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NO STRINGS ATTACHED
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In the digital age, even tradition has to cross the divide
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The veena needs no tuning
WHAT'S COMMON between Goddess Saraswati, Mirabai, Amjad Ali Khan, Mick Jagger, Narada, and Ravi Shankar? Well, their identity is defined by the strings they carry — on the veena, ektara, sarod, guitar, or sarod. But flautist-engineer G. Raj Narayan of Radel Electronics can make music without strings. In fact, he is the pioneering manufacturer of electronic instruments that aid the classical singer. His electronic products include the ubiquitous sruti box, talometer, veena, tambura, tabla, and lehera. Sitarist Ravi Shankar is once reported to have said: "My worry is that classical artists like me will not even be needed in future concerts... " But the fact that he said this at a concert where he launched the electronic lehera instrument was proof of his belief in Mr. Narayan's dedication to Indian classical music.
"At no point do we see Radel's electronic and digital instruments as substitutes to the traditional instruments," reiterated the soft-spoken flautist at a seminar held to try out the new digital veena. "In fact, we have invited veena artists to try it out, suggest improvements and only based on this feedback will we take up production of the instrument," added Mr. Narayan. Radel's digital veena will be played at the Gayana Samaja on October 18, as part of the annual music conference.
The artistes who took part in the seminar included Kalyani, daughter of the illustrious Emani Sankara Shastry, violinist Kumaresh and his wife Jayanthi Kumaresh, a well-know veena player, senior artiste Rajalakshmi Tirunarayan, Jayashree and Jayaraj, and D. Balakrishna, the son of Veena Doreswamy Iyengar. While all of them were uniformly appreciative of Radel's instrument, they came up with good suggestions for improvements.
"When I perform, I want to carry a note fully like vocalists do, but on a traditional veena some notes just are not audible even to me, leave alone the audience, this is so frustrating!" commented Jayanthi. "This digital veena allows me to play every note... "
Asked a senior music lover: "But can it bring the delicacy and finesse of a regular veena? I've heard Doreswamy (Iyengar) in the Gayana Samaj of old, and he refused to use a mike, but we still could appreciate every wonderful note that he played!"
Times are a changing. As Radhika Raj Narayan pointed out, the ambivalent noise around us demands the use of technology to make the music reach the listener's ears. With fans, air-conditioners, traffic, and cell phone rings drowning the music, the music hall today is far different from the ones 20 years back. "If even 10 per cent of our audience was as sincere and passionate about classical music the way my father's audience was, we too would not need the digital veena," said D. Balakrishna.
The digital veena overcomes the problems that the electronic veena, Sunadavinodini, could not. This instrument takes the digitally recorded sample of the veena sound, and uses a combination of embedded software and electronic circuits to perform functions such as automatic tuning of all four notes, setting of any pitch, selection of gamaka and so on. It can be used at any pitch without changing strings, has an adjustable tone control, and is portable. The sound box of the veena is dispensed with, and replaced by a detachable gourd with an ampli-speaker.
Good gurus start out by instilling a sense of reverence for the veena among their pupils — Brahma resides here, Sarawati resides there, they say, pointing lovingly to the different parts of the veena. "So how can we dismantle it?" asked one artiste. Maybe Radel could make two versions, one for those rooting for easy portability and one for those who liked their gods all in one unit. "Isn't it our responsibility as artistes to maintain the traditional looks of the veena for the next hundred years?" wondered Kalyani, before she played a beautiful raga on the digital veena.
That the products are designed by a flautist who comes from a family of musicians is what makes the technology acceptable. Mr. Narayan has displayed his products in front of august audiences. Eminent musicians like vocalist Balamuralikrishna and violinists T.N. Krishnan and M.S. Gopalakrishnan make use of Radel's electronic devices to aid their music.
These products cater to the exact needs of a musician. Their excellent tonal quality has earned them the approval of leading musicians. They are suitable for use in concerts as well as in practice sessions. In fact, it was the need for a tabla player and a tambura player every time he wanted to practise on his flute that prompted Mr. Narayan to come up with the electronic harmonium, sruti box, and talometer. The instruments are extremely simple to operate. Highly sophisticated technology used in their design, continuous research and development, besides vigorous tests in the manufacturing process, have resulted in the production of sound almost identical to that of the conventional instruments that they simulate.
The latest product of Radel, the digital veena, is an experimental model, combining the visual effect of a traditional veena with the advantages of the digital technology. The veena player plucks the strings and the sound of the perfectly tuned digital veena resonates in the auditorium. "When we want to relax at home, we pick up our traditional veenas," said Chennai-based Jayaraj. "But as public performers, we have to bring a newness in our art. This innovation has to be within the framework of tradition. And Raj Narayan's inventions have always respected this belief. The digital veena, with a few modifications, can definitely make our public performances much more attractive. As it is, we find that people prefer vocal or violin recitals. People do not have the patience to sit while we keep re-tuning our veenas. Since the digital veena does not require any tuning, we're sure more people will flock back into veena recitals."
For more information, log on to http://radelindia.com or call 6595438 or e-mail the company at radel@vsnl.com
MALA KUMAR
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