Rudra Veena

The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra vina'')—also called ''Bīn'' in North India—is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani Music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the major types of ''veena'' played in Indian classical music, notable for its deep bass resonance.

The rudra veena is mentioned in court records as early as the reign of Zain-ul Abidin (1418-1470), and attained particular importance among Mughal court musicians. Before Independence, rudra veena players, as dhrupad practitioners, were supported by the princely states; after Independence and the political integration of India, this traditional patronage system ended. With the end of this traditional support, dhrupad's popularity in India declined, as did the popularity of the rudra veena. However, in recent years, the rudra veena has seen a resurgence in popularity, driven at least partly by interest among non-Indian practitioners.

Names and etymology

The name "rudra veena" comes from Rudra, a name for the Lord Shiva; ''rudra vina'' means "the veena of Shiva" (compare Saraswati veena). According to oral tradition, Shiva created the rudra vina, with the two ''tumba'' resonator gourds representing the breasts of either his wife Parvati or the goddess of arts and learning Saraswati, and the long ''dandi'' tube as the ''merudanda'', both the human spine and the cosmic axis. The length of the fretted area of the ''dandi'' is traditionally given as nine fists—the distance from the navel to the top of the skull.

However it is strongly believed that Shiva created the rudra veena for the entertainment of the other gods as Shiva always enjoyed dancing and singing.

Another explanation is that the asura Ravana is said to have invented the rudra veena; inspired as he was with his devotion to Lord Shiva, or Rudra, he named the instrument Rudra veena.

The North Indian vernacular name "bīn" (sometimes written "bīṇ") is derived from the preexisting root "veena," the term generally used today to refer to a number of South Asian stringed instruments. While the origins of "veena" are obscure, one possible derivation is from a pre-Aryan root meaning "bamboo" (possibly Dravidian, as in the Tamil veṟam, "cane," or South Indian bamboo flute, the venu), a reference to early stick or tube zithers—as seen in the modern bīn, whose central ''dandi'' tube is still sometimes made from bamboo.

Form and construction

The rudra veena is classified either as a stick zither or tube zither in the Sachs-Hornbostel classification system. The veena's body (''dandi'') is a tube of bamboo or teak between 137 to 158 cm (54 to 62 inches) long, attached to two large ''tumba'' resonators made from calabash gourds. The ''tumba''s on a rudra veena are around 34 to 37 cm (13 to 15 inches) in diameter; while veena players once attached ''tumba''s to the ''dandi'' with leather thongs, modern instruments use brass screw tubes to attach the ''tumba''s.

Traditionally, the bottom end of the ''dandi'', where the strings attach below the bridge (''jawari''), is finished with a peacock carving. This peacock carving is hollow, to enhance the resonance of the instrument.Koch, Lars-Christian (direction). ''Rudra vina: der Bau eines nordindischen Saiteninstruments in der Tradition von Kanailal & Bros'' 'Rudra veena: manufacturing of an Indian string instrument in the tradition of Kanailal & Bros''(DVD) (in English with German and English subtitles). Berlin: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. 2007. OCLC 662735435. This hollow opens into the tube of the ''dandi'', and is covered directly by the main ''jawari''. The other end of the instrument, holding most or all of the pegs, is finished with a carved makara. Like the peacock at the other end and the ''dandi'' tube connecting them, the makara pegbox is also hollow.

The rudra veena has twenty-one to twenty-four moveable frets (''parda'') on top of the ''dandi''. These frets are made of thin plates of brass with flat tops but curved wooden bases to match the shape of the ''dandi'', each about two to four centimeters (0.75-1.5 inches) high. While these frets were once attached to the instrument with wax, contemporary veena players use waxed flax ties to attach the frets. This allows for players to adjust the frets to the individual microtones ('' shruti'') of a raga. By pulling the string up or down alongside the fret, the veena player can bend the pitch (meend) by as much as a fifth.

