a metal fingerboard. It is commonly used in Bangladesh and West Bengal and even Assam, and Eastern Bihar, and dates from the 15th-16th century when it was adopted by the ascetic cults of Bauls and Fakirs. The equivalent as a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute is found in Central Asia as dutar (Persian: دو تار, Uzbek: dutor) (also Doutar).

The origin of the terms "dotar" or "dotora" are interesting.  The word is found in Bengali (i.e., Bangla Bhasha), which is a member of the Eastern Group of Indo-Aryan languages (Grierson,1903).  The etymology is based upon three components, Do-Tar-A. In Bengali "do" means "two"; "tar""a" appended to the end means "of".  Therefore, the word dotara, means "of two strings".  Naturally there are regional variations to pronunciation.  Especially note that the term "tar" as one would find in Hindi and Urdu, acquires the more open Bengali  pronunciation of "tor".   Other regional variations are also easily found.  For instance, in the Rangpuri dialect it is pronounced "dotra" but it is also pronounced "dotora"vaoaiya lyrics.)  It is interesting to note that, although the term "dotora" implies two strings, most instruments have a minimum of four strings, and even six is not unusual. means "string"; and the in Rangpuri's more poetical forms, (e.g., vaoaiya lyrics.)  It is interesting to note that, although the term "dotora" implies two strings, most instruments have a minimum of four strings, and even six is not unusual.


Construction and Parts of the Dotora: 
It is appropriate for us to look at the construction of the dotora in greater detail.  The overall form of the dotora is of a resonator and a neck, a number of pegs and strings, (usually four), and a skin to cover the resonator.  These will be described in greater detail.


Body and Resonator
The body of the dotora is probably the most important part of the instrument.  It is upon this body that all of the pegs, strings, and membrane will be attached.

One item to pay particular attention to is the carving (or lack there-of) at the upper-most portion of the instrument.  This decoration is usually of a bird or animal motif, and it is a ubiquitous part of the southern style of dotora (swaraj).  This is generally called "mogra".  Unlike the southern form, the northern version does not have any top decoration.  One should note that these days, one is starting to see these animal decorations (mogara) even on some northern Bangladeshi dotoras.
Parts of the Dotora (top view)

Let us look at the fashioning of the body of the dotora.  It is important to remember that although it is fashioned from a single piece of wood, this main body is of at least three sections, and possibly a fourth.  These sections are the batidhor (i.e., the neck), and the muga (i.e., hollow portion for fixing tuning knobs).  The optional fourth piece is the decorative piece at thye end (mogra) Let us now look at the fabrication of the body in greater detail. (i.e., the bowl of the resonator),


Parts of the Dotora (playing surface)
The first and foremost job in making the body is to start with a suitable piece of wood.  This wood is usually of jackfruit, neem, or local chaiton.  It should also be of suitable dimensions.  This should be two feet long, six inches high, and 6 inches wide.  It should be even longer if one is going to allow room for the decorative piece (mogra). The shape is carved and gouged as shown in the accompanying photographs using standard carpentry tools.


Here are the measurements for the various parts of the body:

Bati 
The bati is the bowl, or hollowed out section, which forms the main portion of the resonator.  Its diameter should be roughly five inches, and the height at the centre should be about 4.5 inches.  There is a fair amount of latitude concerning the shape.  It does not have to be round, a certain elliptical quality is quite acceptable.  But, one should not neglect to leave a protrusion at the base of this resonator; this will be used to attach the strings.

Dhor 
This is the neck.  Its length is 17 - 18 inches.  The width at the base of the resonator (i.e., the bati) is around 2.5 inches.  Height of the neck (i.e., the dhor) and the length is up to the artist's individual preference.  Every musician has a particular "feel" that they like.

Muga 
This is the peg box.  It is the hollow section where the tuning pegs connect.  The overall length should be about four inches; the width should be about two inches and it should be whatever depth that will allow a comfortable placement for the tuning pegs.  One should leave several inches from the top end of peg box (opposite side of resonator end) to put whatever decorative headpiece one may desire.  The muga (peg box) must then be hollowed out to forma rectangular opening.  This opening is known as the "mugastan" (literally "the place of muga").

