 While a majority of South Indian (Carnatic) flautists play with the 8-holed flute fashioned by T.R.Mahalingam (Mali), students of T. Viswanathan play with the 7-hole flute innovated by Swaminatha Pillai.Viswanathan and his brother Ranganathan recorded the music for the Satyajit Ray documentary film "Bala" (1976), about their sister, the "bharatanatyam" dancer Balasaraswati.