Spotlight
Semfest On Saraswati Veena In Bangalore

The seminar sessions were conducted with the participation
of vainika-s, veena-makers, innovators and programme organisers. The seminar
was essentially academic in nature and the first of its kind held in South
India. Veena-makers from Bobbili, Tiruchi, Kerala, Bangalore and sabha
officials from five States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, were active participants in addition to
veenaplayers, electronic specialists and scientists. During the various
sessions and interactions, the problems faced by veena-makers, vainika-s, the
sabha-s and the scientists were highlighted. Suggestions were made to bring
back the veena and its practice back to the prime position it occupied in the
music scenario.
In the complementary festival, the recitals gave glimpses of the different veena bani-s as practised in the four southern States.
Various types of veena-s as evolved from ancient times 42
were displayed at an exhibition set up in the foyer of the auditorium. The
exhibition also included two of the latest electronic veena-s and also one in
the shape of a sitar. The exhibition was organised by the Chennaibased Sangeeta
Vadyalaya, Development Centre for Musical Instruments, Office of the
Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Government of India. The sessions were
sponsored by Department of Kannada and Culture, Government of Karnataka; the
central Sangeet Natak Akademi; Ramasudha Charitable Trust, Bangalore,- State
Bank of Mysore, Malleswarani; Canara Bank; Sarva Granites Private Limited;
Kinetic Transmissions; Yogakava Blue Star Limited; and Anglo French Drugs &
Industries Limited.
The
seminar sessions
In his inaugural
address, Dr. M.R. Gautam, former Vice Chancellor of Indira Kala Sangeeta
Viswavidyalaya in Khairagarh, Madhya Pradesh, traced the history of the veena
and regretted the recent decline of interest in the instrument. He underlined
the importance of the efforts to revive it. Dr. Karaikudi S. Subramanian,
adopted son of the late Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer and Director of Brhaddhvani in
Chennai, traced the cultural, yogic and divine qualities of the instrument and
explained how it is complete in its smti and laya. Referring to learning of the
instrument, he critically commented: "...The fretted simplicity is very
attractive to a beginner; later when it becomes more demanding and asks for
complete and intense sadhana, it drives him off. Veena listening also needs
sensitive training." Noted critic B.V.K. Sastry of Bangalore delivered the
keynote address.
Interaction
with veena-makers
Sarvasiddhi Chinna
Surya Rao, a traditional veenamaker from Bobbili, said that, in ancient times,
Bobbili veena-s were held upright, parallel to the body and played and thus the
contour of the veena was made to match the contour of the person playing it. He
disclosed that, the average cost of the Bobbili veena, today, in its plain
form, was 3000 rupees.
M. Palaniappan of
Tiruchi, a traditional maker of the Tanjavur veena, described a Tanjavur veena
which can be taken apart and assembled easily. The top of the kudam along with
the fret board, strings and birudai forms one detachable unit. The lower
horizontal half of the kudam, the vyali and the suraikai form the other
detachable parts. The nagapasam is fitted for tuning. T h e design for this was
inspired by Rajeswari Padmanabhan and her husband. The price is around 12,000
rupees.
Veerabhadraiah from Bangalore displayed a veena reinforced
with fibre glass which costs around 2,500 rupees. Narasinga Rao of Bangalore
showed and explained an intricately decorated detachable veena, the cost of
which is around 100,000 rupees.
Future of
the veena in the electronic era
V.A.K. Ranga Rao of
Chennai traced the evolution of veena music on the gramophone during the period
from 1920 to 1973. Dr. G. Raj Narayan displayed a highly evolved electronic
veena where the tonal values can be changed, the acoustics formulated and
sounds produced to order. He added that it was time musicians, scientists and
electronic engineers worked together to generate a new wave of classical music
systems. Radhika Raj Narayan assisted her husband Dr. Raj Narayan in his talk
with demonstration. Lewis of Lewis & Sons demonstrated yet another
electronic veena in which the amplification of the instrument is done
externally. Unlike in the model prescribed by Dr. Raj Narayan, the frets in
this case were fixed in wax.
