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A portrait of Veena Dhanammal, legendary Veena player

Veena (Telugu: వీణ, Kannada: ವೀಣ-veena,ವೀಣೆ-veene, Tamil: வீணை-veene, வீணா-vina, Malayalam: വീണ) is a plucked stringed instrument used in Carnatic music. There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who plays the veena is referred to as a vainika. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Veena_Dhanammal_1. ... Image File history File links Veena_Dhanammal_1. ... Telugu redirects here. ... “Kannada” redirects here. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Guitar and lute Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. ... Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ... A renaissance-era lute. ...

History

The design of the veena has evolved over the years, probably from the form seen in South Indian Medieval paintings and temple sculpture: a string instrument with two gourd resonators connected by a central shaft, possibly of bamboo, and held diagonally from lap to shoulder. Sangeet Ratnakar calls it Ektantri Veena and gives the method for its construction. The North Indian rudra veena and vichitra veena, technically zithers, demonstrate this genealogy. Descendents of Tansen reserved Rudra Veena for family and out of reverence began calling it Saraswati Veena. Veena in South India developing from Kinnari Veena in the 1600s was initially known as Tanjori Veena after hereditary makers from Thanjavur but was later called Saraswati veena. Made in several regions in South India, those made by makers from Thanjavur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to date considered the most sophisticated. Ustad Asad Ali Khan,Pandit Hindraj Divekar,Ustad Shamsuddin Faridi Desai and Ustad Bahauddin Dagar(Dagar Veena-a variation of the traditional Rudra Veena) are the surviving exponents of the instrument in India. ... The Vichitra Veena is a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. ... Concert zither The zither is a musical string instrument, mainly used in folk music, most commonly in German-speaking Alpine Europe. ... The Saraswati veena (also spelled Saraswati vina) is an Indian plucked string instrument. ... , Tanjore redirects here. ... , Tanjore redirects here. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

'Bold text'[[Media:[Example.ogg]Italic text]]==Construction==

Close-up of a veena's scalloped fretboard

About four feet in length, its design consists of a large resonator (kudam) carved and hollowed out of a log (usually of jackwood), a tapering hollow neck (dandi) topped with 24 brass or bell-metal frets set in scalloped black wax on wooden tracks, and a tuning box culminating in a downward curve and an ornamental dragon's head (yali). A small table-like wooden bridge (kudurai)—about 2 x 2½ x 2 inches—is topped by a convex brass plate glued in place with resin. Two rosettes, formerly of ivory, now of plastic or horn, are on the top board (palakai) of the resonator. Four main playing strings tuned to the tonic and the fifth in two octaves (for example, B flat-E flat below bass clef - B flat- E flat in bass clef) stretch from fine tuning connectors attached to the end of the resonator. across the bridge and above the fretboard to four large-headed pegs in the tuning box.Three subsidiary drone strings tuned to the tonic, fifth, and upper tonic (E flat - B flat- E flat in the tuning given above) cross a curving side bridge leaning against the main bridge, and stretch on the player's side of the neck to three pegs matching those of the main playing strings. All seven strings today are of steel, with the lower strings often wound like those of the lower strings of a guitar. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Fingerboard (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fingerboard (disambiguation). ...

The chromatic distribution of frets (12 to the octave) points to a possible adoption of the fretting of the guitar, which had certainly been brought to India by the 17th century by the Portuguese.

Playing technique

The veena is played by sitting cross-legged with the instrument held tilted slightly away from the player. The small gourd on the left rests on the player's left thigh, the left arm passing beneath the neck with the hand curving up and around so that the fingers rest upon the frets. The palm of the right hand rests on the edge of the top plank so that the fingers (usually index and middle) can pluck the strings. The drone strings are played with the little finger. The veena's large resonator is placed on the floor, beyond the the right thigh. The photo of Veena Dhanammal more accurately illustrates how the veena is held than the more fanciful Ravi Varma painting. Veena Dhanammal, circa mid-1930s. ...

Like the sitar, the left hand technique involves playing on the frets, controlled pushing on the strings to achieve higher tones and glissandi through increased tension, and finger flicks, all reflecting the characteristics of various ragas and their ornamentation (gamaka). Modern innovations include a circular sound hole (like that of the guitar), substitution of tuning machines for wooden pegs for easier tuning, and the widespread use of contact microphones in performance. Unfortunately, contact mikes (often combined with poor amplification systems) greatly distort the remarkable acoustics of the veena and its rich mix of overtones.^{[citation needed]} Diagram of some sitar parts. ... Raga (राग) (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (Anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the very detailed melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ...