Mogra 
If one is making a southern style of dotora, then allowance must be made for the decorative piece at the end (mogra).  This is basically an artistic call.  One may allow for anywhere from one or two inches up to eight inches depending upon how fancy one wishes to be.  Themes of birds and animals is the norm, but by no means is it obligatory.
The carving of the wood for the main body is now finished.  However, the body is not finished until the membrane is attached.

Chauni 
The chauni is the membane that covers the bati.  The attachment of this skin is performed as follows:
The skin of a large lizard, or the rawhide of a young goat is first soaked in water until it is very soft.  It is said that Iguana skin gives the best sound.  It is then bound to the lip of the resonator and glued in place.  After the glue has set and the membrane dried, any excess is cut away.  This membrane on the dotora is known as "chauni".
Sound holes are now burned into the skin.  If one attempts to cut these holes instead of burning, there is a tendency for them to tear.  These sound holes are known as "chad".
At this point, the body may be painted according to ones preference.

Face Plate
If one is making a southern style of dotora, then there is a good likelihood that you will be wanting to put a metal faceplate on.  This faceplate is often used because the southern style of dotora uses metal strings, and the constant fingering of metallic strings against a wooden fingerboard tends to ruin the fingerboard.  The highest quality dotoras tend to use a nickel or chrome plated brass.  Ordinary sheet metal may be used for lower quality instruments.
A surprising addition to the instrument makers craft is the use of laminates (i.e.,. Decolam, Formica, Arborite, Alpikord, etc). In the last few years this has emerged as a workable and economical alternative to the metal fingerboard.  This tends to be found only on extremely inexpensive southern styled dotoras.

The method of attaching the faceplate depends upon what material is being used.  Metallic 
faceplates tend to be attached with screws.  This allows the plates to be removed to facilitate the reskining of the dotora which must be performed periodically.  The inexpensive "decolam" versions have the plate fixed with contact adhesive. The main body is now finished. 


Tuning Pegs
The tuning pegs are a very important part of the dotora.  These are known as the "kan".  As one moves around India and Bangladesh, one may find many variations on how the tuning pegs are made.  One often finds tuning pegs made of hard wood that have been turned; these are similar to those found on the sitar or sarod (see "Making the Sitar - kunti").  One occasionally may see mechanical tuners similar to those found on guitars, mandolins and modern dilrubas.  These fancier tuning systems are typical of the higher priced dotoras found in many of the larger music stores of the cities.  However, we will stick to the more rural roots and describe a way of making tuning pegs from bamboo.

A few words are in order concerning bamboo.  As a whole, it has been said that bamboo has a strength-per-weight ratio which is greater than steel.  However, one must be sensitive to the characteristics of bamboo.  Parts of it are very strong, but weak areas can compromise the overall strength very significantly.  For our purposes, it is sufficient to remember that the skin of the bamboo is the strongest part of the bamboo; but the skin is also very thin.  This should be kept in mind when one is carving and fashioning the pegs.  It is preferable not to carve too much of the skin away because this will compromise the overall strength of the peg.  However carving away the inner, woodier side, will not compromise the strength as much.

To make the tuning peg, one starts with the proper bamboo.  For instance, the local variety "makla" is widely chosen and found to be suitable for this purpose.  One starts with a cylinder of bamboo roughly four inches in length (illustration "A" in the figure below).  With a chisel one cuts out a longitudinal section that is about 1 inch in width (illustration "B" and "C" in the figure below).  One then takes this section and carves it into the form shown in figure "D".  This produces a peg that has two sections.  There is the handle and there is the shaft.  The handle should be roughly 2.5 inches and the shaft should be roughly 1.5 inches.  This is of course merely a rough guide to the proportions; the precise dimensions are determined by the size and dimensions of the muga (i.e., the peg box).

