Veena

The word veena is a general Sanskrit term. It names plucked string instruments. In North India the instrument is also called the been.

How old is the veena?

• The veena is mentioned in the Rigveda, the Samaveda and other Vedic texts.
• The Natya Shastra also discusses it. This is the oldest Hindu text on classical music, by Bharata Muni.
• It is one of the oldest instruments of India.
• It is still a leading solo instrument of Carnatic music in the South.

What are the two strands of the veena?

• A lute is an instrument with a body and a neck. One strand of veenas grew from simple early lutes.
• A zither is an instrument with strings stretched along its body. The other strand is thought to come from zither-style instruments.
• The Saraswati veena of the South comes from the lute strand.
• The rudra and vichitra veenas of the North are, technically, related to zithers.

What is the memory hook?

Think “veena = plucked strings, three old types”. The three types are Saraswati, rudra and vichitra.

The Saraswati veena is the leading solo instrument of Carnatic music in South India. It is named after Saraswati, the goddess of art, music and learning. She is usually shown holding or playing it.

How is it built?

• It is about four feet long.
• The large resonator is carved from a single log of jack wood. A resonator is the hollow body that makes the sound louder.
• The neck is hollow and has twenty-four brass or bell-metal frets. Frets are raised bars that mark the notes.
• The tuning box ends in a curved slope with an ornamental dragon’s head.
• It has four main playing strings and three drone strings, all of metal.

Why does it have twenty-four frets?

• The frets were once movable.
• They became fixed at twenty-four during the reign of Ragunath Nayak of Thanjavur, in the 17th century.
• That is why it is also called the Ragunatha veena.

How is it played?

• The player sits cross-legged with the veena held at an angle.
• The small gourd on the left rests on the left thigh. The big resonator rests on the floor near the right thigh.
• The right hand plucks the strings with the index and middle fingers. The little finger plays the drone strings.
• The left hand presses the strings on the frets to make higher notes and slides.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Saraswati holds it, 24 frets, Thanjavur”. The goddess, the frets and the place go together.

These are the two main veenas of North India. Both are rarely heard today. Their names tell their story.

What do the names mean?

• Rudra veena means “roaring veena”.
• Vichitra veena means “curious veena”.

How do the two differ?

• Otherwise they look alike. Both have a stem of about three feet and two gourds of the same size.

Why did the northern veena nearly disappear?

• The been was the main string instrument of the later Mughal period. It was the chief partner of dhrupad, the oldest classical vocal style.
• Khayal singing grew popular in the 19th century. Dhrupad declined, and the veena declined with it.
• The early 20th century brought a revival. The veena became a solo instrument.
• Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was the great rudra veena player of the 20th century. His family founded the Dagarvani dhrupad style.
• He made the instrument softer and deeper, with larger gourds and a thicker stem.

Who revived the vichitra veena?

• Prof. Lalmani Misra of Banaras Hindu University rescued it in the 1960s and 1970s.
• He created a new playing technique and the Misrabani compositions.
• Abdul Aziz Khan, a former sarangi player of Patiala, is credited with its present shape and style.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Rudra roars with frets, Vichitra is curious without”. Fret or no fret is the main test.

The Mohan veena is a modern instrument. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt designed it, and it is named after him. It is a Hawaiian guitar changed into a slide guitar with twenty strings, to play Indian classical music.

How did Bhatt make it?

• He first saw a western guitar at age 14. It belonged to a German lady who had come to learn Indian music from his father.
• He bought it from her when she left. He removed its six original strings.
• He added new strings to suit Indian classical music.
• He wanted one instrument that carries the sound and technique of the sitar, the sarod and the veena.

Who is Vishwa Mohan Bhatt?

• He is a Hindustani classical musician from Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• He has been performing since 1965.
• He was born into a musical family. His parents were both musicians who trained him early.

What was his Grammy win?

• His album with the American guitarist Ry Cooder is called A Meeting by the River.
• It won a Grammy in 1994.
• He and Cooder met just before the recording. The album was recorded in one night-long session.
• He was the second Indian to win a Grammy, after his guru, the sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Mohan = Bhatt = Grammy 1994”. The man, the instrument and the prize go together.

Which question has this topic produced?

Which traps repeat?

• The Mohan veena belongs to Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
• His prize is a Grammy, not an Oscar.
• The Saraswati veena is South Indian and Carnatic.
• The rudra veena has frets. The vichitra veena does not.
• The Mohan veena is a changed guitar, not an ancient instrument.

What is the memory hook?

Think “Saraswati South, Rudra frets, Vichitra slide, Mohan Grammy”. Each word marks one veena.