In the classification given in the Natya Shastra, wind instruments are called by which name?
- A.Tata vadya
- B.Sushira vadya
- C.Avanaddha vadya
- D.Ghana vadya
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Sushira vadya. Sushira means hollow, and the class covers every instrument in which a column of air inside a tube is set vibrating. The bansuri, the shehnai, the nadaswaram, the pungi, the algoza and the conch all belong to it, and so does the harmonium, whose reeds are sounded by air from a bellows.
Option A, tata vadya, is the class of stringed instruments such as the sitar, the sarod, the sarangi, the veena and the santoor. Option C, avanaddha vadya, covers the instruments with a stretched hide, that is the drums, among them the tabla, the pakhawaj, the mridangam and the chenda. Option D, ghana vadya, covers the solid instruments of metal, clay or wood that sound when struck or shaken without any tuning, such as the manjira, the ghatam and the jaltarang. All four names come from the same classification, so they are always offered together.
Read the full article: Musical Instruments and Artists: Tata, Sushira, Avanaddha, Ghana
Practice Questions
View allUstad Bismillah Khan is associated with which musical instrument?
- A.Sarod
- B.Sarangi
- C.Shehnai
- D.Santoor
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Bismillah Khan played the shehnai, a double reed wind instrument long associated with weddings, temple processions and auspicious beginnings in north India, and he is credited with carrying it from ceremonial use onto the classical concert stage.
Read the full explanation →Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is known for playing which instrument?
- A.Santoor
- B.Sitar
- C.Flute
- D.Veena
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The santoor is a trapezoid wooden box carrying many strings over small bridges, struck with a pair of light curved mallets.
Read the full explanation →Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a celebrated player of which instrument?
- A.Sitar
- B.Sarod
- C.Tabla
- D.Shehnai
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The sarod is a plucked instrument with a metal fingerboard and no frets, which lets a player slide continuously between notes and gives it its deep, singing tone.
Read the full explanation →The ghatam, used in Carnatic music, belongs to which class of instruments?
- A.Avanaddha vadya
- B.Sushira vadya
- C.Ghana vadya
- D.Tata vadya
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The ghatam is a clay pot with nothing stretched across its mouth. The player strikes the body of the pot with fingers, palms and wrists, and changes the tone by moving the mouth of the pot against the stomach.
Read the full explanation →The chenda, a drum played during Kathakali performances and temple festivals, belongs to which state?
- A.Kerala
- B.Odisha
- C.Manipur
- D.Assam
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The chenda is a cylindrical drum hung from the shoulder and struck with curved sticks, and it carries the sound of Kerala's temple festivals, of the percussion ensemble called Chenda Melam, and of Kathakali and Theyyam.
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