Hurdy Gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy has existed since the Middle Ages and has often been depicted in the hands of beggars.  However, the French aristocracy also took up the instrument briefly during the eighteenth century.  The six strings, four of which only sound a drone, are vibrated by a rosined, wooden wheel turned a hand crank.  The left raises sliding wood keys to change the pitch of the two melody strings.

Rudra Veena

The Rudra Veena is a type of tube zither.  The sound vibrates powerfully into the player's body through the large calabash gourds, so considerable tantric-Yogic symbolism surrounds this instrument.  The fretted, tube shaped body embodies both the human spine and the cosmic axis, while the gourds represent the breasts of Shiva's wife Parvati or of Sarasvati, goddess of arts and learning.