Veena and
amplification
In his talk, Sanjay Mudartha confirmed that the sound
systems in our concert halls left much to be desired. He recommended the use of
Piezo electric pick-up (contact mike) as it was superior to magnetic pick-ups.
Average pick-ups are sensitive to vibrations and can sense and amplify sounds
arising in various parts of the veena like the bridge and body parts. The
pick-up may vary from veena to veena. The use of more than one pick-up may be
an added advantage in the sense that stereophonic effects can be produced. A
primary amplification kept close to the performer will help to monitor further
amplifications and arrest distortions.
Veena and
its scientific aspects
In a technical
lecture, Rajaram Nithyananda explained in simple terms the fundamentals of
frequency, waveforms, wave propagation characteristics, filtration, sound
mixing, etc. He explained the fundamental difference between noise and music.
He said that the richness of the sound produced by the veena comes from the
many 'modes' in wbich a string can vibrate, and these combine to produce the
quality of timbre of the veena. The ratios in which these frequencies are mixed
is all important.
A string by itself would scarcely be heard a short distance
away. The body of the veena is able to vibrate in sympathy with the string and
with its greater area, generate more sound. The resonance frequencies of a
complicated shape like the body of a veena or a violin can nowadays be easily
and accurately calculated by computers. Nityananda suggested that just as
planes and buildings are tested in the computer before even a model is made, a
preliminary design of a veena could be tested as well. This could also help in
making the best possible use of the available expertise and experience of the
traditional veena-makers by recording and systematising their work.
Dr. G. Padmanabhan,
Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who chaired the
session, felt that science could make a positive contribution to the field of
veena craft.
Organisers
of veena recitals
Almost all the organisers of music programmes expressed the view that the popularity of veena recitals had taken a nosedive. The audience had alarmingly dwindled in size. The discussions also helped to focus on the fact that most of the sabha-s are manned by people who know little of music while financial constraints contribute to sponsor influence, and unsatisfactory selection of performers: crowd-pulling has become the primary criterion and not quality of music. Sabha officials who spoke suggested vocal music is more appealing as it can carry bhava and bhakti better than instrumental music. B.R.C. Iyengar of Kalasagaram, Secunderabad, blamed all the three, the musicians, the organisers and the audience, for the present sad situation: the musicians for their poor standards, the organisers for their ignorance both in terms of art and acuity of assessment of the performers and the audience for its poor sense of music appreciation. In his view what is most urgent is the education for the lay listener. S. Seshadri, Secretary of the Shanmukhananda Sabha in Mumbai, sounded the alarum bells and said that there are hardly any quality vainika-s around. N. Krishnamurthy of Soorya in Tiruvanantapuram said that veena-playing had to undergo changes. Maithreyi Ramadurai, Secretary of the Music Academy in Chennai, agreed that veena concerts were not very popular. Mysore V. Subramanya of Bangalore was, however, optimistic and said that he expected a very good future for the veena. H. Kamalanath of the Bangalore Gayana Samaja, who chaired the session, said while many take part in the competitions held for veena-players, the veena performances do not attract much attention. The session co-ordinator was B.V.K. Sastry. The suggestions that finally emerged were:
• Veena artists
should learn to play loud so that the finer aspects of music could be brought
out well and the level of sound amplification could be kept low.
• Vainika-s should sing along while playing the instrument,
at least now and then, since this would make the recital more attractive
• Veena can be developed as a support instrument in Seminar
Co-ordinator B.V.K. Sastry said that the concerts.
• Chamber music recitals may be organised for select
audiences.
In the festival part
of the event, veena recitals were presented every day. They included
performances by N. Ravikiran (chitraveena); R.K. Padmanabha who played the gold
and silver veena of the late Veena Subbanna; Vijaya Raghavan; Suma Sudhindra of
Bangalore,- R. Venkataraman of Tiruvanantapuram; and Rajeswari Padmanabhan of
Chennai. There were two panchaveena concerts one directed by Geetha Ramanand
and the other presented by the Tarangini Arts Foundation. All the recitals were
well received.
