Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar is associated with which musical instrument?

Explanation

Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar is a well-known Carnatic flute player. She belongs to the family of the famous Sikkil Sisters and is known for her sweet tone and her deep knowledge of Carnatic music.

Mala Chandrasekhar belongs to a family of flautists from Sikkil, a village near Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The Sikkil Sisters, Kunjumani and Neela, were among the first women to become well-known Carnatic flute players, at a time when the flute was mostly played by men. They performed together for decades and received many honours. Mala Chandrasekhar learnt the flute within this family tradition and began performing at a young age, sometimes together with the Sikkil Sisters. She has performed widely in India and abroad and has trained many students.

The flute is one of the oldest musical instruments of India and is closely associated with Lord Krishna. In Carnatic music, the flute is called the venu or pullanguzhal. It is a small bamboo flute with eight finger holes, played sideways (transverse flute). T.R. Mahalingam, popularly known as Flute Mali, transformed the playing of the Carnatic flute in the 1930s and 1940s, and N. Ramani was another great Carnatic flautist. In Hindustani music, a larger bamboo flute called the bansuri is used. It was brought to the classical stage by Pannalal Ghosh and made famous around the world by Hariprasad Chaurasia.

In the Indian classification of instruments, the flute is a sushira vadya (wind instrument). Other famous flute players include Shashank Subramanyam (Carnatic), Ronu Majumdar and Rakesh Chaurasia (Hindustani).

Why not the other options?