Tamil Nadu: Transport issues affect Thanjavur veena sales

Despite being one of the top preferences among

Carnatic music

teachers and students across the country and globe, the Thanjavur veena finds it difficult to make it to the hands of its fans because of the restriction on transportation during the Covid-19 pandemic.


"

Customers

have been making enquiries from everywhere for purchasing the veena but lack of transportation in the past four months has left us without options. We have to defer delivery of consignments," says the president of

Thanjavur musical instruments workers

’ cooperative cottage industrial society limited P Srinivasan. Around 50 artisans are part of the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers’ Cooperative Cottage Industrial Society, which had pursued the GI tag for Thanjavur Veena and got it in 2012.

"Around 5 to 6 pieces used to be sold before the lockdown, now it has been reduced to one or two local customers," says Srinivasan. Apart from the society members, 450 others are involved in the craft across Thanjavur.

Matured jackwood wood used to make the veena, gives it a

characteristic sound

that the specialised craftsmans sharpen to make the functional resonator. "The excellent reverberation of

jackfruit tree

makes its output a unique one. As the wood gets dried over the years, the amplification of the sound increases naturally. The colour of the instrument also changes from yellow to light brown to dark brown as it gets older," says Srinivasan.

The Ekandha veena is made of a single piece of jackfruit tree wood, while the other type of veena is made from three pieces of wood. Since the present form of Saraswati veena with 24 fixed frets was modified by the Thanjavur ruler Ragunatha Nayak (1614 - 1632), it began to be called the Thanjavur veena.

It’s an arduous task to shape the instrument and is a collective work that requires expertise of artisans exclusive for each part of the veena to work together. A 4.25ft Veena consists of ‘kudam’ (resonator), ‘dandi’ (hollow neck) and requires a bit of rose wood, fibre, bronze. The ‘melam’ (consists of seven strings, wax bar and 24 metal frets) requires knowledge of music and only five such artisans are involved in the work in Thanjavur. The price of Veena is ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs50,000. The younger generation does not feel the hard work and skill provides good remuneration and have moved away from the craft.

M Kamatchi, 62, who is one of the few people who turns the jackfruit tree wood, sourced from Panruti, into the shape of the ‘kudam’ says, "We are awaiting for normalcy to return so that we can get more work and income."

Sixty-seven-year old veena artisan M Sammandham says longer lockdown will adversely affect business. "Though regular parcel service is allowed, it is infrequent now. So, we cannot assure delivery," he says. Though the artisans are not in dire straits, they hope the state will not wait for them to suffer further losses and consider providing some financial assistance.

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