On any given day, the scene outside ‘Veena Works’, a small shop in Gandhi Bazaar, owned and run by Raju or ‘Veena’ Raju, resembles that of a doctor’s clinic. One after another, Raju’s shop is flooded with customers, each clutching a giant veena in their hands, eager to know Raju’s prognosis. Around 65 years old, Veena Works, is renowned amongst musicians for it is one among the few remaining such shops in Bangalore that not only makes a veena from scratch but also conducts repairs on almost all kinds of string instruments.
As I stood on the tiny steps leading up to the shop, I noticed that in front of me was a couple who had brought a veena that had to be repaired. Raju took one look at the instrument and immediately knew where the problem was.
It was he who had fixed the strings after all.
One could say that Raju inherited a family trade and the craftsman in him was moulded since birth. Raju’s grandfather had set up a shop that used to make and repair harmoniums. Then, V. Krishna, Raju’s father, set up a similar shop for the veena back in the 1960s. “My father was drawn to this field as he did not have a flair for studies. Later, I began helping him out during my summer holidays.
When I was in college, my father’s health began to deteriorate and he couldn’t come to the shop anymore. It was then that I decided to take this up. I had completed a diploma in the field of electronics but I realised that there isn’t much competition in this field - of veena craftsmans. There are showrooms that sell the instrument today but very few makers of the instrument,” says Raju.
Albeit his entry into veena craftsmanship was incidental, there is a passion that he shares for the instrument that is evident when you meet him.
It was this devotion to the veena that led him to train under the late maestro R.K. Suryanarayana for two years. “If I have to make the veena, I better know how to play it as well,” he said, as he strummed Varaveena Mridupani on a veena that had come for repair.
Does he have such a flood of customers everyday? “I had shut shop for three days and opened only today. Usually, I shut this shop only for three days in a year only because I want to take my son on a holiday. Otherwise, I’m here each morning and only wind up a day’s work late at night. They say the number of veena concerts have reduced but I somehow seem to have a steady flow of customers,” he explains, just as a young girl walked in with her veena. The girl’s music exam was the next day and her veena was producing a funny note. She had a theory about why the instrument was making the noise. Raju patiently listened to her, taking the instrument in his hands and placing it over his lap such that it filled the breadth of his small shop. Within seconds, again, he had a suitable solution.
Once a year, Raju goes to a village on the outskirts of the city to collect wood that would make close to 40 veenas. “Selecting the right kind of piece is absolutely crucial. So, I gather the finest wood from a jackfruit tree, bring it to the city and then begin work on the gori , the round part of the veena. What follows is the carving of the design and the attaching of the neck to the gori ,” he explains holding up some of the finest veenas on display at his store.
“Customers today mostly come to the shop for repairs. There are lots of artists buying the veena too but mostly from America,” he says.
His clientele includes famous musicians such as Jayanthi Kumaresh and Prashanth Iyengar, among others. With a steady flow of customers and orders, has he not thought of getting a bigger place? “The rent is manageable here. Everywhere else, it is rather expensive. The going is good for now,” he says. A man of few words and demands, Raju’s biggest difficulty today is the lack of craftsmen to help him make more instruments. “It has become very difficult to get people to stay, learn and help in this trade. Most people are reluctant to get their hands dirty and do hard work. And those who learn go off elsewhere,” he says.
Just as I was about to leave the shop, yet another customer walked in, this time to enquire about the price of a veena. I stayed to watch the process. How does an artist pick a suitable veena, I wondered. Does Raju know what instrument will suit which artist? Actually, does Raju know how the instrument will turn out while he is making the instrument? “I have a particular sensibility with which I make the instrument. Along with that, my craftsmanship is a factor. Some veenas turn out well, some don’t. It is not me that assigns an instrument to an artist or an artist that picks an instrument, it is the instrument that picks the musician. Actually, it is all based on luck!,” says Raju.
