The Bansuri - An Introduction

The Bansuri is named after the combination of two words; Bans which means bamboo and Sur which means musical note. The Bansuri is made of a single length of bamboo and has six to eight open fingers holes. Bansuri or Flute (literally Bamboo Flute) is a cylindrical tube made of bamboo with uniform bore and closed at one end. Bansuris or Flutes are of different kinds and lengths and number of holes varies. The length can vary from eight inches to tow and half feet that is 30 inch. There is mouth hole in every flute. In addition to it there are 6 to 8 holes arranged in a straight line. The range of the bansuri or flute is about 2 and half octaves. Long bansuris or flutes have a rich, deep and mellow tone whereas in small bansuris or flutes the tone is high pitched.


The flute is one of the oldest known musical instruments in the world. In its most basic form it is just a tube made of bamboo with a few holes. In Indian mythology and culture the bamboo flute, also known as the bansuri has a special significance as it is the chosen instrument of the Hindu god Krishna, who is often depicted playing it.


The bansuri is a side blown flute made of bamboo and generally has six or seven holes. There are two varieties of bansuri: the traverse, and the fipple. The fipple variety is usually played in folk music. It is somewhat similar to the western recorder. The transverse variety is preferred in classical music as it offers more control and flexibility.



The bansuri has always been known as the instrument of the shepherds and has been widely used in folk music. The status of the bansuri as a concert instrument was established much recently, solely by the efforts of a legendary Indian musician by the name of Pt Pannalal Ghosh.

Pt Pannalal Ghosh popularized a larger form of the instrument with a deeper bass sound and he included a seventh finger hole which apart from extending the range of the instrument, allowed for more accurate renditions of higher registers. One of his major innovations was the adaptation of the classical vocal style and its presentation on the bansuri.

In south Indian classical music a similar bamboo flute is used which is called the Venu or the Carnatic flute. It differs from the bansuri as it has eight finger holes.