Ektara Gopichand Musical Instrument 28×6.5″ Folk M…

Price: ₹2,000 - ₹1,299.00
(as of Dec 23,2024 08:27:28 UTC – Details)

Ektara is a musical instrument generally carried by Baul music practitioners. It’s a traditional and folk musical instrument used for accompaniment of Baul songs. The soundbox creates a resonating sound while plucking the single string in one hand and variation comes while pressing the wooden support from top portion. The instrument also used for interior decor purpose. The word “Ektara” translates into English as “one-string” – which is no coincidence. Ektara (Bengali) also called actara, iktar, ektar, Sindhi – yaktaro, gopichand, gopichant, golki Nepali (gopijiantra, tun tuna). It is one of the many musical instruments used in the folk or devotional music of India, that makes use of an individual steel string tightened over the length of a long neck made of bamboo. This is different to a more familiar musical instrument, the sitar, which has many strings and is made of wood. The ektara is considered to be a contender for the oldest stringed musical instrument in the Indian subcontinent and used in modern-day music of Bangladesh and India. The body of the ektara is a wooden bowl that can be covered with skin. This gives the ektara a resonant sound, which players make use of when playing it as a drone instrument to provide rhythm. But it can also be used to lead melodies, separating it from similar wooden folk instruments like the Tanpura and Tumbi from other regions of India. It’s versatility allows it to take on both roles that those instruments provide (drone and rhythm). It’s also worth noting that these instruments (tanpura/tumbi) are not made from bamboo, but are constructed with the skin of a gourd. When playing an ektara, the instrument is held with the gourd in one hand, and the neck supported by the other. The string is plucked with the finger. Some players may hit the gourd or body of the instrument with their palm to add a percussive element to the performance. Some even hold bells while they play for variation and additional musical elements.
Root Music
Tribal Musical Instrument
UNESCO Cultural Heritage
Bauls