BENGALURU: He’s been playing the flute and experimenting with new tunes for decades. But this time, classical artiste Pravin Godkhindi has gone a step ahead, giving the flute a new dimension — not just in terms of sound output. Godkhindi has now introduced a new electrified flute called the Divya Bansuri, made of acrylic, something he worked on during the last one-and-a-half years of the pandemic. The product consists of LED lights and an in-built microphone which gives the same musical output as bamboo flutes. According to Godkhindi, the new instrument in the music scene is a transparent flute that is operated with batteries and can last upto eight hours, if continuously used.
Unlike a bamboo flute, the shape and size of the electrified flute is different. It is cylindrical and weighs around 120-125 gm. The battery is used only to power the LED bulbs, while the internal mic is used to draw power from an external mixer or sound system. Despite the electrical nature, the musical instrument is designed to retain the volume, tone and texture of the bamboo flute. “The western flute is made of steel and silver, but the tones don’t not suit Indian music.
While researching further, I came across a glass flute which inspired me to think with acrylic which is trending these days. It gives the right musical output, suited for Indian classical music,” says Godkhindi, who started experimenting with the instrument in 2020 with his student Guruprasad Hegde. Godkhindi launched the electrified flute on the occasion of Gokulashtami recently, as a symbolic gratitude to Lord Krishna, who was known for playing the bansuri. His Gokulashtami surprises aren’t new. In 2019, Godkhindi and his son Shadaj Godkhindi performed a jugal-bandi with the flute where the father helped him with the notes and the son played the instrument, and vice-versa.
Godkhinidi is also thinking of ways to improve the features in the electrified flute. “I am working on a mechanism called mood lighting that will enable the LED lights to pop as per the ragas. I am also working on installing a rechargeable battery into the setup. I believe the lockdown has given me the space to explore various aspects of music. These ideas are just the results of the long break,” says Godkhindi, whose creation will hit the market shortly.