I have moved the blog, yet again. Yes, I know I keep doing this. Just attribute it to my restless spirit! And the fact that wordpress has made self-hosting much easier since the last time I tried it out!
Here is the link.

I have decided not to be shy and to blog under my real name. A lot of you know it already anyway! See you there!

Organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan:
24-10-2009
KARNATIC VOCAL
Bhavan and Vani Fine Arts
Bhavan and Vani Fine Arts Present Karnatic Vocal music featuring the world-famous musician Prof. T.V. Gopalakrishnan From India Violin- K.T. Sivaganesan Mridangam- M. Balachandar Morsing- Pirashanna Thevarajah

25-10-2009
HINDUSTANI VOCAL
Pandit Jasraj
A concert not to be missed. Pandit Jasraj is one of the beacons of Indian Classical music and has an electrifying presence. Book now to avoid disappointment! Ruby Bunker 07775944120

15-11-2009
HINDUSTANI VOCAL CONCERT
Begum Parveen Sultana
The Bhavan is proud to feature this outstanding musician in our Mountbatten Auditorium.

Read More…

22-11-2009
TRIBUTE TO MASTRO ALI AKBAR KHAN
Pandit Rajeev Taranath
Pandit Rajeev Taranath – Sarod Sujit Mukherjee – Tabla

For more details go here: http://www.bhavan.net/events.html

Updated to add: this post is still getting some comments and questions. Please hop over to www.likhati.com to continue the discussion as this blog has moved there.Thanks.

This post is about alternative schools in India, with a focus on Krishnamurti schools, the advantages and the disadvantages-particularly from the point of view of my experience and the experience of a few other people I know who went to Krishnamurti schools.

The school I went to is classified as an “alternative school.” I went only for the last two years of my school life, whereas A was there for much longer (I met him there). I went to a fairly mainstream school in Bombay before that, though it did try to be different within the mainstream idiom.

What people define as “alternative” can vary-and this can simply mean an “alternative” board e.g IB rather than the Indian boards, or they might mean a style of education such as Montessori.

It cannot be stressed enough that children and young people can experience the same schools and styles of education very differently. Also, it must be remembered it has been some years since I went to school (!) though I am still in touch with my old school and what is going on there.

The post is inspired by a discussion on Poppin’s blog, where I couldn’t resist joining in and adding my two pence worth. Some questions arose there that I thought I’d address at greater length here.

What is a Krishnamurti school? Krishnamurti was an Indian philosopher who strongly believed that children should learn in an environment free from fear. He started some schools which are run by the Krishnamurti Foundation India. There are some other Krishnamurti schools, that are not a part of the Foundation, but are inspired his teachings. The schools are not religious, or based on any religious philosophy. Here is a link to what the KFI website says about the “K” schools.

I thought I’d tackle some of the common points (some of them myths) that arise when there is a discussion about alternative schools first:

The schools all have an international curriculum:

This is not true for all of them. A lot of them follow the ICSE system (as opposed to CBSE), an Indian board. For the 12th standard, the ISC board is followed. Rishi Valley School, The Valley School, The School etc of the “K” schools all follow an ICSE syllabus. The Rajghat School follows a CBSE syllabus. A lot of the newer alternative schools in India also follow the ICSE syllabus, such as the schools that follows the Steiner-Waldorf model. A few schools, such as Shibumi and Centre for Learning follow IGCSE/ GCE exams (administered by Cambridge University) and A levels.

Alternative Schools Are all very Expensive:
I think people often think that alternative schools are the same as “international” schools and automatically assume that they will be expensive. There are some very expensive international schools in India, that do follow alternative models, at least in so far as they are “alternative” to the more conventional schools. But there are alternative schools that have been around for ages, such as the K schools and Mirambika that charge around the same as lots of other schools. Some of the alternative schools are boarding schools and thus charge more, but are not necessarily the most expensive boarding schools around. Some alternative schools offer scholarships and take children when the parents are unable to meet the full fees. Rishi Valley School’s policy on funding is as follows:

In a typical year there are about 6 scholarship students, including children from families engaged in social work in remote parts of the country. Fee reductions are made available so that fees are adjusted to family incomes provided students qualify on the entrance tests.

CFL says:

Fees are not discussed before admission is offered. Families are encouraged to view fees as a contribution to sustain the school rather than a fee for a service. We have successfully put in place, with parents’ cooperation, a fee structure that reflects the family’s financial situation.

