VEENA and SARASWATI

नादाब्धेस्तु परम्पारम न जानाति सरस्वती 

The Sanskrit verse says that the 'Naada' (Swar) is so deep and unfathomable that even the goddess of knowledge Saraswati can not reach to the bottom of it!

 

VEENA

SARASWATHI VEENA

 Any portrait of Goddess Saraswathi is not complete without Veena in her hands. It deserves such a divine place beside the Goddess. The most appropriate another name the goddess is 'Veena Vaadini', the goddess with a Veena in her hand. 
Veena is a stringed instrument as we know. Do you know what are the unique features of Veena, what it is made up of and how it is played

              Veena is a stringed instrument used in Carnatic music.It dates back to the Vedic period approximately 1500 BC. The word Veena in India was a term used to denote 'stringed instruments'. The  sound is produced by the vibration from the plucked string. Both the hands are used to play this instrument. The unique feature of this instrument is unlike other instruments (percussion and wind instruments). The left hand is prominently used while playing it.

           Veena has four main stringsand are tuned to 'Sa','Pa', (middle) 'Sa' (upper) and 'Pa'(upper). There are three more strings for the Tala, played by the little finger of the right hand. So Veena is such a scientific instrument that many parts of our hand and our brain work simultaneously. The pressure exerted on the frets by the left hand and striking the respective string by the right hand produces sound. Earlier Veenas were played vertically. The great Indian Carnatic music composer and Saraswathi Veena player Muthuswami Dikshitar started the tradition of playing Veena horizontally.

           Veena has 24 frets. It is 4ft in length. It has a large resonator (Kudam) carved out of a log, tapering hollow neck (dandi) with 24  frets made of brass or bell metal. These are set in black wax on wooden tracks. It has a tuning box culminating in a downward curve and an ornamental Dragon's head (yali). The seven strings are now made up of steel.

Written by Ananya Pramod.