Take Off Grant 2022: Tharun S
Tharun S is a 2022 Take Off Grantee. He is an architect, musician, and luthier. He founded Uru: Custom Instruments with the aim to bring back traditional, ancient instruments that have been lost for centuries.
Despite India's diverse culture, languages, and religious practices, many ancient instruments and music styles are undocumented and therefore haven’t been heard by contemporary ears. I believe that instruments have evolved in unique manners in every region. Looking back at the popularity of these instruments emerges a pressing need to revive these sounds.
The current international music market is heavily influenced by Western music due to its easy availability, versatility and accessibility. Therefore, I aim to bring traditional instruments with unique, unheard sounds to the global market.
At Uru, I have been working on reviving the Yazh, a 3000-year-old stringed Tamil instrument that has been lost for the past 2000 years. Through extensive research on ancient Tamil literature and documents, my team and I were able to redesign the instrument in a contemporary form that is functional and playable, yet captures the beauty of the ancient Yazh. I have also designed several variations of the Yazh, such as Sengotti Yazh, Sagoda Yazh, Kaivazhi, and Seeri Yazh. Currently, we are working on the Peri Yazh, a 7 feet tall and has 29 strings.
With the Inlaks Take Off Grant I am now focusing on Kuzhal (Wind) instruments, which are said to be the first melodic instrument types to have existed. Kuzhal instruments have a rich history, with many ancient Sangam literature explaining various components, the making, and various interesting stories associated with them. One such interesting lore in the Sangam literature talks about how the wind instruments were created even before the existence of the human race came into the picture.
Flutes were one of the most popular instruments during the Sangam era, and they were often made from bamboo tubes.10 flutes will be selected for the research, then three among them will be shortlisted for extensive research. It is interesting to sustain the existence of flutes because they are one of the easiest instruments to learn and play and carry.
I hope to preserve the rich history and culture that is deeply reflected in India's lifestyle, art, and music by bringing traditional instruments with unique, unheard sounds to the global musical market
