From royal courts to AI: How Tripura is reinventing its musical instruments

This transition coincided with political change. The rise of the Left Front government in 1978 brought a strong emphasis on socially rooted cultural forms. While Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sukanta Bhattacharya were widely popularised during the Left’s 35-year rule, classical music, many feel, did not receive mass engagement in the early decades, partly due to a lack of broader understanding. In later years, however, especially during the regime of former chief minister Manik Sarkar, himself a student of tabla under Pandit Ashwini Kumar Biswas, the government extended more structured support to classical arts.

By the 1990s, Tripura’s musical landscape changed yet again. Electronic music, Bollywood and global television content entered homes following economic liberalisation. Classical music receded further from the mainstream.

With the turn of the century, interest in classical traditions returned, driven by changing political support at the national level, the work of cultural organisations such as Sanskar Bharati, and sustained efforts by musicians and researchers to reclaim Tripura’s musical heritage.

Revival in the age of AI

At the forefront of this revival are Prof. Dr Rabindra Bharali of Tripura University, his former student and independent researcher Dr Joyanta Sarkar, and Prof. Anil Rai of BITS Pilani. Using Tripura’s traditional bamboo resources and synthetic materials, the trio is attempting to redesign and reinvent musical instruments using artificial intelligence.

Prof. Rabindra Bharali (right) and Dr. Joyanta Sarkar (left). (Express Photo)

“The advent of AI has had a profound impact on numerous industries, including music. It is not only reshaping the way music is created, but it is also influencing the development of modern musical instruments,” Prof. Bharali told indianexpress.com. He says they have developed an AI-based string instrument that can interact with a musician in real-time. “The instrument, registered with the Indian Patent Office, uses AI to respond to a musician’s actions.”

“It can adjust sound, tone or playing style based on how the musician plays, creating an immersive musical experience,” Bharali says, adding that this is their first AI-based patent, and no such instrument has previously been introduced in this manner.

Traditional string instruments are vulnerable to temperature and humidity fluctuations, leading to wood expansion or contraction, thereby affecting their tuning and action. Bharali’s team claims their AI-enabled instrument can analyse sensor data to predict temperature-related problems even before they become audible.

“The instrument can monitor temperature, humidity and other environmental parameters, alerting musicians in real time,” Bharali explains. “During live performances, it can also analyse the guitarist’s playing and provide accompaniment that responds to changes in tempo, dynamics, and style.”

The AI-based instrument can create dynamic background tracks that adjust to the guitarist’s live performance along with the performer’s own musical offering, using technology and music to give solo performances more depth and complexity.

Stating that music therapy is widely used in different psychological interventions these days, Bharali says, “According to our research, this instrument supports a wide range of amplitude distribution, resulting in a higher frequency level. As a result, this instrument can generate effective and dynamic sounds in real-time. This instrument can help musicians create therapeutic music that is tailored to the emotional and physical demands of autistic patients. This could include creating calming tunes, rhythm patterns, or interactive music settings to serve various therapeutic purposes”.

Dr Joyanta Sarkar credits Tripura’s cultural ecology for this innovation. “We have the advantage of technology today. We are trying to leverage this advantage with the rich natural resources available here to bring about a new generation of musical instruments made with bamboo from Tripura, which would be perfectly capable of playing the full range of classical music and not just folk music.”

Tripura’s musical legacy includes instruments such as SD Burman’s Tipperah flute, the rosem, a gourd-and-bamboo wind instrument. In 2019, Thanga Darlong received Padma Shri for preserving and promoting the rosem. Other instruments include the chongpreng, a traditional Tripuri string instrument often compared to the guitar.

“Most of these instruments are capable of playing folk songs. We are trying to see if we can further enhance their range and potential using AI,” Sarkar says.

Asked if artificially improving folk instruments would mean diluting folk authenticity, Sarkar says that even the sitar, sarod, or shehnai weren’t always of the same shape and range. “The sitar originated with just three strings; the sarod was a result of a series of experiments with the Persian instrument rabab, while many believe it evolved from the Shadadhwaj veena. The shehnai emerged from the pungi. Musical instruments have always evolved. We are trying to do the same but with AI.”

The visual strip has been generated using AI.

Can AI match acoustics? What critics have to say

The innovators say it’s a musician who will be playing the instrument at the end of the day, and so, the authenticity of music would not come into question. While AI is being suspected for harmful uses across the globe, they claim their AI-based instrument is designed to build on the tonal quality of the instrument and improve its range and capability.

Ultimately, the innovators say, it is the musician who shapes the music. AI, they argue, is merely a tool to extend tonal range and capability. So far, they have designed over 10 instruments using bamboo, gourd, and wood, many of which are awaiting patent approval.

The innovations have, however, been met with mixed responses so far. Violin maestro Pandit Subal Biswas has welcomed the prospects of newer or augmented musical instruments, saying that their success could only be ascertained after they are performed publicly and taught to students. Others, like sitar maestro Pandit Subhankar Ghosh, remain critical, arguing that traditional instruments create an impact that technology-driven instruments may lack.

The innovators, meanwhile, remain committed to continuing to research and design new musical instruments that carry the sound of Tripura but are attuned to the tech-savvy listener.