Dr. Raja Ramanna , in his valedictory address, commented
that the seminar was different from the routine ones because of its emphasis on
objective presentation, audience participation, and quality of interaction. The
subject, he explained, was confined to a narrow problem and the speakers were
well chosen to cover the same. While congratulating the organisers for the excellent
way the seminar was conducted, he made a video presentation of the different
waveforms that emanate from different instruments that had been kept in the
foyer as a part of the exhibition.
Seminar Co-ordinator
B.V.K. Sastry said that the seminar yielded
some ideas, as follows:
• There was need for a change in the mindset of both
performers and listeners. They should remind themselves that, notwithstanding
the sacred aura surrounding the veena, the primary function of the veena was to
act as an excellent medium for expressing one's musical ideas perfectly.
Improvements and changes in construction and technique, should be made as
necessary, keeping this aspect in view.
• The improvements deemed necessary were in respect of its
structure, the raw material used, the fixative for the mela or frets, and the
production of sound.
• Because of its
bulk, the veena often poses problems for the performer, especially when on
tour. Structural alterations have already been put into effect, to reduce the
size without affecting the sound.
• Raw materials like jackwood have been in use for a long
time but their supplies are dwindling, making it difficult for the craftsmen to
manufacture veena in large numbers. At the same time the costs have also
escalated. It is therefore necessary to put jackwood under scientific test to
understand its special qualities which make it uniquely suitable for the veena
and identify other woods which might meet the same criteria. In this context
the possibility of use of synthetic materials should also be examined.
• The fixative now
used to fix the frets is a compound of several ingredients, the most important
of which is beeswax. This poses problems for the performer in that the wax's
consistency undergoes changes because of weather conditions, etc., resulting in
the displacement of the frets. While an alternative that is temperatureproof
has already been devised, further experiments may continue.
• In brief, since music is a science as well as an art, a
scientific approach to the manufacture of veena and melam-setting should be
encouraged.
B.R.C. IYENGAR
Nageswara Rao, was obviously excited when I approached him for an interview, essentially because he thought his worth as an artist was finally being recognised. Eighty-three years old Nageswara Rao lives alone in Secunderabad in a flat of his own. The flat is immaculately clean and, not surprisingly, he is proud that he is able to manage alone despite his old age. His eyes are watery but he has a straight back and is able to move fast. He has apparently good memory as well and can recollect past incidents and people vividly. He has a fur cap which he puts on the moment he gets up from his bed and wears it till he goes back to the bed again. He is proud of this too and compares himself to V.P. Singh, V. Shantaram and MGR. When he casually removed his cap to emphasise its importance to him, I could see the glistening pate which made him look 10 years older. I was relieved when he put it on! The following are excerpts from the interview.
I am happy to meet one of the few expert mela-setters of
veena.
What do you mean? I am also a vainika, not just a
mela-setter; this is only incidental.
One cannot he a
meia-setter unless one is a vainika; this need not he emphasised.... Well, you
are one of the oldest living musicians in Andhra Pradesh, aren't you!
Yes. I was born on 9 October 1915 and I belong to
Rajahmundry in East Godavari district. But I went to Mumbai a long time ago and
spent 55 years there.
What made you go
to Mumbai?
That takes me to rny life story. My father Nalam Krishna Rao
was well-known as a Telugu poet and was awarded the title of Madhurakavi. He
also started a big library at Rajahmundry called Goutamu Granthalayam. He was a
social reformer, a Brahma Samajist, a Congressman and a connoisseur of the
arts drama, music, painting. He used to
encourage all budding artists including his own children. My mother was also a
poet; she was, besides, a veena player. I was the eldest child and my sister is
two years younger than me. At a young age, we both were given training in
playing the veena. My sister has a degree in both Sanskrit and Telugti; she is
a Ubhaya Bhasa Praveena. Initially we both started playing music on the
harmonium but later switched to the veena. Some local teachers taught us the
fundamentals; subsequently Emani Achutarama Sastry, the father of the great
maestro Sankara Sastry, taught us, staying in our house for the purpose. He was
a great teacher and a very strict man. After a few years, Sastry went back to
his place and one Behta Raja Rao became our teacher. He used to do mela-setting
also and that is how I learnt this art of setting-up the mela for the veena. I
was about 15 years old then.
