What is Yazh which was centre-Peice on Ministry of Culture's Republic Day tableau?

The tableaux of the Ministry of Culture celebrated India’s economy under the theme ‘Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas’.

It honoured India’s timeless prosperity, cultural wealth, and vision for a sustainable and prosperous future. The tableau featured the magnificent Yazh, an ancient Tamil string instrument, symbolisng India’s deep-rooted musical traditions and artistic craftsmanship.

WHAT IS YAZH? 

The Yazh is a 3000 year old harp-like Tamil instrument that is mentioned in Tamil literature and has become extinct over time. 

• The yazh is the ancestor of the modern day veena.

• It consists of strings made of gut, a curved ebony neck and a boat shaped resonator covered with goatskin

• Yazh is said to be associated with the mythological Yali and bears religious import as indicated by its appearance in Tamil temple sculpture.

MENTIONS IN TAMIL LITERATURE 

• Texts like Silappathigaram, seevaga Sindhaamani, Perum Panatru Padai, Saivathirumurai, Thirukkural, Thiruppalli Ezhuchi and many others have plenty of literary and aesthetic descriptions of yazh and its beauty.

• Tholkapiyam also has a detailed account of yazh.

• Porunaratru Padai hints at how yazh is played: 

 - Stroking with the index finger, strumming with the thumb and index fingers together, and plucking gently and strongly the different strings, it creates vibrating music, sung with lyrics.

The Yazh, a musical instrument, almost disappeared.

🎶 No one was making new ones or learning to play them.

🎵 They ended up in museums, becoming rare and forgotten.

 🎼 Losing this instrument meant losing a big part of the culture and history of the people who played it.

A MUSEUM HERITAGE

💿 The Yazh is an important musical instrument in Tamil culture. You can find it mentioned in many old Tamil stories, like the book "Ponniyin Selvan."

 🪕 The Tamil people value the Yazh as a symbol of their ancient musical traditions.

 🎵 Today, you can only find non-working Yazhs in museums. There are some in Chennai (at the Poompuhar handicrafts, Raja Annamalai Manram, and Egmore museums), and also in museums in Kerala and Sri Lanka.

REVIVAL OF YAZH 

⭐️ Tharun Sekar is bringing the ancient Yazh back to life! He's a guitarist from Chennai who started this project in 2019.

 🌟 He used science and math to figure out the best way to build the Yazh. He chose special woods, replaced the old strings, and made it easier to tune.

🌠 He made the Yazh easier to play for today's musicians. He made it smaller and tuned it to a modern scale. He even created an electric Yazh!

 💫Tharun released the first-ever Yazh album called "Azhagi."

 ✡️ His work shows that we can keep our culture alive by finding new ways to use it, not just by trying to keep everything exactly the same.