Spotlight

Semfest On Saraswati Veena In Bangalore

 Tarangini Arts Foundation conducted a seminar-cumfestival (semfest), devoted to the Saraswati veena, 26-28 March, on the impressive campus of the National Institute of Advanced Studies 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: An Expert In Mela-Setting

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

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