© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Election Commission has allotted the election symbol “Man Blowing Turha” to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Sharad Pawar, after the well-known “Clock” symbol of the undivided party was allotted to Ajit Pawar.
The Ajit Pawar faction earlier got the party’s original name, NCP, while the Sharad Pawar faction was given the name “Nationalist Congress Party — Sharadchandra Pawar”. What’s a turha, the veteran leader’s new election symbol?
It’s a wind instrument, like a trumpet.
The symbol shows a man blowing a long, curved, trumpet-like instrument in the shape of a reverse ‘C’, decorated with a thread or string. The turha is also pronounced and written as turhi, turahi, or turturi, and varies somewhat in form across regions in Maharashtra.
The instrument used to be made of bullock horns before metal became common. It is usually played almost exclusively by men, the majority of whom have learnt the art over generations.
In an earlier age, the ceremonial blowing of the turha heralded the arrival of kings, nobles, and other high dignitaries. In Maharashtra, the turha was a popular instrument in the court of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. According to Swar Classical, an organisation that creates software for Indian classical music, the tutari was played as a salute during the reign of the Adilshahi kings of Bijapur (1490-1686).
The blowing of the turha heralded the beginning of preparations for a significant journey or work, as well as of battle. It was also blown to signal the beginning and the end of combat.
Swar Classical says on its website that during colonial rule, tutari musicians hid from the British in temples and, thus, the music became a part of religious tradition.
Today, the instrument is often used at weddings or other happy occasions, and at political rallies in Maharashtra. The turha was blown as a rallying call at the farmers’ protest of 2020-21.
The blowing of the turha is often accompanied by the playing of percussion instruments such as the dhol. In Pune, the annual Ganeshotsav celebration is incomplete without the sonorous call of the turha interspersed with dhol-tasha beats.
It is used in other parts of India too, as well as in some places outside India.
In parts of Madhya Pradesh, the Gond tribals have a practice of blowing the tutari.
It is a traditional instrument in Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, where it is played during the ritual worship of Lord Shiva and some other gods. According to one legend, the sound of the conch (the other common wind instrument used in religious rituals) agitates the bhoot, pret, and rakshasa spirits around Shiva, so the sound of the turhi is seen as being more appropriate.
The instrument has featured on the Chhattisgarh float at the Republic Day parade, and is played as a ritual musical instrument in Nepal and Sri Lanka as well.
