Veena

History of Instrument

The history of Veena dates back to the Vedic period which is about 1500BCE.
The legend states that it all began when a hunter first discovered a different sound from his bow
when it began to vibrate.
The curious hunter tried various grass roots and animal fiber to create music, which in turn gave
birth to the formation of Veena.
Today the Saraswathi Veena is said to have 24 frets on it.
It has been described in many sacred texts that as goddess Sarawati playing this instrument.
She is also represented as the Goddess of Knowledge.

Types

Saraswati Veena commonly played in many events even today.

Rudra Veena which an instrument played by Lord Shiva according to scholars is now
completely declined.
Vichitra Veena a distinctive kind of veena that does not have any frets and looks similar to the
Gottuvadhyam.

Occasion

The Veena performance in the ancient times used to be accompanied during the chants of the
Yagya as a way to please to the gods and goddess.
It soon became an important source of entertainment as many musicians where seen playing
them in royal courts and in temples.

Famous Veena Players

Veenai Ranganayaki Rajagopalan,

Veenai Dhanammal,

Rugmini Gopalakrishnan,
Doraiswamy Iyengar,
Veene Sheshanna,
Veena Venkatagiriappa,

Emani Sankara Sastry,

Chitti Babu,
Rajhesh Vaidhya

Tabla

History
One of the many theories suggests that it might have come out as a hybrid form of other drums
like 'Dholal', 'Naqqara' and others.
Another claim of its origin is that it was invented by Amir Khusrau, a 13th century poet who was
said to have split the mridangam drum into two.
However, Indian musicians claim that Tabla is a recent addition to Indian musical instruments and
was not present in ancient times but there are inscriptions found in many temples of India that
have shown people playing drums..

Types
Tabla has two parts 'bayan' and the 'dayan'.
The 'bayan' can make 2 different sounds.
The skin of the drum shells is fabricated from goat.
The drum shell also bears a thick black disc, which is known as 'shiai'.
The 'shiai' is prepared out of flour, ferric oxide powder and starch.
It is fixed in the centre of the shell to allow the emanation of sounds.
The tuning of Tabla is done by striking the 'guli' or 'ghittak' (wedge).
For fine tuning, the braided part of the 'pagri' (head) is thumped by a metal hammer.
.

Occasions

 Tabla is played during most of the classical musicals and also in Tabla concerts.
One of the major usages of Tabla is during dance performances and classical dances of India
uses Tabla beats in their performances.

Famous Tabla Players

Ustad Alla Rakha,
Pandit Anindo Chatterjee Ghosh,
Pandit Zakir Hussain

Pandit Nayan Ghosh