Where to get a bansuri in Montreal, Canada?
Seppo Sipilä
Hi all...does anyone know a place in Montreal, Canada, where a visitor could
find a good quality 7-hole bansuri (and at what price)? My colleague is
attending a conference there and might be able to bring me one if it can be
found at some place a tourist can get to easily. I know, Montreal isn't the
closest place to India, but try finding a bansuri in Finland... :)
On the subject of bansuri, how does a bass bansuri differ from the ordinary one
in dimensions and price, and is it (even more) difficult to play?
Greetings from Finland
Seppo
Pradip Khaladkar
Hi
I am not sure that you can get a bansuri in Montreal. The best
places to get them in North America would in New York or California.
Try Steve Gorn in Kingston, NY or Jeff Whitier in San Jose, CA.
As for bass bansure I take it to mean a very large one which is
typically 38 inches long and could be 1.5 inches in diameter. These
have no more than 4 holes and notes are played by various
combinations. It is clearly more difficult to play and artists use
them very sparingly. I feel that they not add much to a concert and
can be considered as a gimmick.
The typical bansuri used in concert is E but D sharp or even D are
not uncommon. A good bansuri can cost upto Rs 2000 (approx $60) in
India. In the US it would be a little higher.
Good luck in Montreal.
david philipson
Hi Seppo ,
Just a few things to add to Pradip's response:
Jeff Whittier is the person to contact - he's a very good flute maker
and student of GS Sachdev for 25 yrs. (Steve Gorn is a good bansuriya,
but does not make flutes). both are old friends of mine. Jeff has made
bansuris for Sachdev, Vijay Raghava Rao and Chaurasi among others. He
makes them in the style of Lemay, (a well known bansuri maker from
Bombay who passed away several years ago) but will also accomodate
special requests (usually). I think he charges about $100 for an E
bansuri w/seven holes, and smaller flutes are less expensive. He will
pack them for mailing and ship them, which works just fine.
his phone and address are:
3844 La Selva
Palo Alto, CA 94306
ph.# 415. 858. 0117
The 4 hole bass bansuri was invented by Pt. Pannalal Ghosh (who happens
to be my guru's guru. for more info about him and his students check my
website- http://home.earthlink.net/~dphilipson/ ). It was not used
w/cross fingerings as implied by Pradip, and was only used for 1/2 the
octave,ie: Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa).
Since then people have developed 6 hole bass bansuris, which are even
more difficult and unwieldy than the 4 hole model. VG Karnad, one of my
teachers developed one, and then I got Jeff to make me one, and I
believe since then he has refined the design a bit. The problem is
getting both octaves to be reasonably in tune.The bass bansuri uses what
is usually the pancham (6 holes covered) of one's main bansuri as Sa,
ie: pa becomes sa. So if your main instrument is in the key
of E, your bass bansuri will really be an instrument in the key of B. I
do agree w/Pradip that the bass bansuri does not have much scope in the
concert setting, but can be very effective for non-classical recording
work such as film scores.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
dave
--
david philipson
dphil...@earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~dphilipson/
bansuri {the north Indian bamboo flute}
north Indian classical music/creative music
"He who makes a mistake is still our friend;
He who adds to, or shortens a melody is still our friend;
But he who violates a rhythm unawares
Can no longer be our friend."
-- Ishaq ibn Ibrahim (767 - 850 ad)
rex
You may also want to try the following place (in San Francsico):
Bamboo Music,
Ken LaCosse,
2139 Kirkham St.,
San Francisco,
CA 94122
email: bam...@creative.net
URL: http://www.creative.net/~bamboo/index.html
They stock a wide range of Jeff Whittier's bansuris, ranging in price
from $30 to $85, and are happy to send them by mail.
Hope that's of some help!