I was a born
craftsman, and competent in repairing watches, motor cycles, harmonium and so
on. I paint too. After I completed my high school education, I had to go to
Kakinada because there was no science college in Rajahmundry. There was a short
break in my study of music, till I graduated. I did my M.Sc. in 1937 under
Prof. Dr. P. Ekambaram at the Presidency College in Madras, with botany,
zoology and geology as my subjects. When I went back home, father asked me to
look after the house and the lands, which were then in the presentday Orissa.
We were zamindars. I wanted to start an industry at home and my father
encouraged me. I thought I should start an electroplating and electro-welding
unit, because there was none in our place. I later got in touch with Dayalbagh
Industries in Agra and went to Agra for training in the field of
electroplating, etc. At the instance of my employers, I became a member of the
Radhaswamy Satsang. I was provided free boarding and lodging and free training.
After four months of training, I returned home and set up my industry. While I
was making rapid progress, World War II started and it was a big blow to the
industry and I suffered a great loss. I got in touch with my cousin who was
running a commission business in Bombay. He advised me to go to Bombay with all
my equipment and he assured me that, with his help, my unit would succeed in
Bombay. I went to Bombay only to be disillusioned. I had no other choice but to
sell all my equipment; it was a total loss. I had no moral courage to get back
home and announce my failure in business.
This was the turning point in my life and career. I was then
staying in Dadar in a small apartment, on the first floor. I used to hear some
music coming out of a ground floor flat. The musician there was a young man
from Andhra, Tangaturi Sriram Mohana Rao, nephew of Tangaturi Prakasam Pantulu.
He was learning Hindustani music. We became good friends. One of his friends
named Jagannath was learning music from Shankar Rao Vyas and Narayana Rao Vyas.
Yet another friend, Ram Mohana Rao, was learning from Manohar Barve. We all
became good friends and my interest in music began to grow. I was introduced to
them all as a veena player. Shankar Rao Vyas was associated with Prakash
Pictures as a music director for the film 'Bharat Milap'? Those days, veena was
not used in film orchestras butN Vyas wanted to do it for the first time in
this puranit picture. He advised me to go home and fetch my veena and report to
him at the studio. My father was willing, although reluctant, to allow me to
join the film world, but my mother was against it because of the fear that
nobody would offer a girl in marriage to me if I joined the film world. In the
event, I decided to go ahead despite her objection.
On my return to
Mumbai, I went to Prakash Pictures in Andheri and played a New Theatres' film
song, Piya milanako jana on my veena. They were pleased. At a time when
musicians were being paid only between 70 rupees and 90 rupees, I was offered a
salary of 130 rupees a month. I was extremely happy because, even as a
professor, I could not expect to receive such an amount! I had to join the Vyas
Sangeet Vidyalay and learn Hindustani music. I would spend the day at the
studio and learn Hindustani music in the evening at the Vidyalay. Within six
months I became proficienr and could easily write down the music in notation,
though I was not used to writing down Carnatic music 46 in notation. I got to
know other music directors and Krishna of Prabhat Studio
wanted me to play for the film 'Mrichchakatika'; I had to play the veena for
the hero. I also played for 'Ram Rajya' for Prakash Pictures and it proved a
great musical hit all over India. It is thus I became a famous veena player for
films. Every studio offered me engagements.
Following India's independence, the Central Government
created the Films Division and advertised three posts of Directors, one for
Hindustani music, one for Western music and one for South Indian music. I
applied for the post of Director, South Indian music. Out of the 50 applicants,
six were selected for the interview and I was one of them. Finally I was
selected for the post. That was in 1948. In less than a year, the Finance
Minister, Dr. Chintaman Deshmukh, felt that the Films Division was a liability;
he wanted to close it. But Chief Producer Bhavanani assured the Minister that
the Division would not prove a liability and he would effect necessary changes.