A modern rudra veena has a total of seven or eight strings: four main melody strings, two or three ''chikari'' strings (which are used in rhythmic sections of the rag to delineate or emphasize the pulse, or taal), and one drone (''laraj'') string. These strings are made of steel or bronze, and run from the pegs (and over the nut if coming from the pegbox) down to the peacock, passing over the ''jawari'' near the peacock. A rudra veena will have three ''jawari''; a main one covering an opening on the hollow peacock, and two smaller ones on the sides of the peacock, supporting the ''chikari'' and drone strings. These ''jawari'' and other strings supports are traditionally made of Sambar stag antler; however, India has banned trade in Sambar deer antler since 1995, due to the deer's declining population and vulnerable status. Strings are tuned by turning the ebony pegs to tighten or loosen the strings; the antler string supports can be moved for fine tuning.

Unlike European stringed instruments, where strings are almost always tuned to the same notes on all instruments—a modern cello, for example, will usually have its open strings tuned to C₂ (two octaves below middle C), followed by G₂, D₃, and then A₃—the rudra veena follows Hindustani classical practice of a movable root note or tonic ( moveable do). The four melody strings are tuned to the '' ma'' a fifth below the tonic; the tonic (''sa''); the ''pa'' a fifth above the tonic; and the ''sa'' an octave above the tonic. Thus, if the lowest ''ma'' string was tuned to D₂, then the four melody strings would be tuned to D₂, A₂, E₃, and A₃; if the lowest ''ma'' string was instead tuned to B♭₁, then the four melody strings would be tuned to B♭₁, F₂, C₃, and F₃

History

It is an ancient instrument rarely played today. The ''rudra veena'' declined in popularity in part due to the introduction in the early 19th century of the ''surbahar'', which allowed sitarists to more easily present the ''alap'' sections of slow ''dhrupad''-style ragas. In the 20th century, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar modified and redesigned the rudra veena to use bigger gourds, a thicker tube (''dandi''), thicker steel playing strings (0.45-0.47 mm) and closed ''javari that''. This produced a soft and deep sound when plucked without the use of any plectrum (''mizrab''). The instrument was further modified as the shruti veena by Lalmani Misra to establish Bharat's ''Shadja Gram'' and obtain the 22 ''shruti''s.

Gallery

File:Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam si0563.jpg, Maiden playing the vina. Venugopala Shrine of Ranganatha Temple, Srirangam. Early 17th century.
File:Work of Ustad Mansur, British Museum.jpg, Ca. 1605. Portrait of Naubat Khan by Ustad Mansur, Mughal School ca. 1605, British Museum, London. The instrument is depicted with two strings.
File:Naubat Khan Kalawant inscribed.Museum of Fine Arts Boston.jpg, Naubat Khan Kalawant playing a three-stringed rudra veena.
File:Cropped image from Kedar Ragini, painting by Ruknuddin 1690-1695.jpg, 1690-1696 C.E. Man playing rudra veena
File:Saraswati with bīn on white bird.jpg, Ca. 1700. Saraswati riding a white bird and holding a northern style bīn (rudra vīnā). The instrument is depicted with four strings.
File:Frans Balthazar Solvyns, "Qaplious ou bin, instrument de musique hindou", from "Illustrations de Les Hindous", volume 2 plate 23.jpg, 1808-1812. Illustration of a bīn, labeled "qaplious". At the time, the instrument illustrated was fretless; similar to the pinaka vina, it used a stick to slide on the string and chose notes.
File:Miyan Himmat Khan Kalawant playing a bin, page from the Tasrih al-aqvam, by Ghulam Ali Khan.png, 1825. Miyan Himmat Khan Kalawant playing a bin, page from the Tasrih al-aqvam. The bin has four main strings that could be fretted and two side strings.
File:A Bin Player, by William Gibb, from Music and Musical Instruments of India and the Deccan by C R Day.jpg, 1891. ''A Bin Player'', by William Gibb. The instrument depicted had four main strings that could be fretted and three side strings.
File:Bird on rudra veena, string holder, Metropolitan Museum of Art.png, Bird on rudra veena, string holder.
File:Swami parvatikar playing rudra veena (14170870218).jpg, Veena Maharaj Dattatreya Rama Rao Parvatikar (1916-1990) playing the Rudra veena
File:Asad Ali Khan.jpg, Ustad Asad Ali Khan playing the Rudra veena in traditional style
File:Dagar.ogv, Video. A rudra veena or bīn is played by Mohi Baha'ud-din Dagar in dagarbani style.

See also

*Mohan Veena

References

External links

Rudra VeenaRudra Veena

{{Authority control

Hindustani musical instruments
String instruments
Chordophones
Indian musical instruments
*