Rain Plays Music on a Santoor

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A giant santoor has been installed on a billboard opposite the Vijayawada Railway Junction by famous tea brand Taj Mahal. It is a unique musical instrument which blares out soulful tunes of Hindustani music during rains.

When rains come lashing the area, the cupped hands of the santoor get filled with water and hit the strings behind. The installation is a combination of technology, nature and tunes of Megh Malhar, the raaga that resonates with monsoon rains.

It has rightly been named ‘Megh Malhar’. The billboard on which it is installed is 150 feet across and the total surface area is 2,250 square feet.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognised the installation as the ‘world’s largest environmentally interactive billboard’. The santoor has 31 strings and an equal number of handles which are arranged in a manner that rain-hit handles strike the strings.

The idea of the rain-driven santoor was developed by Taufiq Qureshi, the renowned Indian classical musician, percussionist and composer. A team of 50 professionals worked together for six months to translate the idea into an instrument that played during monsoons.

The Brook Bond tea Taj Mahal is a well-known tea brand produced by Tata Foods and Beverages. For several years the company used to advertise its tea in accompaniment of tabla tunes played by Ustad Zakir Hussain who would exclaim Wah Taj!

Now you may well have raindriven tunes played by the santoor. Just wait for some time.