Bridge
illustration of Dotora bridge (without notches)
The dotora must have a bridge.  There are numerous variations in both material as well as form for the bridge.  The more expensive ones available in the music stores sometimes use bridges made of camel bone.  However a more rustic version would be made of wood.  A wooden one may have the form as shown in the picture below.
One should notice two things about the bridge at this point.  One is that it does not have any grooves for the strings.  Making the groves should be the last job and performed only when one is stringing the instrument and is able to judge a proper action.  Another point to consider is that at this point the feet should be longer than required.  As we start to string the dotora, then at that point we can chop the feet down and adjust the action to a comfortable level. 

String Attachment at Base
There must be some provision for attaching the strings to the base of the instrument.  There are almost as many ways to do this as there are instrument makers.  Many of the fancier and expensive southern versions have basses made of brass or bone with projections on them allowing for the strings to be tied to.  Some of the simplest forms are nothing more than tying the strings directly to the protrusion on the base of the instrument.  Sometimes a nail or screw is inserted into the base; upon this the strings can be tied.  In the accompanying photographs we see a simple form of akkra.  This is nothing more than a small rod which is tied to a nail in the protrusion at the base.  Upon this rod the strings are attached. 

Finishing Touches
At this point there are a number of finishing touches that must be attended to.  Let us look at them in greater detail:

One topic that needs to be addressed is the tuning pegs (kan).  Ideally at this point, the tuning pegs will be slightly too large for the holes.  (If this is not the case, you had better go back and make some more pegs.)  Now is the time that you work on both pegs and holes to make a good fit.  It is interesting to note that when you finish, you will find that a particular peg only fits well with a particular hole; so do not forget which peg goes into which hole.  This is not peculiar to the dotora but is a quality which is shared by sitars, sarods and other indigenous instruments of South Asia.


Next, we roughly string the instrument and put the bridge on. There are several jobs that need to be done.


One of the jobs is to cut the notches into the bridge. This must be done by seeing how the strings on the bridge line up against the fingerboard. This may be thought of as a lateral adjustment of the string positions.


There is also a vertical adjustment of the string position.  This is how high the strings are from the fingerboard.  This is also referred to as the "action" of the instrument.  The general rule is to have the strings as low and as close to the fingerboard as possible.  However the concept of "possible" may not be intuitive.  The strings should not be so low as to rattle against the fingerboard.  Furthermore over time, the skin will stretch and the bridge will go down, so allowances must be made for the settling in of the skin and bridge.  Although we are trying to get the action such that the strings are close to the fingerboard, they must be high enough to accommodate these other considerations.


The adjustment of the action is done by shortening the feet of the bridge.  We previously mentioned that the feet should intentionally be made longer than necessary.  It is at this point that we gradually cut the feet down until we obtain the right action. 

Plectra
The dotar is played with a plectrum known as a "kati".  It is generally made of horn, bone, coconut shell, or wood. 


Stringing and Tuning 
The stringing and tuning of the dotora, like many other instruments of South Asia, is not standardised.  In south asia the stringing and tuning is considered a part of the artistic process.  Therefore choices of gauge and material for the strings is often just a reflection of an individual artist's taste.  The tuning is so variable that it is very normal for the tuning to be different for each song.  With these considerations in mind, we will approach the subject of stringing and tuning.  It is pointless to pontificate on specific tunings, but more appropriate to discuss the philosophy and approaches to the tuning.


Philosophy of the Tuning 
There are several things to consider when developing concepts and approaches to tuning the dotora.  The first thing to remember is that the instrument will be tuned to an open tuning.  That is to say that the strings, tension, and pitch will reflect but a single key.  Most of the considerations of the stringing and tuning become clear when we keep one simple fact in mind; the dotora is there to accompany the voice.  Therefore, the most fundamental issue, specifically what key to tune to, is determined entirely, according to what key the singer is going to sing in.  Unlike Western music or the Western influenced film music, the singer generally does not change the key from song to song, but retains a particular key for all of their performances.  Once this key is established, then everything else about the tuning falls into place.


