The bansuri - single hollow shaft of bamboo

The bansuri ( Hindi: बांसुरी,
Urdu: ﺑﺎﻧﺴﺮﯼ , Nepali : बाँसुरी,
Marathi : बासरी, Assamese:
বাঁহী, Bengali : বাঁশি) is a
transverse flute of India made
from a single hollow shaft of
bamboo with six or seven finger
holes. An ancient musical
instrument associated with
cowherds and the pastoral
tradition, it is intimately linked to
the love story of Krishna and
Radha and is also depicted in
Buddhist paintings from around
100 CE. The Bansuri is revered as
Lord Krishna's divine instrument
and is often associated with
Krishna's Rasa lila ; mythological
accounts tell of the tunes of
Krishna's flute having a
spellbinding and enthralling
effect not only on the women of
the Braj, but even on the animals
of the region. The North Indian
bansuri, typically about 14 inches
in length, was traditionally used
as a soprano instrument primarily
for accompaniment in lighter
compositions including film
music . The bass variety
(approximately 30", tonic E3 at
A440Hz), pioneered by Pannalal
Ghosh has now been
indispensable in Hindustani
Classical music for well over half
a century. Bansuris range in size
from less than 12" to nearly 40".