Nearest Neighbor – Shehnai and Trumpet

 Bringing a western and an Indian instrument together is nothing new with Raja’s orchestration. However, in a rural comedy setting, Raja uses a trumpet next to a shenhnai and these are tonally very close to each other. Unlike other instrument pairs, Raja ensures that there is a very short interval between the two instruments to ensure that the listener can perceive the difference. 

The clip below is from the interlude of the song, ‘Ooru vittu’ from Karakaatakaaran (Tamil 1989). Hear the nice exchange between these two unlikely neighbors.

Let’s hear these Nearest Neighbors – Shehnai and Trumpet …