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The Swarabat, Swarbat or Swaragat is a rare
Like its Carnatic cousin, the
Photo of Met museum
{{Indian musical instruments Carnatic music instruments Indian musical instruments String instruments
The Swarabat, Swarbat or Swaragat is a rare plucked string instrument
Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucki ...
of the classical Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...
genre of South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. It belongs to the chordophone
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...
, lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
family of musical instruments, and is closely related to the ''veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
'' and ''yazh
The yazh ( ta, யாழ், also transliterated yāḻ, ) is an harp used in ancient Tamil music. It was strung with gut strings that ran from an curved ebony neck to a boat or trough-shaped resonator, the opening of which was a covered with ...
'' instruments of the ancient South Asian orchestral ensemble.
Etymology
Although popularly known as Swarabat, its correct pronunciation is Swaragat. ''Swara
Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...
'' from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
connotes a note in the successive steps of the octave, ''ghat'' refers to steps leading down towards a river, while ''bhat'' in the language means scholar.
Construction
Like its Carnatic cousin, the veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
, it has frets
A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instrume ...
, a feature that also distinguishes it from their ancestor, the Yazh
The yazh ( ta, யாழ், also transliterated yāḻ, ) is an harp used in ancient Tamil music. It was strung with gut strings that ran from an curved ebony neck to a boat or trough-shaped resonator, the opening of which was a covered with ...
harp (ancient veena
The ancient veena is an early Indian arched harp, not to be confused with the modern Indian veena which is a type of lute or stick zither. Names of specific forms of the arched harp include the ''chitra vīṇā'' with seven strings, the ''vipan ...
). Part of the chordophonic lute family of instruments, the Swarabat body is made of wood on which a skin is stretched. On top of this skin, a bridge is placed upon which silk strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
pass, which are plucked with a plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...
carved out of horn. There is a resonator and a stem, both made of wood. The resonator is covered with animal hide. The frets were made from animal gut (usually a goat). The head resembles a parrot or peacock. The tuning pegs are fixed to the neck.
Sound
Although the Swarabat features a unique construction, the range of sound delivered by it is relatively limited. It produces atimbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
similar to a bass rubab and bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
.
Use and history
''Swarabat'' or ''swaragat'', 1903, carved with parrot's head. The Swarabat is today a very rare string instrument used in Carnatic music, that once featured prominently as an original staple in the
Katcheri
A kacheri is an assembly of musicians and audience in the context of Carnatic music or Karnatak music. It is presented in the concert format. The music fraternity of connoisseurs and common people assemble at the katcheri venues to listen to clas ...
and Harikatha
''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu and Tamil (), is a form of Hindu tradition ...
stage ensembles of royal carpet composers. Musicians in the royal courts of Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
, Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
, Thanjavur kingdom and the Thondaman dynasty
The Thondaimans are chieftains who ruled the region in and around Pudukottai from the 17th to 20th century. The Pudukkottai Thondaiman dynasty was founded by Raghunatha Thondaiman, the brother-in-law of the then Raja of Ramnad, RaghunathaKilav ...
of Pudukottai
Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...
favoured its unique bass tone accompaniment; students of the Saraswati veena
The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati vina) (Devanagari: सरस्वती वीणा (vīṇā), te, సరస్వతి వీణ, kan, ಸರಸ್ವತಿ ವೀಣೆ, ta, சரஸ்வதி வீணை, Malayalam ...
were often proficient in playing the Swarabat.
Old manuscripts, photographs and Swarabat instruments themselves have been preserved at museums worldwide. Prolific musicians who have played it have been Palghat Parameswara Bhagavathar
Palghat Parameswara Bhagavathar (1815-1892) was a Carnatic music composer and musician born in Nurani, Kerala, India.
His musical talents developed to such an extent that Swati Tirunal had great admiration and confidence in him. Whenever the Mah ...
, Baluswami Dikshitar, the Raja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma
( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള് രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...
, Veene Sheshanna
Veene Sheshanna ( kn, ವೀಣೆ ಶೇಷಣ್ಣ) (1852—1926) was an exponent of the Veena, an Indian string instrument, which he played in the classical Carnatic music style. He was a concert musician at the court of the princely state ...
, and Krishna Iyengar.
See also
*Veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
References and citations
* *Padma Bhushan Prof. P. Sambamurthy (2005). "History of Indian Music". The Indian Music Publishing House, 208-214.Photo of Met museum
{{Indian musical instruments Carnatic music instruments Indian musical instruments String instruments