Dear rasikas,
I am penning my thoughts that have been jostling for expression for some time but have reached the critical mass this morning.
I believe we need to do more for the Veena.
I believe that in fostering the music of the Veena, we will be doing a fundamental service to ourselves in strengthening the basics of Carnatic music and also reviving the art of the greatest string instrument invented in India long back. Obviously this is a subject for debate and I welcome more competent, persuasive and influential rasikas to contribute to the discussion.
I list below my own thoughts:
1. The Veena is an ancient Indian instrument identified with Vedas, classical music and creativity. The most ancient texts refer to the instrument as the one played by Saraswati, Narada, Shiva and Ravana, among others.
2. The famous words of Sage Yagnavalkya are: "veenaavaadanatatwagnah shruti-jaati-visharadah taalagnascha aprayaasena mokshamaargam niyachati" meaning that one adept in the Veena, classical music of ragas and talas, will take the path to liberation easily.
3. In the hands of Saraswati, it is held delicately, and played with feminine grace, in the hands of a Ravana or such, it is full of masculine vigour...so versatile!4. All great Carnatic musicians have extolled the Veena, including Thyagaraja and Dikshitar, himself a great vainika.
5. When a Veena maestro attributed the felicity of MSS's music by stating that she had a built-in Veena in her vocal chords, he was idiomatically stating that a mastery of the Veena and its nuances will strengthen one's overall mastery of vocal music.
6. Listen to this track: http://is.gd/eMxqZN How exquisitely the KSN Veena embellishes the vocal music of SSI! The Veena can add great weight and depth to vocal music. In fact, many great musicians have sung while playing the Veena themselves. This is impossible perhaps with other instruments. And the ergonomic arrangement of the Veena as we hold it today helps to give space to vocalisation easily, and it looks also beautiful. I remember Smt Rajeshwari Padmanabhan was so good singing along with the Veena.
7. If we give the right place to the Veena, we will have more great maestros like S. Balachander. Listen to this track: http://is.gd/qhocVy. He does incredible improvisation, and in fact the violinist and mridangist have to exert themselves to keep up with him. (I am not sure, is it raga bhavapriya?)
8. Carnatic music is based on 22 srutis. The instrument which readily expresses gamaka music is the Veena. I remember the lec-dems of Smt. Vidya Sankar in this regard.
9. The Veena has a built-in rhythmic element, thanks to the tala strings. It makes it a one-man symphony.
10. In the hands of a Chitti Babu, it sounds incredibly sweet, even merely playing a scale makes great music.
11. It adds so much lustre to even light music. The other night, Ilayaraja's orchestra had Rajhesh Vaidhya centre-stage with the Veena. On request, he played a great two-minute Kapi. The effect was profound.
12. We lament the decibelisation and electronification of our music in general. The right antidote is the Veena. It immediately ushers us into a soirée, with such a profound intimacy with the artiste. It makes for real naada yoga.
13. In the right hands, the Veena can sparkle so well, from the Varnam to the Tillana. A great Veena exponent is Smt. Jayanthi. I really wish her Veena had a higher pitch and a more vibrant metallic timbre (a la Chitti Babu) but still her music is SO EXPRESSIVE AS IT IS. She was also an exquisitely beautiful presence on the stage some time back with her Veena in BGS.
14. Indian culture was always rooted in subtlety and refinement.
The Gayatri is whispered into one's ears during upanayana. We have oil lamps in the sanctum sanctorum. We have the subtle fragrance of flowers, not nose-dazzling attars. The Veena is the epitome of subtlety. By relegating it, by drowning its music with decibels and keyboards and such, we have driven it to nearly being qualified as an endangered species. No wonder we now want to go back to soukhyam, raga music and such.
An easy way? Encourage more youngsters to take to the Veena. Celebrate this great instrument. Attend Veena concerts. Recognise talent. Let us not wait for another avatar of another mahavidwan like Balachander to crusade for the Veena. Let us give Veena a chance. We will surely have many more great Veena maestros. And go back to the roots of Carnatic music.
PS: am I raising a subject already discussed here? Are people likely to go into a debate on what is the right definition of a Veena? Are people going to argue about its construction deficiencies, transportation unfriendliness etc.? I don't know. But I still feel what I wrote here is worth a revisit/consideration. And While we are at it, why not improve the mechanics and quality issues of the Veena and its sound reproduction?
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