The axe fell, and all three Directors were removed. He said he would retain
only one post. I pleaded with him and argued that, while I was very well off in
the industry, I had been persuaded to join the Government, and after my
probation period and when everything was going well, I was being removed. This
had some effect. He agreed to recommend me for the post of an Assistant
Director under the New Director, Mr. Irani. I accepted the post along with the
responsibility of providing music for South Indian films and documentaries.
Under some pressure that Western music should also be introduced in the Films
Division, the Department got into a mess again and Irani resigned. In his place
Vijaya Raghava Rao was appointed. He was good to me. From 1948 to 1975, I
worked with him. On my superannuating, I was asked by him to work for the
Newsreel Division on a contract basis. After retirement, I worked privately for
many films. I later took up teaching of classical Carnatic music and also
repairing of veena-s. It again proved a big business. I returned to
Secunderabad in 1995 and moved to this flat in February 1996.
On
mela-setting
What is involved in setting the mela for a veena?
Initially, I mix beeswax with some special ingredients, like
coal powder, copper sulphate, and special adhesives. The proportions have to be
exact. When the mixture has cooled and is in a semi-solid condition, I make two
walls on either side of the stem of the veena to the proper height. Then I tune
the strings to a specific sruti. I keep setting the frets in accordance with
the frequencies of different swara-s. Say for suddha rishabha, I find out if
the frequency is all right; if not, move the fret either way till the correct
sruti comes out.
In other words, one should set the adhara shadja and only
with reference to it, should the rest of the frets he set for the swara-s. Am I
right?
Sa is important but
even more important is suddha rishabha. The head of the mettu is also very
important.
The string should have free movement, it should vibrate
without any interference. Both proper height and proper tuning are very
important. This is followed by chatusruti rishabha. As one proceeds to the
other swara-s, the distance will naturally become less and less. Thus I fix all
the swara-s in this manner. It is easier said than done,- it requires great
skill and intense concentration. Later, I remove the extra wax from in between
the mettu-s. This is trying because the wax is by then very hard; I therefore
have a blow lamp with which I melt the wax as necessary.
Once the frets are
set and the job of setting the mcttu is completed, how long will it last or
stay? Will it depend upon the artist's care or...
No. It depends upon
the composition of the wax we use. If it is of the right composition, it will
stay for years.
Do the
manufacturers fix the frets up as well as you do?
No. They no longer
use the right type of wax and the right composition. Vainika-s therefore run to
people like us.
If it is not an uncomfortable question, may I ask as to
how much it would cost to set the mclam. I am not asking how much you charge,
but what should one charge for this specialised work. And how much time does it
take to complete one job.
It takes one week. [He evades the question of fees but, on
being pressed explains further]. The cost of mettu-s is 125 rupees and one
kilogram of wax costs 150 rupees. It doesn't come cheap.
Do you need a whole kilo for one job?
No. It will consume about half a kilo.
Prototype Of The South Indian Veena
There is today a widely prevalent view, inaugurated probably
by the late Prof. P. Sambamoorthy, that the prototype of the modern South
Indian (Saraswati) veena may be traced to the (Achyuta) Raghunathamela veena,
described in the Sangeeta Sudha, circa 1620 AD, by Govinda Deekshita in
Tanjavur. An instance of this was found in Sruti (151, pp. 5-6, Ramnath Iyer
and Gopinath Iyer: Commendable). The following is intended to set the record
straight, namely, the prototype of the modern South Indian veena is not the
Raghunathamela veena but the Tulajcndramela veena described by Ttiiajendra in
his Sangeeta Saramritatn (circa 1730 AD).
Raghunathamela veena
The authorship of Sangeeta Sudha is attributed to Raghunatha
Nayaka, King of Tanjavur (1614-1632/3 AD); but Venkatamakhi claims in his
Chaturdandi Prakasika that Sangeeta Sudha was authored by his father Govinda Deekshit
a and that the Raghunathamel a veena was created by him and dedicated to
Raghunatha Nayaka.
