KOCHI, Kerala, 22/01/2020 : Anuradha and Mahesh of 'Shanmukhapriya School of Music' during an ineraction with The Hindu Metro Plus in Kochi on Wednesday. Photo : Thulasi Kakkat/The Hindu
The veena assumes the personality of its player, the idiosyncrasies included, says Anuradha Mahesh. “If you are enthusiastic, your veena would be too, if you are a slacker, your veena would be ditto,” she says.
An artiste and veena instructor, Anuradha has been playing the instrument for over 6 hours a day, for 37 years. She says it is now an extension of herself. “It is a bond that is formed over the years. I’ve seen how its tone and resonance have improved; it responds to me. It’s music is my music too,” she says. Her veena, which her guru brought her from Thanjavur, is 42 years old, a simple beauty made of jackwood, the colour of roasted coffee beans.
Anuradha and her husband S Mahesh Aiyar, a software professional, have been for over a year trying to revive interest in the veena. “The veena is our national instrument and yet it is largely neglected as people believe it is heavy, difficult to master, time-consuming and expensive,” says Mahesh.
Hence the couple launched The Shanmukhapriya Foundation last year, to promote the veena, as well as an understanding of the vedas with a festival, “Vipanchika Mahotsavam.” Celebrating the instrument, and collaborating with artistes, the festival is expected to draw about 200 people together this year, on January 25 and 26.
KOCHI, Kerala, 22/01/2020 : Different types of veenas at 'Shanmukhapriya School of Music'. Photo : Thulasi Kakkat/The Hindu
Held during Vasant Panchami, this yearly event highlights the instrument, and also provides a platform for vainikas. The festival, which is a confluence of professional artists, emerging ones, traditional craftspeople and the general public, aims at demystifying the veena.
The couple has started a factory at Swamimalai in Kumbakonam, which manufactures veenas. Started in April 2019, they have manufactured over 40 instruments.
As part of their research and planning for the first festival, they met traditional craftsmen from Thanjavur, who have been making the veena for generations. They found that the craft was at the risk of dying as the craftsmen earned little profit from it. “We learnt that the middlemen were robbing the craftsmen of what is due to them and the buyer on the other hand was paying more,” says Mahesh. They found a few craftsmen who were willing to work with them and set up base in Swamimalai. “We have six to eight craftsmen, who craft the veenas at the workshop. We ensure that they get the remuneration they deserve.”
At the festival last year, a team of crasftsmen was present, fixing veenas that were in disrepair. “We were amazed to see that people had brought in their old and broken veenas. We received about 100 veenas,” says Anuradha. “This year, however, the craftsmen would not be a part of the festival as they are mourning the loss of their guru, an elderly veena craftsman, who taught the craft to the present generation of craftsmen. He passed away a few days ago in Thajavur.” However, small repair works would be undertaken at the fest by a local craftsman and the veenas that need more work would be sent to the craftsmen by the organisers.
Saraswati veena
The focus would be on the Saraswati veena, the type most popularly used in southern India. Where as in the North, it is the rudra veena that is more popularly used. The Chitraveena is also used in South India.
The Saraswati veena is made from different of wood. In Mysore, the more popular variety is the rosewood veena, which is known to be expensive (starting at ₹45,000 approximately). In Hyderabad, a particular kind of veena known as the Bobbili veena is made of mango wood. The Thanjavur veena, which is the most popular, is usually made of jack wood. The wood used can define the resonance of a veena.
A Saraswati veena can cost anything from ₹30,000 above, depending on the complexity of designs, technique and wood used. “Some like to customise their veenas with ornate carvings; so the price is actually based on the customisation,” says Anuradha.
The Thanjavuri veena consists of a peg box, a fingerboard and a resonator. Sometimes these pieces are separately made and joined. Those carved from a single log of wood are known as the ‘ ekanda veena’, which could be more expensive. “We are trying to use a combination of wood and techniques to make the veena more affordable, without compromising on the quality,” says Mahesh.
