Making of Veena - a languishing craft
Published in AP Times (Hyderabad) on 03-07-1996
V. Jwala Narasimha Rao
Love for music cannot be sustained for long without musical instruments, and the skill in making these instruments is the foundation on which the entire edifice of music is built. Among the famous musical instruments of Andhra Pradesh, making of ‘Veena’ ranks first. A number of artisans are engaged in making of Veenas in Bobbili, Pithapuram and couple of other places in AP. Lack of patronage from Philanthropists and reluctance on the part of younger generation of the artisan families to pursue the craft of Veena making has lead to its disuse, according to (Late) B. Parvatala Rao in his study on the languishing crafts in the State which he did about a decade and half ago.
According to a legend, instruments like Veena were god’s creation. It was goddess Saraswathi who invented Veena and sage Nerada who brought it to Bhooloka (earth) for the use of humans. There are other stories too.
In the ancient form of Veena, according to Itharaya Brahman it has a head, body, stomach and Ambhan (sounding board) besides face and Thanthri (strings). Veena comes with different names, Qudumbari Satha Thanthri, Khanda Veena, Rudra Veena, and Tambura and so on. There is a reference to the instrument in the literary works of Valmiki and Vyasa. Haripala, Ramamatya, Somanatha and Raghunatha Nayaka classified veena into different forms and ways.
Veena evolved in two different stages-pre-fretted and fretted, according to Parvatala Rao. Modern South Indian Veena with 24 frets represents the recent stage of veena in the course of its evolution as on today. It is said, that, stringed instruments of the fretted kind made their earliest appearance in Indian Sculpture during the 19th Century though they were said to have been in use much earlier in various parts of the world. The history of stringed instruments in India goes back to the period of Vedas. The fretted veena seen in Belur temple of the 12th century is supposed to be the earliest example of its kind.
Outlining the advent of frets, the documentation report records that they were introduced to determine the varying notes in the string at various positions by means of which relevant pitches could be reached. The fretted veena is conducive to obtain an easier knowledge of Sruti and Swara, whereas it takes a longer time with a fretless instrument. Fret is called mettu in Telugu language. The number of frets used in veena varied from time to time.
There is a large variety of Veenas. Some of the important are :Bin (Northern Veena), Vichitra Veena, Gottuvadyam, Satatantri Veena, Brahma Veena, Pinaki, Dondiveena, Ghosaka Veena, Sruti Veena, Kinnera Veena, Yaler Yaze, Harp Type Veena, Damayanti Veena, Kannada Veena, Narada Veena and so on.
The southern veena consists of a large body (Kanda) hollowed out of a block of wood, generally jack wood.
The veena is made, preferably of Panasa Chekka-the ‘jack wood’ for durability. It is also made with vegisa and gangaravi. In the olden days, veena was made of sandal wood and sampangi wood also.
The process of making veena starts with the wood given a certain shape. According to Craftsman G. Venkata Rao of Pithapuram, if the whole veena is made of a single log, from the body to its neck, it is called Ekanda Veena – the best kind from the point of view of tonal quality. It is, however, difficult to procure such logs. So, the body, stem and neck of a veena are made separately and joined together.
The wood is turned into a sphere devoid of the top one third positions to prepare the body or kanda. This semi sphere is hollowed out leaving the outer shell of a uniform thickness of half-an-inch. For this, a number of circles are drawn on the block of wood, all concentric and the wood is turned by clipping off in ascending order.
Similarly, to hollow it out, concentric circles are drawn and the wood is chipped off in a descending order. Then, it is closed by a flat and smooth wooden board of half-an-inch thickness of the same wood and shape as the body. Next a dandi (stem) is made of the same wood, long and hollow with half an inch thick wooden board. Small, flat, wooden pieces are fixed on stem for frets. At the end of dandi a metallic piece called meruvu is fixed. It is on this that the main strings pass towards yali (neck). A gourd which is hollowed and dried is fixed under the dandi towards the neck. This acts as a resonator. Due to non-availability of gourds in suitable sizes, gourds made of bamboo in the required shape are taken, coated with paper paste, colored and used.
After the wooden structure is made, it is polished and sometimes colored. Ornamentation with ivory or horn or plastic is done to add to the beauty and elegance of the instrument.
The pita (bridge) is then fixed on the body with block wood. The entire four main strings pass over this bridge towards meruvu and over that to the birada (keys), which are fixed on yali (neck) keys are made of rose wood. Subsidiary strings meant for Sruti pass over a metallic piece fixed in the shape of a semi circle. All the four main strings and three subsidiary strings are lightly fastened by means of seven lagama (linked) to a control the hook called mooladharapeetham. Each link is provided with a hard which can be maneuvered to set the right Sruti. Main strings pass from the central hook through the links on to the bridge and from there over the frets arranged on the stem to the meruvu. They pass on to the neck where they are fastened to the keys. The three subsidiary strings pass over the metal piece of crescent shape and then to the end side of the stem and are fastened to the keys there. The end of the dandi or stem vadanam forms a snake like figure.
For the sake of safety, the veena is kept in a specially designed box.
The most sophisticated part of making veena is Melam and only an expert with knowledge of swaras can do this work. The first stop to develop Melam is to cook the mixture of Guggilam, Minam (wax), honey and coal powder. The resultant mixture is taken and pasted at walls on the wooden pieces fixed across stem making right angles with the strings. A total of 24 frets are mixed on these walls before the wall solidifies. This exercise should be carried out only when the sun shines brightly.
The art of turning the wood into a perfect sphere is a challenging task and according to Parvatala Rao, the number of artisans who practiced this craft at Bobbili, Vizianagaram, Pithapuram, Nuzvid, Vijayawada, Jaggaiahpet and Machilipatnam, is dwindling. Almost all the veena makers express difficulty in procuring jack-wood.
The study observed that in earlier times, care was taken to train their disciples only in one or two aspects of the veena making, such as the body, neck and polishing part of it, thus retaining their monopoly over production. This resulted in an erosion of interest in the work of disciples. Parvatala Rao also noticed that the sales of Veena were dull. However, the small replica of veenas, designed by Kameshwara Rao of Bobbili, found a market. The craft development centre of APHDC at Bobbili makes them in large numbers and markets them through Lepakshi Emporia.
According to Parvatala Rao, veena making should be considered as a languishing craft for reasons like decline in public patronage, low profit for the artisans, scarcity of raw material and reluctance of younger generation to take up this profession.
As a plan of action to revive the craft, he suggested product modification, technical innovation in tools, training, assured market, formation of cooperatives, engaging the artisans as consultants at music colleges, basic facilities for artisans, introduction of veena vidwan scheme, provision of working capital loans and supply of raw material.
In response to a proposal from APHD, the development commissioner for handicrafts, sanctioned a scheme for the revival of this neglected craft, on the lines suggested by the study and when it took off, signaling a beginning of a new era in veena making.
The revival scheme included, among other things, design development and production of prototypes in consultation with design centers, technical development and purchase of modified machines and tools, training in up-gradation of skills, and organizing exhibitions to launch new product.
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