Acoustic Veena in Cinema

Earlier Veena functioned entirely as an acoustic instrument. Veena never had a contact mike    (or even an acoustic pickup) while recording in studios.  In studio recordings Veena was recorded by a normal voice mike (placed on a stand) and facing the instrument. Amazingly this proved to be the best and most sensitive mike which had the capacity to pick up the most minute details and nuances of Veena music. In recent times Veenas are plugged in even inside recording studios, whether it is in Cinema/All India Radio/Compact Disc recording studios. The Veenas use pickups/contact mikes that are directly plugged into the recording console or into a portable amp/speaker in front of which a voice mike is placed. Veena loses its natural tone when plugged in for studio recordings.

Late Sri.Chittibabu had recorded his Veena in many films of my father, film music director, late Sri.G.Aswathama.

                                                         LATE SRI.G.ASWATHAMA
In all my father's songs Sri.Chittibabu'sVeena was recorded directly by a stand mike and without the usage of contact mike/ pickup. 

LATE SRI.CHITTIBABU

My father's hit song from the telugu film "Annaa Thammudu" in the year 1958 -Veena by Sri.Chittibabu (Use earphones)

Myself

All through my involvement in the field of Cinema (films in Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil from the year 1965 to 2000) I had used the voice mike for my Veena and I had never used the pickup/contact mike for recording and re-recording sessions. My concerts for the All India Radio were also recorded through the voice mike and without pickup/contact mike.

MY ACOUSTIC VEENA (WITHOUT PICKUP/CONTACT MIKE FOR THE TITLE MUSIC OF A TAMIL FILM IN 1976) (Use earphones)

MY ACOUSTIC VEENA (WITHOUT CONTACT MIKE/PICKUP FOR A TAMIL FILM SONG, 1977) (Use earphones)

MY ACOUSTIC VEENA FOR A TELUGU FILM SONG (1998) RAJAHAMSA (Use earphones)

MY ACOUSTIC VEENA AND MY VOICE ( the song required an amateur female singer. Primarily I was assigned to play Veena in this song and after much thought from my side the decision to mix my amateurish voice was taken in the last minute.) WITH S.P.BALASUBRAMANIAM IN RAJAHAMSA (1998). 

(The English wordings I sang as shown on screen are wrong and hilarious!!) The correct words are- First BGM "Is this love or is that how I feel? Is it magic or is love so real? I want to find this place of ecstasy so is this love, someone tell me please." Second BGM-" Love is a special thing it never grows old. It can make you laugh, it can make you sing, it can't  be bought, it can't be sold!" 

(Use earphones)

SARASWATI VEENA - 2

                                                              AKG Contact Mike

ENHANCEMENT OF DIVINE FEATURES-
There are 2 types of contact mikes. The acoustic contact mike (for eg., one of the many acoustic contact mikes is AKG as in the above photograph. Percussion instruments like ghatam make use of AKG for their instruments) picks up the essentially acoustic nature of an instrument, in other words the sound waves and frequencies conducted within the wood grains are also contacted and picked up by the acoustic contact mike. The divine qualities of the Veena are not sacrificed as this mike enhances the true tone (including sound frequencies in the wood grains which lend an unique aura to the resonance of strings).

HOW TO RECOGNIZE BY SOUND- Essentially acoustic. The wholesome tone due to the combo of wood and string make the Veena nadam ethereal. The player's penance is evident in the enhancement of nada (resonance) due to transmission of life force energy from player into the Veena.


LOSS OF DIVINE FEATURES-
The magnetic mike is bigger and rectangular in shapr. This is most often placed bang next to the topmost fret (or Tharasthayi shadjamam) of the Veena and right under the strings where the player uses his/her right hand forefinger and middle finger to pluck the strings. In some cases it's placed right next to the bridge too.The magnetic mike does not pick up resonance of wood. Therefore the acoustic nature of an instrument like Veena is stubbed out and the instrument is transformed into an electric instrument. When Veena transforms from acoustic to electric, the instrument loses its innate divine qualities. The nabhi (the prana shakthi arising from the mooladhara chakra) involvement of the player fails to establish contact with the Veena. 

HOW TO RECOGNIZE BY SOUND-Sounds like a guitar, sitar, or an alien instrument depending on the levels of tone adjustments on the mixer-mike system. Absence of aura and body provided by wood are starkly evident. Monotonous and even tone which are uncharacteristic features of a Veena. Gimmicks like producing sound through left hand movements (without plucking the string with right hand) is a common feature.

