Indian Musical Instruments That Bring Together Sustainability And Luxury

Born from natural, sustainable materials, six musical instruments find their visual counterpart in sparkling pieces of bridal jewels.

The Ektara 

The Ektara has long been linked with the Bauls of Bengal, a group of wandering mystic minstrels. It has travelled from village to village as a medium of devotion and storytelling. Made from a dried coconut that is cut open, cleaned, and hollowed out. A wooden neck is then attached, and the hard outer shell becomes the body of the instrument. This shell acts as a natural sound chamber. Its hard, rounded surface reflects vibrations without absorbing them. When the string is plucked, the hollow space inside gathers the sound and sends it out with a bright, clear and slightly metallic tone. The shell is also relatively small, which means the sound it produces is sharp and focused rather than deep and booming. The musical note rises and fades quickly, giving the instrument its crisp and pulsing rhythm.

The Tabla 

An essential part of North Indian classical music since the 18th century, a tabla’s rhythmic base complements the vocal forms of khayal and thumri. In both these forms, the raag moves freely, but the rhythm stays steady and controlled, which is exactly what tabla delivers. The most significant part of a tabla is the drum, especially the smaller drum called the dayan. It is carved from a single block of dense, hard wood—very often from neem, known for its strength and tight grain. As the tabla is heavy and closely packed, it doesn’t easily absorb vibration. Instead, it supports and reflects it, allowing the sound to remain sharp and defined. At the centre of the drumhead sits the black syahi, a layered paste made from rice. This small circle changes the way the surface vibrates. It concentrates the energy toward the middle and allows the drum to produce a clear, ringing pitch that can be tuned to a specific note of the raag. What’s interesting is that the tabla is not only rhythmic, but also tonal in nature. The presence of the central circle allows the player to strike different areas of the drumhead and draw out distinct sounds.

The Bansuri

For centuries, the bansuri has remained one of the simplest yet most expressive instruments in Indian music. Its name comes from the Sanskrit word bans, meaning bamboo, and sur, which translates to musical note. Bansuri has its roots in Indian mythology and is closely linked to Lord Krishna. His flute is believed to have stilled forests and drawn entire villages toward its sound. Unlike many classical instruments that are built from several assembled parts, the bansuri is shaped from a single piece of bamboo. It is made from mature, thick-walled bamboo, usually sourced from Assam or the hilly regions of India. The stalk is usually cut when it is about two to three years old—strong enough to produce a clear, steady sound, but still flexible enough to respond to breath. The natural shape of the bamboo affects how the bansuri sounds. The distance between its nodes, how straight the stalk is, and how thick its walls are all inf luence the way air moves through it. Denser bamboo gives a deeper, steadier sound, while thinner bamboo produces a lighter, brighter tone.

The Pungi 

Often associated with snake charmers and folk performers across Rajasthan and North India, the pungi is recognised by its sharp piercing sound that lingers. This wind instrument is made from a dried, hollowed gourd fitted with two bamboo pipes. The gourd forms the wind chamber which acts as a natural reservoir for air. Once it is cleaned and cured, the rounded interior of the gourd holds and regulates the air blown into it before it is channeled into the reed pipes of the instrument. A well-dried gourd, with firm and even walls, maintains steady air pressure, which is crucial for the uninterrupted low humming sound the pungi is known for.

The Sitar 

This instrument draws from the legacy of the celestial veena of Saraswati, the goddess of music. Its long neck and resonant base give it a rich, flowing sound that feels divine. Emerging in North India, sitar evolved into one of the central voices of Hindustani classical music, known for its meditative glide in between notes. At the heart of the instrument lies the tumba, the resonating chamber formed from a dried bottle gourd, which is turned into a hollowed musical vessel. The sitar can only be built from gourds of a particular size and curvature. They are harvested at full maturity to ensure the shell is thick enough to carry vibration without splintering under string tension. But the shells are not converted immediately after harvesting. Each gourd is hung to dry for months, allowing the inner pulp to loosen until the shell hardens to a stable density suitable for resonance. Once cured, it is cut open with the interior cleared of fibre and seeds. The gourd is then thinned and balanced by hand to ensure the quality of the sound. The dried gourd serves as a natural amplifier when it meets the vibrating strings of the sitar, generating a beautiful sound. 

The Tumbi

Native to Punjab, the tumbi is also known as toombi or tumba. It is closely tied with folk music and is a defining sound in Bhangra, the traditional folk dance of the region. Tumbi’s structure rests on a small dried gourd, which forms the resonating chamber. The gourd is cleaned and hollowed which creates a light but firm shell for amplifying vibrations. And the gourd’s compact size is what gives the instrument its bright, cutting sound. The wooden neck of the instrument is fixed into the gourd, and a single metal string is stretched across the body, passing over a small bridge, and tied to a tuning peg at the top. When the string is flicked back and forth with the index finger, the vibration travels into the hollow shell, where the gourd gathers and projects the sound, releasing a melodious sound. The clarity of the tumbi comes from this simplicity and is mostly used in devotional music.

Photographs by: Adil Hasan

Styling by: Palak Valecha