Dotoras may have a varying number of strings but the most important will be the first two strings.  The outer most string is known as the jin and the next one in is known as the sur.  Of these two strings the sur is tuned to the tonic (i.e., Sa, a.k.a. Shadaj, or Khadaj) and the jin will be tuned a fourth up from this tonic (i.e., Ma or Maddyam or "moddhom").  Most of ones playing will be upon these two strings.  Any other strings and their tuning is generally only a reflection of the individual artist's taste.

We will show two common tunings for a four-string dotora.  The first is shown below:


Ma, Sa, Sa, Pa tuning
This last tuning deserves some discussion.  We see that both the second string and the third string are tuned to the tonic (Sa).  This effectively gives you two strings which are the sur.  The fourth string is a fourth below the sur (i.e., a fifth, but in the lower octave).  This corresponds to Pa (Pancham).  This string is called the "Bom". (For more information on scale structures go to: Saptak-The Scale.

There is another tuning that you should consider.  This is shown below:


Ma, Sa, Pa, Sa tuning
There are a couple of interesting points to consider about this tuning.  The first is that it extends the potential playing range half an octave lower than the first tuning.  Although almost all of the playing is done only on the first two strings, there are occasions where you wish to explore the lower octave.  In these rare cases, the extended range of this tuning can be advantageous.  But, this extended range is comes by sacrificing some of the richness of the sound of the tonic that one finds with two sur strings.


Materials and Gauges of String
The first thing to remember about the choice of materials and the gauges of the strings is that they must reflect the overal philosophy of tuning.  If you wish to tune to a particular note, it is important that the strings will actually do it.  This may seem self evident, but as a practical matter this is the point that trips most people up.


As a general rule we can say that the southern versions of the dotora tend to use metal strings while the northern dotoras tend to use strings of silk, cotton, gut, or artificial fibres.  This is just a generalisation, because it is normal even to find different materials mixed together on the same instrument.

We only need to keep a few things in mind when choosing strings:
  • Heaver gauges (thicker strings) produce lower pitches, while light gauges produce higher pitches.
  • Metallic strings produce lower pitches while gut, cotten, and silk produce lower pitches.
  • Brass and bronze produce lower pitches while steel produces higher pitches.
With these simple points, you can start experimenting to find the right strings for your instrument.


Playing the Dotora  
An in depth discussion of the playing of the dotora is beyond the scope of this humble web page.  However there are a few things that we can mention. 

The dotora has two modes of playing.  The first mode treats the the dotora as though it were a rhythmic instrument.  For this, there is an alternation between the sur string (Sa or the second string) and the jin string (Ma or first string).  This is done in an open manner, without the use of the fingerboard.  This produces the characteristic sound that is so typical of baul sangeet, (the music of the Bauls).  The second mode is where the dotora is played in a melodic fashion.  This is almost always upon the first two stings, and involves very intricate fingerings upon the finger board.  In this mode, all the notes of the scale may be produced.  Typically the dotora is played in such a way that it alternates between these two surprisingly distinct modes.



Music Archaeology, Meaning, Concept and Possibilities

Music Archaeology (Archaeomusicology, Paleo-Organology, Music Prehistory, etc.) is a cross-disciplinary field of research, operating internationally, which uses methods of both musicology and archaeology. Prehistoric Music (previously called Primitive Music) is a term in the history of music for all music produced in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history. Prehistoric music is followed by ancient music in most of Europe (1500 BCE) and later musics in subsequent European-influenced areas, but still exists in isolated areas. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture. In the intermediate sense, it includes all relevant cultures and a range of musical forms, styles, genres and traditions.

By studying on Prehistoric Musical Instruments It is possible to state that the first musical instrument was the human voice itself, which can make a vast array of sounds, from singing, humming and whistling through to clicking, coughing and yawning. (See Darwin's Origin of Species on music & speech.) The oldest known Neanderthal hyoid bone with the modern human form has been dated to be 60,000 years old, predating the oldest known bone flute by 25,000 years; but since both artifacts are unique the true chronology may date back much further. One of the most important is the exploration of excavated artifacts that are relevant for the reconstruction of ancient music, such as sound-producing devices, representations of musical scenes and textual evidence. The archaeological analysis and documentation of such artifacts, their dating and description as well as the explanation of find contexts and cultural contexts can shed light on its use and function in everyday life of the past, and can help us to rebuild them - i.e., to construct playable replicas.