SARASWATI VEENA - 1

                                                                  JACKFRUIT TREE

VEENA WITH MAGNETIC PICKUP -A MOCKERY OF JACKFRUIT WOOD

There is enough evidence of sacredness associated with the Jackfruit Tree. Lord Krishna has always chosen the Jackfruit tree to either appear under it as Guruvayoorappan or to instruct the King of Manipur (in the 18th century) in his dream to carve out His images from it. 7 images of Lord Krishna were carved out of the Jackfruit tree and placed in temples in Manipur and Assam. In Imphal , Sri Govind temple has one of these 7 idols.
Lord Krishna had appeared as Guruvayoorappan under Jackfruit tree and the same is being worshipped in Sri Krishna temple in Neyyattinkara, Kerala.
Jackfruit tree is recognised as a sacred tree of Kaliyuga and known as the "Protector Tree" (Chaitya Vriksha). The leaves of the Jackfruit tree are an antidote for snakebites. One of the Pancha Mahavadyas used in rituals in Kerala temples  is Idakka (originating from Lord Shiva's Damaru) which is made out of Jackfruit wood. Idakka is also known as God's own instrument! It is believed that the divine vibrations of the Jackfruit wood Idakka activates the kundalini  (life-force energy) of the player as well as the listeners.
Another instrument made out of Jackfruit wood is the divine thavil, which is a percussion instrument for nadaswaram. Senior most and renowned thavil vidwans swear by the quality, age and seasoning of the Jackfruit wood. They highly recommend Jackfruit wood from Sri Lanka. Mridangam, the masterly percussion instrument gets its majestic tone from Jackfruit wood. 
While the Idakka, Thavil and Mridangam respect their God-given timbre and revel in the wood-generated tone by using only acoustic mike, it's surprising that many Veenas have disregarded the divine significance of  Jackfruit wood by patronising the usage of magnetic pickup.  
The magnetic pickup recognises only magnetic strings. Magnetic pickup has no use for the  Jackfruit wood and disconnects itself from the God-given vibrations that emanate from this sacred wood. The true tone of Veena is lost once the Jackfruit wood's resonance (naadam) is cut off. Therefore Veena loses its original richness of tone while the skeletal magnetic strings serve only in transforming the tone of the Veena into that of an alien electric guitar. 
On the other hand magnetic mikes facilitate gimmicks like the rendition of the entire gamut of 2 octaves on the Veena dandi and producing sound by using just the left hand and without using the right hand for plucking the string (owing to its uncharacteristically even and continuous tone) which is often misinterpreted as virtuosity and technical brilliance. Further, due to the inaccessibility of  Jackfruit wood, the magnetic mike seeks to replace the tonal richness of Jackfruit wood through advanced mixer-amplification system in order to glamourise the anaemic tone of strings sans wood. 
The true tone of an acoustic Saraswati Veena is not unnaturally even and monotonous like that of a magnetic-pickup Veena , the true tone of an acoustic Saraswathi Veena comes from Jackfruit wood. The rich wood-vibrations bring out wholesome nuances and musical aesthetics through tonal modulation that elevate the player spiritually.

Refer to previous postings ( Pure tone of acoustic Saraswati Veena and Golden Era- Glory of Original Acoustic Saraswati Veena by Yesteryear Legends for true tone of Veena).

Key Note address at National Seminar on Veena, Andhra University in collaboration with Ramavarapu Vijayalakshmi Memorial Charitable Trust, Visakhapatnam

Pure tone of acoustic Saraswati Veena

True tone of an original acoustic Saraswati Veena without contact/voice mike. Recorded using mobile camera. Veena Vidushi-Smt. Shyamala Sajnani

Golden Era- Glory of Original Acoustic Saraswati Veena by yesteryear legends

  

1. Late Mysore Sri.Doraiswamy Iyengar, 2. Late Smt.Kalpagam Swaminathan, 3. Late Sri.Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, 4. Late Sri.Trivandrum R.Venkataraman, 5. Late Sri.K.S.Narayanaswamy, 6. Late Sri.Emani Sankara Sastri, 7. Late Sri. Vasa Krishnamurthy, 8. Late Smt. Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, 9. Late Sri.Chittibabu

Above are selected recordings of a few of the many yesteryear legends who were acclaimed and great Saraswati Veena ( original/acoustic) artistes. Today, there are very few original Saraswati Veena stage performers due to the invasion of Electric Guitarish "Veenas" ( made of Red Cedar wood ) Saraswati Veenas are made out of the sacred Jackfruit wood, the resonance of which is enhanced by acoustic contact mike or pickup. The resonance of the trendy Electric "Veena" is enhanced by magnetic pickups/ contact mikes which do not pickup the acoustic nature of the Veena and is totally detached from vibrations generated by the Jackfruit wood.

Watch for further detailed and investigative articles revealing all there is to know bringing to light how the trendy electric "Veena" and the original acoustic Saraswati Veena are not one and the same.

