Play a musical instrument or sing? Then you would know Sunil, the go-to person for many musicians in the city. An artisan and trained musician in his own right, Sunil’s Pranavam Musical Foundation, a little place at Mettukada, Thycaud is a Mecca for musicians and veena players in the city. Not only does he repair musical instruments and tune the veena, he also makes the veena on demand. Come Navarathri, his outlet is packed with hundreds of veena, old and new.
"This is the busiest season of the year for me when my shop is filled with veenas. While many artistes want the strings of their veena to be changed and the instrument polished, there are many parents who buy a veena at this time to initiate their children into the world of strings," says Sunil.
His clientele boasts names such as K.J. Yesudas, M. Balamuralikrishna, the late M.G. Radhakrishnan, Ravindran Master, Johnson Master Devarajan Master and many present-day music directors and singers too. “At one point or the other, I have been able to do a bit of work for them,” he says modestly.
Behind his quiet demeanour lies a tale of determination and passion for his chosen profession. So enamoured was Sunil of musical instruments that he left the city as a teenager and stayed in Kolkata to learn how to repair musical instruments.
“I reached Kolkata with a flute and a bag of clothes. I was robbed on the train and lost my money and certificates. I managed to survive by playing the flute. Then I managed to get a job in a shop repairing musical instruments of all kinds on Chittaranjan Avenue. My job was to sweep the floor and keep the place clean,” he recalls.
Luck came calling on a Holi when the skilled workers in the bellows section (for making harmoniums) were on holiday. An urgent work came up and the owner wondered aloud if Sunil would be able to do it. Sunil completed the work and his designation changed from that of cleaner to worker.
“No one teaches you in these places. I used to observe the workers and jot down everything in a diary I used to keep. At the end of each entry, I would add a footnote that included my thoughts on how the process could be speeded up or improved,” recalls Sunil.
By then Sunil had become confident in his own competence. Returning to the city, Sunil gained admission to the Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music and completed his ganabhooshanam. An expert in veena repair at the college caught his attention and Sunil tried to persuade him in vain to teach him the art of repairing the veena. His refusal made Sunil all the more determined to learn the technique. He left his studies half way through and went to Kollam, where he hails from, and tried to cajole the owner of Bharat Veena Factory to teach him to make the veena. But that proved to be futile. Then he travelled to Thanjavur and stayed with master craftsman Somasundara Achari to learn how to make a veena. Only after he felt that he had learnt all that was to be learnt did he return to the city and open shop in December 1990. Once he got over teething problems, Sunil has been on song.
“I have repaired all kinds of veenas, including antiques and heirlooms. There was a 500-year-old veena inlaid with ivory and embellished with gold on its body. When I make a veena, I use only the root of the jackfruit tree for the body of the veena. My training in music helps me in fixing the frets and in tuning the instrument,” says Sunil.
He muses aloud: “I often wonder how the son of a tailor found his way into this profession. Then I remember that my father was a master tailor, an artiste in his own right.”
Today, as his daughter Nisha Ponni makes waves as an up and coming veena artiste, life has come full circle for Sunil.
Strings of music
The Veena Sangeetha Sangh is an organisation of musicians who are in love with the veena. Formed 10 years ago, it is an organisation of, for and by musicians, teachers, students and music buffs. “We used to meet every month at a member’s home, listen to a concert and enjoy the notes of the veena. However, we now have made it a bi-monthly. It is open to all those who enjoy good music and promote young talent,” says Sunil.Contact: 2479838