Biomusicology is the study of music from a biological point of view. The term was coined by Nils L. Wallin in 1991. Music is an aspect of the behaviour of the human and possibly other species. As humans are living organisms, the scientific study of music is therefore part of biology, thus the "bio" in "biomusicology."

Biomusicologists are expected to have completed formal studies in both biology or other experimental sciences and musicology including music theory. The three main branches of biomusicology are evolutionary musicology, neuromusicology, and comparative musicology. Evolutionary musicology studies the origins of music, the question of animal song, selection pressures underlying music evolution, and music evolution and human evolution. Neuromusicology studies the brain areas involved in music processing, neural and cognitive processes of musical processing, and ontogeny of musical capacity and musical skill. Comparative musicology studies the functions and uses of music, advantages and costs of music making, and universal features of musical systems and musical behavior.
Applied biomusicology attempts to provide biological insight into such things as the therapeutic uses of music in medical and psychological treatment; widespread use of music in the audiovisual media such as film and television; the ubiquitous presence of music in public places and its role in influencing mass behavior; and the potential use of music to function as a general enhancer of learning.In the last few years the field has expanded considerably, with the inclusion of neurophysiological, biological, and psychological research. These approaches explore the possible beginnings of sound production by seeking the earliest prerequisites in the evolution of mankind for music making and musical 'understanding'.

Zoomusicology, as opposed to anthropomusicology, is most often biomusicological, and biomusicology is often zoomusicological.

Ethnomusicology is a branch of musicology defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."  (Titon, Jeff Todd: Worlds of Music, 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992, p. xxi.)

Coined by Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos (nation) and μουσική mousike (music), it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music. Jeff Todd Titon has called it the study of "people making music." Although it is often thought of as a study of non-Western musics, ethnomusicology also includes the study of Western music from an anthropological or sociological perspective. Bruno Nettl (1983) believes it is a product of Western thinking, proclaiming "ethnomusicology as western culture knows it is actually a western phenomenon." (Bruno Nettl 1983:25 - The Study of Ethnomusicology. Urbana, Chicago, and London: University of Illinois Press.) Nettl believes that there are limits to the extraction of meaning from a culture's music because of a Western observer's perceptual distance from the culture; however, the growing prevalence of scholars who study their own musical traditions, and an increasing range of different theoretical frameworks and research methodologies has done much to address criticisms such as Nettl's.


Music Psychology applies the content and methods of all subdisciplines of psychology (perception, cognition, motivation, personality and so on) to all aspects of musical behaviour and experience (performance, listening, composition). Music cognition is the study of music as information, from the viewpoint of cognitive science. Since it primarily addresses the processing of musical information by humans, it may be regarded as a subdiscipline of music psychology. The discipline shares the interdisciplinary nature of fields such as cognitive linguistics. To produce music in a broader sense may also mean the investigation of early musical notations and literary sources that are "excavated" in libraries or other hidden places. These results may illuminate how instruments were played or how music was sung. But ultimately what was played in ancient times must remain in the dark of the past, and much fantasy is needed by modern musicians to imagine how melodies and rhythms may have been composed. Strictly speaking, only the sound of the instruments can be revived - these are the possibilities and limits of Music Archaeology.

