Rudra veena

The "rudra veena" (also spelled rudra vina, and also called been or bin) is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. It is an ancient instrument, and is rarely played in the present day. The "rudra veena" declined in popularity partly due to the introduction, in the early nineteenth century, of the surbahar, which allowed sitarists to more easily present the alap sections of slow dhrupad-style ragas.

The "rudra veena" has a long tubular body with length ranging between 54 to 62 inches made of wood or bamboo . Two large-sized, round resonators, made of dried and hollowed gourds, are attached under the tube. Twenty-four brass-fitted raised wooden frets are fixed on the tube with the help of wax.

It is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The others include vichitra veena and Saraswati veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in Hindustani music of North India, while the Saraswati veena is used in the Carnatic music of South India. As Rudra is a name for the Hindu god Shiva, "rudra vina" literally means "the veena dear to Shiva."

Rudra Veena was modified as Shruti Veena by Lalmani Misra to establish Bharat's "Shadja Gram" and obtain the 22 "Shruti"-s.

Z M Dagar was one of the 20th century's foremost exponents of the instrument. He modified and redesigned the Rudra Veena using 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).

Amongst the present day masters Ustad Asad Ali Khan is the foremost. He is also passing the tradition on to his son. Others include Ustad Shamsuddin Faridi Desai, Ustad Bahauddin Dagar and Beenkar Suvir Misra.

Artists

Some famous Rudra Veena players are as follows:
* Parvatikar- Foremost amongst the 20th century artists who lived in Himalayas
* Ashit Banerjee
* Bahauddin Dagar
* Beenkar Suvir Misra
* Jyothi Hegde
* Pandit Hindraj Divekar
* Pandit Pandrinath Kolhapure
* Ramachandra V. Hegde - also plays the Sitar
* Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan Vitchitra Veena (Pakistan)
* Ustad Abid Hussain
* Ustad Asad Ali Khan
* Ustad Bande Ali Khan
* Ustad Chote Rehmat Khan
* Ustad Dabir Khan
* Ustad Hamid Ali Khan Vitchitra Veena (Pakistan)
* Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Khan
* Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan
* Ustad Shamsuddin Faridi
* Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar
* Vasuki Shankar

Outside the Indian sub-continent

* Jeff Lewis, USA
* Philippe Bruguiere, France

ee also

*Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar
*Dr. Lalmani Misra
*Dr. Gopal Shankar Misra
*Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya (Indian Music Instruments)
*Hindustani music
*Mohan Veena

External links

* [http://www.rudravina.com Rudravina.com]
* [http://www.hindrajdivekar.org Pandit Hindraj Divekar - Rudra Veena and Sitar Maestro]
* [http://www.wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=16093&starttime=1:44:04 Shamsuddin Faridi Desai excerpt]
* [http://dagar.org/mohiuddin.htm Ustad Zia Mohiuddin dagar - Revived Rudra Veena as a concert instrument]
* [http://www.livevideo.com/video/suvirmisra/48C90202A6094676950885DAEE7C5743/indian-classical-music-rudra-v.aspx Beenkar Suvir Misra]
* [http://www.indoclassical.com/rudraveena/home.htm Ustad Asad Ali Khan - Rudra Veena Artist]
* [http://www.rudraveena.org Rudraveena.org]

Video

* [http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/kiosk/media.html "Rudra veena" video] from Robert Garfias site
* [http://www.livevideo.com/video/suvirmisra/48C90202A6094676950885DAEE7C5743/indian-classical-music-rudra-v.aspx Beenkar Suvir Misra Raga Malgunji Concert Video]
* [http://www.multiculturalmedia.com/tocsasia.html The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance (1990)] - a performance of Raga Desh by Asad Ali Khan, accompanied by Tanpura and Pakhawaj.