A classical Indian term, meaning ‘bamboo’, ‘flute’ in Sanskrit. It is the root of common names found in modern North Indian languages – bas, basī, basurī, basrī, baslī, basulī usually denoting a transverse flute. The Sanskrit synonym venu, also used since classical times, is more often adopted in South India.
The term vamśa does not occur in the oldest literature, the Rgveda (later 2nd millennium bce), in which nādī (Vedic nālī: ‘pipe’) is used to refer to the flute of Yama, King of the Dead. In later Vedic literature of the 1st millennium bce the common term for flute is tūnava. Here, and into classical times, the flute, together with the vīnā (harp) and dundubhi (drum), is frequently recorded.
In the classical period of Sanskrit literature (roughly, the 1st millennium ce) vamśa and venu are the terms most used, referring to the transverse flute, played in chamber music and in the drama of court and temple. The Nātyaśāstra (early centuries ce) places the vamśa in the melody section of the classical theatre orchestra, together with strings and singers, and it prescribes the use of bamboo in its making. In the classical period, also, the flute is established as the emblem of the god Krishna, though in literature the name muralī is more common for this instrument. In this period in the South, the Dravidian kulal of classical Tamil literature was an equally important instrument.
By the Middle Ages the flute, and its music and theory, had been greatly developed, and texts such as the Sangītaratnākara describe the vamśa made in many sizes and with different tunings and materials (including acacia wood, sandalwood, ivory, iron, bronze, silver and gold, as well as bamboo). This account, partly based on that of earlier writers, gives 15 (or 17) principal models of the vamśa, each with its keynote tuned successively to each of the seven degrees of the lower and middle octaves and the upper tonic (much as today, when classical Indian flautists bring a bag of different-sized flutes to a performance, suited to the range and tuning of different ragas). The four smallest, however, are said to be uncommon in being too shrill.
With the spread of Turko-Afghan Muslim rule over the greater part of South Asia from the end of the 12th century, the eclipse of the transverse flute as a court and art-music instrument is remarkable. When a flautist is mentioned at a Muslim court, it is often a player of the nāy (the Persian oblique flute). This is the more remarkable considering that it was during this period that the Krishna cult grew most significantly, and countless homes and temples had their idols of madanamohana (‘the charmer’, ‘the seducer’) holding a transverse flute.
The transverse flute is not common in local traditions, except in the East – Bengal, Orissa, Assam and the north-eastern areas – where it is known variously as basī, basurī, rutu, shumul and tirąyu. This region, especially Assam, is held to produce the best-quality bamboo. Elsewhere, the terms bas, basī, basurī and bainsirī are frequent but usually denote end-blown flutes, with or without ducts.
Over the past century or so, the transverse flute has been redeveloped as an important instrument of northern and southern classical musics. In the South this is credited to Sarabha Sastri (1872–1904). Here, the venu (Tamil pullānkulal) is a short bamboo tube, little more than a foot (about 30 cm) long, but comparatively wide (fig.1a). It is closed by a node at one end, and has eight finger-holes. In its range (about two-and-a-half octaves), use of ornamentation (gamaka) and repertory it follows the voice (the model for all Karnatak instruments). In the same period the venu replaced the oboe mukhavīnā in the accompaniment of the classical Tamil dance Bharata nātyam.
The northern or Hindustani concert flute (basrī, basurī; fig.1b) has been developed especially by Bengalis, above all the late Pannalal Ghosh. Here, especially for heavy rāgas, a very long flute (at least twice the length of the southern one) is often played, though flautists play a selection of sizes suitable to different pieces. It is closed by a node at the top end, and usually has seven finger-holes, the lowest on the side to accommodate the little finger. Again the model is vocal music, especially the Hindustani ‘heavy’ khayāl and the lighter thumrī, though some players use Hindustani instrumental techniques such as jor and jhālā.
A.A. Macdonnell and A.B. Keith: ‘Tunava’, A Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (London, 1912)
J. Grosset: ‘Inde’, EMDC, l/i (1921), 257–376
P. Sambamoorthy: The Flute (Madras, 1927, rev. 3/1967)
C. Marcel-Dubois: Les instruments de musique de l’Inde ancienne (Paris, 1941)
K.S. Kothari: Indian Folk Musical Instruments (New Delhi, 1968)
B.C. Deva: Musical Instruments of India (Calcutta, 1978)
B.C. Wade: Music in India: the Classical Traditions (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979)
ALASTAIR DICK/R