But these researches, though helpful, have shown that Music Archaeology should in the first instance remain a material subject (as described above) and not develop into an "Archaeology of Music", where "archaeology" becomes a synonym for "history".
Nevertheless, as Music Archaeology has developed, a wealth of multifaceted approaches, yielding astonishing results, has revealed that in the life of all societies past and present music has had an enormous range of meaning - the semantics of which, in many cases, remain to be investigated.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

primitive musical instrument of Bangladesh: Bombashi

The Bommbanshi or Bombashi is a fipple flute found in Tista-Dharla river basin of Bangladesh. It is made of a body of bamboo with a detachable round mouthpiece. This instrument does not have a wide distribution.  Where some instruments may be found throughout south Asia, the Bombashi is found only in the Dharla (A.K.A. Dhorla, Dhola) river basin area of Bangladesh.   It is used in a variety of folk music, such as the vaoiaya (bhawaia) and the accompaniment of traditional folk theatre.  This special type of flute is a necessary accompaniment for a local folk theatre "Poddopuran".  In folk-theatre Poddopuran the flute Bommbanshi is an important musical instrument.

DESCRIPTION:
Body
The body is a length of bamboo that has an opening for the fipple and a number of holes.  Body length is about 32 - 36 cm., body radius is about 9 - 11cm.  Its one side is open and the other side is closed like any simple bamboo flute or bansuri (banshi).
There are eight holes burned into the bamboo.  There is one hole for blowing, this is the sound hole known as the Mukhkho rondhro (Literally "mouth hole").  This is also known in the local Rajbangsi dialect as the "fuker chanda".  There are also seven finger holes.  These are known as "shorrondhro".  They are also referred to as "surer chanda" ("sur" means melody, "er" means of, "chanda" means hole).

As with other fipple flutes, the fashioning of the fipple is critical.  The closed side radius is slightly narrowed down with a knife by about 1 cm.  Here the mouthpiece is fitted over it.  Actually tuning technique depends on how you fit the Shama and how much you cover the hole area of Mukhkho rondhro (fuker chanda).

The body of the bombashi is made from bamboo.  They call it here "Bomm-Bashi" that is big flute, made of bamboo.  This is to distinguish it from other flutes which are made from Benu- bansh or Tollah-bansh.  The bombashi is made of "Maklabansh" a tougher bamboo of the Dharla (Dhorla) river basin.

Mouth-Piece:
The most striking part of the Bambashi is the large torodal mouthpiece; this is known as the "shama".  It is interesting to note that where most fipple flutes have an internal plug, the Bombashi relies upon the external Shama to complete its construction.  The internal obstuction is the natural node of the bamboo.
The shama is fitted over the main body, and placed over the mukhkho rondhro (mouth hole) to cover a portion of it. 

As with other fipple flutes, the shama is adjusted in such a way that the air oscillates between going into, and out of the body of the flute.  This shama or air controller device is adjustable.  Adjusting the space of mukhkho rondhro by the mouthpiece allows for some adjustment in the overall pitch of the instrument.

The inner whole of the mothpiece is known as the shor-rondhro.  Its diameter is 0.9 CM to 1 CM.  The width of the mouthpiece is approximately 1.5CM.  The mouthpiece's outer radius is about 19 - 20 CM., the inner diameter is 2.5 CM.

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

This instrument has a strong social and religious significance.
The social significance is derived from its association with the Poddopuran folk theatre.  In this form of theatre, it along with the khol and mondira (a.k.a. Pena), are indispensable in providing the musical accompaniment.  This theatre is an important way in which the people of Dharla River basin maintain a sense of cultural identity.
The religious significance is seen in this flute's connection with the Hindu Goddess Monosha (a.k.a. Manasha).  The traditional Poddopuran theatre is based on "Monosha" who is the snake goddess, appears to be a entrant into the ever assimilating pantheon of Hindu religion.  (She is non Aryans' goddess).  She is not mentioned in the Mahabharata, and the principal older purans.  But she occupies considerable space in the Brahmavaivarta purana, a comparatively later work, the compilation of which continued till about the 16th century C.E. (ref. R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Puranic records on Hindu Rites and Customs, Dacca, 1940, p.166 and Brahmavaivarta purana, ed. and tr. by P. Tarkaratna, Calcutta, 1904, Prakrikhadam, 1.68.).

Playing:
The flute is played in the manner shown above.  The shama covers the whole mouth area.  Unlike the transverse flute, the bombashi, like all other fipple flutes may be played without interruption.  For this the musician simply needs to breath in through nose and blow through the mouth.