ABSTRACT
The musical instruments of South India and Sri Lanka share a common history with those of the North. They play similar roles as artifacts within society, and function in closely related musical traditions within a diverse yet remarkably unified cultural environment. Instruments in the two areas have much in common: the bamboo flute, associated with Krishna; the snake charmer mesmerizing his tame cobras by piping on his double clarinet of gourd and reed; the four categories of instruments in Bharatas treatise on drama, the Nāṭyaśstra (c. 200 b.c.–a.d. 200); wandering minstrels playing single-stringed, gourd and bamboo drones; hereditary musician castes associated with specific genres and instruments; and classical musicians performing on elaborate string instruments and sophisticatedly engineered drums.
