KOCHI: Walking through the display of bamboo products at the Kerala Bamboo Fest at the Ernakulathappan ground in Kochi, the alluring notes of the flute comes filtering through the crowd. At a nondescript little stall sits K V Murali, a magical flautist. He puts his skill on display and it is akin to the charm cast by the Pied Piper because people swarm to his stall; some curious onlookers, others serious flute enthusiasts as well as aspiring learners.
Murali, a native of Thrissur, is a flutes maker. “I have always been fascinated by the flute and have tried my hand at making flutes from bamboo and other materials. I had no formal training but tried my own methods to play the crude forms I made,” he says.It was much later that he joined a class to learn how to play the flute.
Learning he did, yet his aim was to make one. He would scour his surroundings to find the right type of bamboo and would work for hours on it. He would then take it to his music teacher for analysis. But his creations did not reach perfection.
Traditional flute makers are few and far between and the method to create a flute is a well-guarded secret. “After a long search, I met a maker of flutes and joined him as a trainee in the hope that I will someday be successful. However, it was an uphill task. All that he would divulge was the mere basics,” he said.
Making the musical instrument involves the knowledge of maths and science. Not one to be dishearted, Murali kept at it and slowly mastered his art. “One can become a flautist with just a few years of practice but to become a flute maker it takes years of dedicated hard work and yes, experimenting too,” says the 50-year-old artist.
Now he sells his hand-made bamboo flutes to music instrument shops. People also come from far and wide to his home to buy the flutes, a fame that has spread through word-of-mouth. Priced from Rs 250 to Rs 500, his flutes can be used in Carnatic, Hindustani and Western music.
At the stall, he can be seen guiding the customers to find the right type of flute and also sharing tips on the playing technique to the newbies. “Any task requires continuous practice to reach perfection, and learning the right technique is also important,” he advises a customer.