On
veena-s
What about the quality of veena-s today?
The quality of veena-s now available in the market is quite
poor. Though sorakkai veena-s are available, the best are those made from well
seasoned jackwood. Traditionally, jackwood was stored in the attic for 20 to 25
years; in a family engaged in this craft, the son or the grandson would use it
in his turn to make a veena. It is difficult because, it has to be rarved out
hollow with uniform thickness all round. It is not only a matter of skill but
it needs great patience as well. On the other hand, sorakkai is readily
available in uniform thickness, and this is the reason why veena-makers have
taken to the sorakkai. But the nada that is produced by jackwood veena-s is
entirely different. Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh was famous at one time for the
quality of veena-s produced there. But today, even Bobbili is producing poor
quality veena-s. A concert veena is still available in Tanjavur, but it costs
anywhere between 6000 to 10,000 rupees. I also make veena-s from sorakkai. The
argument is, when sitar can be made out of sorakkai, why not a veena.
The other fact is, even in the Tanjavur veena, the width of
the fret is small. This interferes with the playing of the fourth string. I
have done some research on this subject and have produced veena-s with wider
frets. This helps in producing greater resonance while playing the mandra
sthayi. (Demonstrates). The passage from one swara to the next is magnified.
This I learnt from sitar players, who pull the string to a greater degree. I
have made them and I have found them very effective. Also I was the first
person to use electronic pick-up, in 1941, both magnetic mike and the contact
mike. I do agree that the use of pick-up does not produce an authentic sound.
Sangeeta Sudha describes only three veena mela-s
(fretboards), namely, suddhamela veena, madhyamela veena and Raghunathamela
veena. Even a casual study of these is enough to convince that none of them can
be the prototype of the modern South Indian veena. The suddhamela veena and
madhyamela veena are in total accord with those described earlier by Ramamatya
(Swaramela Kalanidhi), Somanatha (Ragavibodha) and Pandarika Vitthala (Sadraga
Chandrodaya) and are thus tuned to anumandra sa, anumandra pa, mandra sa,
mandra ma (suddhamela veena) and to anumandra pa, mandra sa, mandra pa, mandra
(!) sa (madhyamela veena) in their four upper strings. As done by previous
authorities, suddhamela veena is taken as prakriti (model or standard of
reference) for mela-setting with extrapolation, mutatis mutandis, in madhyamela
and Raghunathamela veena. Thus the suddhamela fretboard carries only the
following 12 [not the modern 23) frets on the sa string, generating the
following intervals: on long frets, common to all strings: meru-sd,- 1.
(suddha) rishabha,- 2. suddha gandhara; 3. sadharana gandhara; 4. chyuta
madhyama gandhara,- 5. suddha madhyama; 6. chyuta panchama madhyama, on short
frets (only for sa string); 7. panchama; 8. (suddha) dhaivata; 9. suddha
nishada; 10. kaisiki nishada; 11. kakali nishada; and 12. tara shadja. The
notes chyuta madhyama gandhara (no. 4), chyuta panchama madhyama (no. 6)
correspond to their modern analogues antara gandhara and prati madhyama
respectively, while kakali nishada (no. 11) refers to its ancient namesake. He
thus omits ancient antara gandhara and the contemporary chyuta shadja nishada
of his predecessors and reduces the intervals to 12 to the octave. He does not
employ panchasruti ri and panchasruti dha as equivalents of suddha ga and
suddha ni respectively in this context, although he does so in raga
descriptions. His own son Vcnkatamakhi totally omits the ancient antara
gandhara and kakali nishada of archaic use, but retains these names for chyuta
madhyama gandhara and chyuta shadja nishada respectively, thus ushering in the
modern 12 semitone scale of Carnatic music. Tara shadja (no. 12) clearly limits
the range of this fretboard while that of the modern fretboard is atitara
shadja.
It may be noted that
the second and fourth strings of madhyamela veena are tuned to sa of the
selfsame mandra register, identically by both Ramamatya and Govinda Deekshita.