Inaugural speech for Vadya Sammelan conducted by Sruthi and Music Forum on 7th December, 2019

Moola Nakshatra (3)

Lord Anjaneya Swami

Sri Sangeetha Anjaneya Swami Temple, Mandaveli, CHENNAI

Lord Anjaneya, born on Moola Nakshatra day in the month of December (Dhanur Maasam) is hailed as a great Veena player in Hanumad Sahasranamam as "Om Thumburuve Namaha". The Lord who melted stones through His music had once even melted the Veena of Sage Narada along with the rock on which the Veena was placed. 
At one time Lord Anjaneya judged a Veena competition between Sage Thumburu and Sage Narada. After the competition Lord Anjaneya rendered celestial music on a fretless Veena. The divinity of Lord Anjaneya's music was such that Lord Vishnu Himself appeared before Anjaneya and both Sages Thumburu and Narada felt humbled.
Apart from the temple above which is in Mandaveli, there is an ancient 2000 years old temple in Mappedu (Thiruvellore District, Tamil Nadu) called the Singeeswarar Temple that has Lord Anjaneya's idol playing the Veena. This is a temple for Moola Nakshatra.

Veena Fraternity!

November 19th, 2019 at Saket Pranam, Hyderabad, Telangana. Proud and happy to be with Veena vidwan and vidushis- From left- Smt.Jayalakshmi Sekhar, Smt.Krishnakumari, Smt. Kadiyala Padmavathi, myself, Smt. Kaza Subhashini Shastry, Sri. Ayyagari Syamasundaram and Smt. Ayyagari Jayalakshmi

Brahmaputra Pushkarini

Above video, inauguration of Brahmaputra Pushkarini this morning by Chief Minister of Assam, Sri. Sarbananda Sonowal

Brahmaputra Pushkarini, at Guwahati, Assam as Jupiter has entered Sagittarius  and constellation Lyra this morning (November 5th). Ring Nebula closely situated to Lyra and representing Lord Brahma in the above image.

Moola Nakshatra (2)

Emperor and Rudra Veena exponent Ravana praying to Rudra Veena Supremo Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash

My favorite actor late Sri.N.T.Ramarao as Ravanaasura  (from the movie Seetharama Kalyanam) playing Veena literally from his nabhi ( nerves and intestines ripped out from his gut region) to appease Lord Shiva.

                          Late Dr. Sri.Emani SankaraSastrigaru's unparalleled Veena rendering Vedas, ragam and thanam in Raga Mukhari was recorded for this sequence

 Incidentally gut strings were used in the making of old guitars, especially the Spanish and classical ones. Intestines from dead lambs and bulls were taken, dried and cleaned as thoroughly as possible before stringing them onto the guitars. 

The Asura King, Ravana had Moola/Lyra constellation/Vega as his asterism. King Ravana was a great Rudra Veena exponent and knew every nuance of Veena playing. A great scholar and having mastered the Vedas,  Ravana had composed many songs and ragas in praise of Lord Shiva. The musician Emperor Ravana had also competed with Sage Agasthya in music. 
Ravana attained a state of Oneness with his Veena by dedicating his Veena playing to Lord Shiva. At one stage he literally ripped out his intestines to use them as Veena strings. It is believed that Ravana made a Veena using his ten heads as the Veena gourd, his arm as the Veena dandi and his nerves and intestines as gut strings of the Veena to play on them. As I had stated earlier, the activation of Sushumna Nadi while playing the Veena happens through retention of breath (Kumbhakam). Kumbhakam takes place when the Veena player is in Samyoga ( 'samyoga' is an act of merging of the practitioner with the music he is producing on the Veena), the act of Samyoga takes place when the practitioner performs from his 'nabhi' (gut) region where the Solar Plexus (Manipura) chakra is situated. This chakra which represents the Sun God and the Gayathri Mantra is said to be one of the most powerful chakras among the seven chakras inside the human spinal chord. Will-power, assertion, leadership, tremendous self-confidence, action and absolute power are the characteristics of solar plexus or manipura chakra. The intestines are governed by the solar plexus chakra. By using the intestines and nerves surrounding the intestines as Veena strings King Ravana had undoubtedly attained Oneness with the Consciousness of Lord Shiva.
Saint Thyagaraja in the charanam of his krithi Mokashamu Galada in Saramathi  says,  "Veena Vaadana Loludau Shiva Manovidhamerugaru..." which literally means "Liberation is difficult for people who do not understand the mind of Lord Shiva, who enjoys playing his Veena in tune with the universal resonance or naadam. Attuning oneself to the divine consciousness of Lord Shiva is "moksha" itself." 
Lord Shiva whose Nakshatra is Thiruvadirai/Ardra (Rahu's asterism) in Mithuna Rasi or Gemini  and Ravana who belonged to the Moola  (Ketu's asterism) in Dhanush Rasi or Sagittarius are in mutual aspect with each other (Sama Sapthama Bhavam).
Lord Rama, after killing Ravana went to Rameswaram. The Lord then installed a Shiva Lingam in Ramanathaswamy Temple and along with Sitadevi and Lakshmana offered prayers to the Shiva Linga to absolve the sin (Brahma Hatya Pathakam) of killing Ravana who is a brahmin and also a devotee who endeared himself to Lord Shiva through his Veena!