Music for the moods

Imagine folding up a veena and stacking it in your backpack! Or synchronising the instrument to sound like a keyboard.
Sounds crazy, right? But quite not. In fact, in the past few years, India’s oldest stringed instrument, veena, has undergone tremendous change and reinvented itself so much that it’s quite a task to recall that this was the ancient instrument that Goddess Saraswati holds in her lap!
The origin of veena can be traced back to the yazh.About four feet in length, the veena has two gourds supporting a shaft centrally. The instrument is held diagonally from lap to shoulder while playing.
Durga, a popular vainika, says, “The sweet sound of the instrument depends on its structure. The bee wax, coated on the base, acts as sound amplifier.”
She further adds, “There are different types of veena, based on the make. The Ekatantri veena is made from a single wood piece. The Rudra veena, believed to have been played by Lord Shiva, has a long and tubular body made of wood or bamboo. But sadly, in recent times, there aren’t many takers for it. Then, there’s the usual Saraswathi veena or the Tanjore veena. Also, Vichitra veena is similar to the gottuvadhyam as it has no frets and is played with a slide.”
She adds, “Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt invented Mohana veena, which is a modified version of the guitar.”
Rajhesh Vaidhya, popular veena vidhwan, states that the Madhura veena, designed by Natwar Lal, is the most recent addition.
Apart from Carnatic compositions, the veena has been helpful in stringing together everlasting melodies for movies like Morning Raga, Devdas, Asoka, Kisna, Dharmavati, Meetadha Oru Veenai, Vasool Raja MBBS and Aayirathil Oruvan, to name a few! “Emotional rasas can be beautifully portrayed by the veena. Ilaiyaraaja is a pioneer in experimenting with the veena to create different moods,” says Devi, a vainika, who has played veena for the Nirpadhuve... number in Bharathi.