Vcnkatamakhi denounces and ridicules Ramamatya for this but passes over the
same in Govinda Deekshita with total silence! Govinda Deekshita cannot be
credited with inventing or inaugurating the modern veena fretboard of Carnatic
music because:
• his accordatura is
of suddhamela veena, whereas that of the modern veena is of madhyamela veena;
• the modern veena fretboard obviates the need for shorter
and longer frets;
• chyuta madhyama gandhara and kakali nishada are
incompatible as consonants and the latter (archaic) note is no longer used in
modern Carnatic music,-
• he prescribes only
12 frets on the strings, whereas the modern veena fretboard has 23 excluding
the meru (nut); and
• Sangeeta Sudha is
confused and opaque in respect of two major cruxes, namely, dvaadasa parvasu
and sishteshu and sakalaah. These cannot be resolved with any degree of
certainty.
Venkatamakhi extracts three verses from Sangeeta Sudha in
his Chaturdandi Prakasika and offers the following textual exegesis in respect
of Raghunathamela veena: If the open string in the madhyamela veena is tuned to
madhya sa instead of to ma, and is played as pa, then the ma of the madhyamela
veena (on the same string) turns out to be sa of the Raghunathamela veena. This
is how the veena players perform on this veena. Thu s every note on the
Raghunathamela veena is exactly one fifth higher than the corresponding note on
the madhyamela veena. This amounts to making ma the adhara sruti on the sa string and thus to a modal shift of tonic
(grahabheda or srutibheda) to ma. This is known as 'madhyama sruti tuning' in
modern Carnatic musical parlance and is commonly employed in performing raga-s
such as Janjhooti, Punnagavarali, Kuntalavarali and Manirangu. Govinda
Deekshita has invented this tuning technique to serve inter-convertibility
between suddhamela veena and madhyamela veena, and this has survived till our
own time as an extrapolatoiy device to raise the range by one half of an octave
(for example, to accommodate female voices).
Tulajendramela veena
Analysing the collective sources of Sangeeta Saramritam
available at the Tanjavur Saraswati Mahal Library, Dr. V. Raghavan has shown
that Mss. Nos. 10787, 10800, 10801 and 10781 of the work contain valuable
additions to the swara chapter not found in the Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastry
edition. These include a description of the Tulajendramela veena as noted by
Dr. Raghavan in his Introduction. This passsage may be translated (freely)
thus:
Description of Tulajendramela veena
Now will be described
the veena created by Tulaja wherein lie 23 smooth bronze rods (frets) in
between the meru and the shadja called atitara, rods which are raised at both
ends on the pravaala (walls of the fretboard) and (slightly) low (concave) at
the middle, (the veena) which is attractive with seven pegs and with other prescribed
characteristics, in which the effect in setting the fretboard [is minimal]....
This is replete with all [desirableI lakshana-s, is splendid with all
decorations (with all desired varna-alankara-s, [that is, phrases of melodic
movementj, which fulfills all the [musical and extramusical] desires of the
performer and ever captivates the hearts of veena performers. The ekatantri
veena, the vipanchi veena and the three-stringed veena are but subordinates of
Tulajendramela veena. Except for differences in shape, all the veena-s
described under the names of the authors in their own works are alike from the
point of view of the swara arrangement scheme alone. How indeed can all these
other veena-s ever equal this form of the veena created by Tulajendra in his
own name in his own treatise! Therefore, this alone is the important, best of
all veena-s. Those who desire to perform concerts should take only to this
veena, wherein instrumental virtuosity accrues without fatigue. Aspirants who
desire to practise with felicity should also take up only this [instrument!.
This leaves one in no doubt at all that the Tulajendramela
veena is the prototype of the modern South Indian veena in every essential.
This veena is the consummation of long experimentation and design. Recent
engineering and technological innovations, while only peripheral to its
fundamental purpose and function, are certainly welcome inasmuch as they help
in the realisation of its dream of beauty in sight, sound and rhythm.
R. SATHYANARAYANA