In a village in Nagarkoil in Tamil Nadu, there lived a skilled flute-maker named Ravikumar, popularly known as Ravi. Ravi was acclaimed for his expertise in crafting exquisite Carnatic flutes. He hailed from a family of flute makers, and the art of crafting flutes from bamboo (as per standards of music of each of the generations), had been passed down through the said generations. Ravikumar’s own knowledge of the exacting standards of carnatic music in its most evolved form, along with the family history in general flute making, made him a very unique flute maker.
Ravikumar’s workshop was a beautiful space near nature and trees, where the melodious chirping of birds provided a soothing background to his work. The process of making a Carnatic flute was a labour of love, with each step undertaken with precision and care.
The journey began with the careful selection of bamboo. Ravi would wander through the lush forests of Nagarkoil and the neighbouring Kerala, searching for the perfect culms of the right age. He would cut them with reverence, thanking the bamboo for its contribution to beautiful music as well as his own craft. He knew the individual characteristics of bamboos (eetha reeds) from tirunelveli, nilambur, wayanad, charmadi etc. While he was also familiar with the characteristics of assam bamboos, he preferred to use bamboos from southern India along with their natural nodes for a focussed tone.
Back in his workshop, Ravikumar would let the bamboo culms dry in the gentle South Indian sun, allowing them to naturally cure. This curing process was vital, as it removed excess moisture and made the bamboo more resonant. It was during this time that Ravi would often sit under his banyan tree, playing his own handcrafted flute and feeling the vibrations of the music connect to his life and soul.
Once the bamboo was ready, Ravikumar meticulously heat-treated each bamboo piece by applying oil on each bamboo and uniformly heating the bamboo on a carefully controlled flame. A rich-brown bamboo piece, whose grain pattern was beautifully accentuated, was the result of each such heat treatment. This heat treatment made for a rich resonant tone, also reducing effects of climatic conditions, on the pitch of the instrument, after it was made.
For a target pitch or sruti, Ravi knew the right bamboo piece to be selected. It had to have the right diameter, thickness and length. The ‘aspect ratio’ or the ratio of length to diameter was also important for the instrument to have strong and sweet tonality across the musical range.
The act of making the embouchure hole (used for blowing) required utmost precision - the distance of the embouchure hole from the node of the bamboo had to be perfect, to get the right ‘octave balance’. Shifting this embouchure hole too far away from the node would flatten the higher octave notes. Making it too near would sharpen the higher octave notes, and worse still, make the higher octave gandhara extremely difficult to produce or even get a sound from. Ravi also knew how to make minor adjustments to factor for the natural variations in bamboos and their inner profiles.
Ravi would then create the eight finger holes along with the embouchure hole at the right positions as per his design born out of his deep knowledge of bamboos and dimensions, node-shapes, flute designs and precise tuning. The holes had to be in the right places, with the right diameters, balancing tonality and intonation (pitching). He knew the effect of undercutting holes and used this to a limited and judicious extent. His tools were relatively simple, but carefully designed. His skill was unmatched, and the precision of his work was a testament to years of experience in making flutes.
The final step was fine-tuning the flute. Ravi would play each note and make minor adjustments to the dimensions of the flute finger holes until it was in perfect harmony with the carnatic tuning needs, also factoring in the needs of the carnatic gamakas. It was a delicate and nuanced process that was only possible in the hands of Ravi. Each flute was unique, a piece of art in its own right. He spent hours and sometimes days, crafting each instrument.
When a Carnatic flute was complete, it became a perfect medium of expression of the timeless classical melodies of the southern region. The sound produced by every flute was divine in its own way, bridging earthly and spiritual realms. Flautists would travel from far and wide to acquire one of Ravi’s flutes, knowing that they would obtain not just a musical instrument but also a unique hand-crafted flute with perfect voicing. In many cases, flautists requested Ravi to make customized flutes suited to their blowing pressure, lipping, pitching and intomation requirements. In many cases, each flautist selected a flute from Ravi’s ready stock, which was as per the artiste’s preference and convenience. Whether custom-made or from Ravi’s ready stock, each flautist found an instrument whose voice matched his own temperament and nature, and became the flautist’s own voice.
Ravi’s dedication to his craft, the bamboo’s gift to music, and the timeless melodies that flowed from his flutes were a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the Carnatic tradition.
May the art of Carnatic flute making thrive due to such flute-makers, the flutes’ music echoing through the meticulously crafted instruments!