A note on Parallels : Mysore and Tanjavoor Veena

 A note on Parallels : Mysore and Tanjavoor Veena

To me, even to this day, Mysore and Tanjavoor represent the cultural bed of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In the past, these two cities indeed were the Capitals of erstwhile Kingdoms. They both were blessed by the stable governments from the Royals who ruled the respective provinces between 14th and 20th centuries. These erstwhile kings were not just rulers but also patrons of art, music, sculptures, and literature. Many new forms of art and music were developed, nurtured, and exchanged between the two states. Some of the Rulers themselves were musicians and artists. Both, Mysore and Tanjavoor grew pretty much same themes like music or painting or palaces or temple architectures. Yet, the subtle nuances at the core made them stand distinct from each other as different forms. It requires a careful pair of eyes to see these real differences. For a casual eye, both forms look alike. It makes me wonder how much wealth these Kingdoms must have had that gave the luxury to the citizens to pursue Arts or music as mainstream professions. Here in this article I would like to discuss about the Veena.

Before we start drawing the parallels between the two states on the lines of Veena, let me first present a short note of my thoughts on Veena. As many of us would have seen or perhaps had a chance to play, If not, atleast you would have read about Veena in school. Anyways, this is an ancient-acoustic-stringed-meditative instrument that has references in the vedic literature. It has three parts, first is the resonant chamber that is round and hollow; second is the flat board with bridges upon which the strings are layed; third part is the tail end curved part that has pegs to hold the strings and to adjust the tension during tuning. Of course, it goes without saying that there is a round chamber that is attached to  the flat board whose purpose is simply to rest on the lap.  It is as simple as this. Long time back, someone put a thought into my mind, that Veena represented human body. I don't recall where and when this thought came to me. Since then, on and off, I've been pondering about this. I have not found any good source to support my views but still I wish to share this idea with you. I think, The first idea for this instrument must have sprung from the structure of human vertebral column attached to the skull which resembles like a round resonant chamber. The skull is attached to the Vertebral column. There are 24 frets in a Veena and there are 24(upper)+ 9(lower)=33 Vertebrae in a human body. The upper 24 vertebrae matches the number of frets for 3 octaves. Interestingly, this number 24 also match 24 syllables in a 'Gayathri' meter of ancient sound measures. The lower 9 vertebrae are fused and one might correlate this in Veena in the form of 'Yali', the curved tail end of Veena, where the strings are tied to the pegs. Another interesting thing that struck me was the distance between the adjacent vertebrae reduce as it approaches the skull, similarly, the distance between the frets also reduces as it approaches the neck of the Veena; We all know from elementary science, shorter the bridge distance, higher the pitch of the note, principle of a Sonometer !  This is valid for Veena too. Anyways, these are all my own thoughts, may be term it as a mere imagination. I leave it to you to find out for yourselves if such a correlation is indeed true. I would be interested to seek any literature on this. Ok, Lets move out of my imaginary world and look at the Vedic perspective of this instrument. From literature and from practice, the purpose of playing this instrument was (and is) to aid in meditation to attain spiritual salvation (Yoga Samadhi).  As a symbolic representation of this instrument that leads to salvation, one can see Veena in the hands of goddess of knowledge, Sarasvathi. Hence the name for this type of Veena is called Sarasvathi Veena.  However, like any other musical instrument, Sarasvathi Veena also has undergone a lot of morphological improvements while preserving the core spirit of the instrument and its construct. Some of its children are Rudra Veena, Chithra Veena, Getthu Vadhya (a.k.a Gotu Vadhya)etc. The core design of Veena is based on its well-rounded resonant sound produced at the based of the instrument; quality of the sound produced is due to the usage of specific material, fingering techniques employed on the strings at different frets. If you are interested, just by Googling, you can find an interesting scientific paper by none other than Nobel Laureate Sir. C. V Raman about the acoustic properties of Veena and Thambura and the scientific aspects behind the construction. 

Coming back to our parallels on Mysore and Tanjavoor, Sarasvathi Veena has carved out a special place for itself. The styles of playing Veena has been being enriched even to this day by great men of excellence. I do think the styles of playing Veena, also has to do with the way they are constructed i.e., wood material used, ornamental embellishments. 

Mysore Veenas are made out of a seasoned Jackwood, neck part of Veena is made of rose wood and the board has ivory inlay work for ornamentation. Ivory inlay work is a speciality of Mysore. The usage of Rosewood neck and thin top board due to inlay work has an important effect on the style of playing Mysore Veena. This does not permit putting too much weight on the board pulling the strings. Hence a fast paced approach of playing is adopted with less 'Gamakas' (ornamental approaches of musical notes in a melody).  This design has some good characteristic features like clarity of the notes, approaching straight notes, sharp tonality (higher pitch), less deflection of strings (shorter sustenance of notes).  As a work around for playing longer sustenance of notes and applying 'gamaka', an innovative technique called 'Split fingering' technique, a hallmark for Mysore style, was developed. Credit for this 'Split fingering' technique goes to the well known 'Veene' Sheshanna of Mysore royal court musician.  This technique allowed the players to carve out a distinct style of playing Veena as 'Mysore Stlye'. There are ample of Videos on YouTube, if you are interested to listen to this Mysore style. Check out Veena Doreswamy Iyengar, or Veene Sheshanna for samples.

Tanjavoor Veena is also made out of a seasoned Jackwood but the top board is not as thin as Mysore Veenas. A distinct characteristic of Tanjavoor style is like imitating the vocal singing on the Veena, this style is called 'Gayaki' style of playing Veena. This is possible due to long sustenance of the notes. This design gives the freedom for playing in a leisurely pace. Because of the imitation of human vocal singing, there is an emphasis on closely following the lyrics; meaning, the strokes that are applied at the right time of uttering the syllables. Hence, elaborate improvisation of a 'Raaga' with a lot of ornamental approaches to notes (Gamaka) can be explored. 'Veenai' Dhanammal is a prominent personality in playing Gayaki style of Veena. I find Veena Kalpagam Swaminathan's YouTube videos very interesting to look for Tanjavoor style. 

Of course, there are other schools of playing in Tanjavoor who use a lot of right hand, left hand usage techniques as used in Karaikudi style and Dr. S Balachander's style. Dr. S Balachander has developed new styles and experimented with different materials and have enriched this art form for the future generations. I am a big fan of Dr. S. Balachander and his disciple Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh. If you want to here more from the experts, there are Lecture demos on this very Topic by Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh. I recommend you to watch it. 

Although, Mysore and Tanjavoor styles have had the lime light, Not to leave out others, Even other regional styles have exchanged different playing techniques, giving rise to new techniques and forms by overcoming the limitations of designs, that one can enjoy listening to it, in the present day. Today, if we see, instruments are embracing the technology and getting even better, that it is possible to play all styles on all designs with sound processing that catches the nuances at micro or nano tone level.  I am not sure, if technology will lead the player attain salvation but I think Veena Music would more likely lead the listener.  I leave you with this Parallel thought by revering this ancient instrument Veena for its legacy and the connection it holds in the hearts and minds of people for generations!