Cultural associations

The patron Hindu goddess of learning and the arts, Saraswati, is often depicted seated upon a swan or peacock playing a veena. According to the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism the demon-king Ravana and the monkey-god Hanuman were great veena players, as is the sage Narada.^[1] This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... For the Vedic river, see Saraswati River. ... For other uses, see Swan (disambiguation). ... Peacock re-directs here; for alternate uses see Peacock (disambiguation). ... ... Hinduism is a religious tradition[1] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... A depiction of Ravana, Hindu rakshasa King of Lanka In Hinduism, Ravana (Devanagari: रावण, Telugu: రావణాసురుడు IAST ; sometimes transliterated as Raavana or Ravan or Revana) is the principal antagonist of Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ... This article is about a divine entity in Hinduism. ... Narada (Sanskrit: नारद, nārada) is the Hindu divine sage, who is an enduring chanter of the names Hari and Narayana which other names for Vishnu, considered to be the supreme God by Vaishnavites and many other Hindus. ...

Variants

Some other variations of the veena are the Rudra veena, Mahanataka veena, Vichitra veena, and Gottuvadhyam veena (also called the Chitra veena). Like Ranjan Veena Mohan veena is the name given to a modified form of guitar, invented and pouplarised by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and often confused with ancient Indian musical instruments. Ustad Asad Ali Khan,Pandit Hindraj Divekar,Ustad Shamsuddin Faridi Desai and Ustad Bahauddin Dagar(Dagar Veena-a variation of the traditional Rudra Veena) are the surviving exponents of the instrument in India. ... The Vichitra Veena is a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. ... Gottuvadhyam also known as the chitravina, is an Carnatic music instrument played in Southern India. ... The Mohan veena is a stringed musical instrument used in Indian classical music. ... A pandit or pundit(पन्दित् in Devanagari) is a Hindu Brahmin who has memorized a substantial portion of the Vedas, along with the proper rhythms and melodies for chanting or singing them. ... Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt playing the Hawaiian Guitar Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (b. ... Indian musical instruments can be broadly classified into three categories, namely classical, western and folk. ...

Tone and acoustics

Nobel Prize-winning physicist C.V. Raman has described the veena as having a unique construction. The string terminations at both ends are curved and not sharp. Also, the frets have much more curvature than any other instrument. This design produces more harmonics than any other instruments.^{[citation needed]} The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (चन्द्रशेखर वेङ्कट रामन्) (November 7, 1888-November 21, 1970) was an Indian physicist. ...

Some believe that the beeswax beneath the frets acts as a noise filter.^{[citation needed]} For the rock song by Nirvana, see Beeswax (song). ...

Famous veena players

• S. Balachander
• Kalaimamani Veena Chittibabu
• Zia Mohiuddin Dagar
• Veena Dhanammal
• E. Gayathri
• Doraiswamy Iyengar
• Jayanthi Kumaresh
• N. Muralikrishnan
• K.S. Narayanaswamy
• N. Ravikiran
• Emani Sankara Sastri
• Emani Shankara Shasthri
• Veene Sheshanna
• D. Srinivas
• Kalpakam Swaminathan
• Veena Venkatagiriappa
• S.V. Venkateshiah
• Kasi Visalakshi
• Sujatha Ramanan

Sundaram Balachander (18 January 1927–15 April 1990) was a prominent Indian veena player with a unique style, remarkable as a classical musician in that he was self-taught. ... Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929-1990), popularly known as Z M Dagar, was of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians and was largely responsible for the revival of the rudra vina as a solo concert instrument. ... Veena Dhanammal, circa mid-1930s. ... Mysore V Doreswami Iyengar (1920 - 1997) Doreswamy Iyengar, generally known as Mysore V Doreswamy Iyengar, was born into a family of musicians. ... Kumaresh and Jayanthi Kumaresh performing at Yamini 2007, the SPICMACAY cultural festival of IIM Bangalore Jayanthi Kumaresh, also known as Veena Jayanthi, is an adept veena player. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... N. Ravikiran with a chitravina Chitravina N. Ravikiran (born February 12, 1967 in Mysore, Karnataka, India) is a composer of Indian Carnatic music. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Smt. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ...

References

1. ^ Bhag-P 1.5.1 Narada is addressed as 'Vina-panih', meaning "one who carries a vina in his hand"

External links

• Vainika Wikispaces: Website on the South Indian Veena
• Various versions of the veena
• Saraswati Veena
• Entry on Musical Nirvana
• Detailed article on the veena
• Article on Other Veena-s, theories and discussion
• Beenkar Suvir Misra - A Versatile Vainika from the Hindustani Khayal Tradition.

Video

• Veena video from Robert Garfias site
• Rudra Veena Documentary Video Excerpts