Children who go to alternative schools will not be able to enter good institutions of higher learning:
In my view this is nonsense, though some will disagree with me. People from my class went on to the finest colleges in India and abroad. I went to one of the best colleges in India straight after school and then to one of the world’s top universities. As did A. As did many of our classmates. The principal of my Indian college told me she particularly looked out for students from my school (I’m sorry if this sounds like showing off, but there is no other way to say it). Of course there are some who didn’t get into a “top college,” but then not everyone from a mainstream school gets into the best colleges, and this is due to a range of a factors. There is, also, of course, the question of whether one can always really judge a person’s intelligence by the college she gets into…

Children who go to alternative schools will not get get jobs (by this people mean the person will not be able to climb the corportate ladder):

Also nonsense, in my view. Not only are several graduates from alternative schools climbing the corporate ladder, they are pretty well off as well. In fact some of them are doing better than conventionally educated kids. It’s true that some alternatively educated children think of different career choices. But why not? Not everyone is cut out to do a corporate job. So what if they became scientists, academics, film-makers, dancers and musicians? Not all conventionally educated kids are cut out for corporate jobs either. The difference is that in an alternative school you may get a better chance to develop your talents and at least think of a career where you might put your talents to good use, instead of mindlessly doing something you hate, just because it’s the done thing.

TM Krishna is a product of The School, Chennai, a Krishnamurti School, and is on record as saying his schooling had a great deal of influence on him.

This what TM Krishna says:

I did my schooling in ‘The School’ K.F.I. This is an institution managed by the J.Krishnamurthy Trust. My education and grooming in this school has influenced my perceptions and outlook towards life. The school was different in terms of the atmosphere and method of education to all other schools. I was very interested in Economics from my school days. This made me pursue a graduation course in Economics. I did my B.A. Economics in Vivekananda College. I guess if I had not taken to music I would have followed up my graduation with something like management.

Clearly, he did consider a more “mainstream” choice, i.e. management. It’s good for all of us he chose to become a singer instead!

At my school, Carnatic music was offered as a subject for the ICSE, so those who could sing were encouraged to learn it seriously.

Alternatively educated kids will not be able to take competitive exams:
This is related to the points above: I took an exam to enter my college after school and then later the world renowned university I joined. I passed them. But I have to be honest and say that opinion is mixed about this issue.

R1, who also went to an alternative school (for longer than I did), feels that an inability to take competitive exams could be a point held against alternative schools. She says, “We aren’t used to mugging!”

Shripriya who went to another “K” school agrees with this view (see further below).

But I am not so convinced, especially since R1 is herself an example of a person who is very good at cracking exams.

A, who was in an alternative boarding school since the grand old age of seven, has been cracking exams with great ease for years. He says that the school tried to dissuade him from being so competitive and he resents that (though he loved the school). Knowing A as I do, I don’t think that what the school did was such a bad thing!

Here is a quote from a student who went to an alternative school who passed a competitive exam:

Amitabh shares the news that he has got through the IAS examination, then writes that people keep asking how he gets through competitive examinations after having studied in a noncompetitive school. “The school taught me to compete,” he muses, “not with others, but with my own self. I learnt to pursue excellence.”

Link.

On the other hand there are children who are very bright, but just not good at doing exams. I think alternative schools might be good for some of them, because they take some of the tension away. See further below.

Advantages of being in an alternative school:
Again, this section is totally coloured by my experience, others may have a different opinion.

Lack of pressure:
The first and overwhelming feeling I had, when I switched from my more mainstream school in Bombay to my alternative school, was the feeling of freedom. In Bombay I carried a heavy schoolbag, was constantly tired and had this unmistakeable sense of pressure looming over me. I found it much easier to study and enjoy my classes at my alternative school. This was despite the fact that I had many other things to occupy me such as violin lessons, games, hikes, yoga, pottery etc. In fact I think it was because of these extra activities that studying became easier. I had no school bag, we all did our “homework” together at prep time after PE in the evening and it was fun.

An emphasis on a natural environment:
The K schools at least, are usually situated in a lovely landscape; the sense of space and greenery made all the difference to our lives. We had space to play, time to observe the birds (in some cases this was compulsory!) and watch the rain while we sang (the auditorium was open on all sides). A and I became friends during a paper recycling class (also compulsory) while we were making paper pulp. We composted and gardened and studied calculus and French literature. My completely concrete school with a small sandpit in Bombay could not compare.

Good Student-Teacher Ratio:
I had one on one classes with some of my teachers who were PhDs in their subjects (and who also taught well). I would spend hours learning a particular subject, far beyond the allotted time, and it was ok. As long as I finished what was on the syllabus, we went far beyond it, studying anything that interested us. Classes for several subjects were conducted under trees.
Even if we were at full class size in the classroom, there was usually only a maximum of 25 students.

An emphasis on independent thinking:
Both A and R1 came up with this when I asked them what they felt was the advantage of going to an alternative school.R1 said “it forces you to approach everything in life actively, questioning rather than accepting.” A says he wasn’t tied to any single belief, religious or otherwise and also metioned being questioning about everything.

An ability to attract highly qualified teachers really committed to education:
There are many PhDs in math and science, historians and linguists, who have a passion for education and give up lucrative careers to teach and to teach in a way that is inspiring.

Disadvantages of Alternative Schools:

I am not sure all the points here will be viewed as disadvantages by everyone. It depends largely on what opinion one holds on “conforming.”

Being unable to “conform:”
R1 said alternatively educated kids might

find it harder to ’settle’ or conform with the standards in society and keep up with life’s milestones – work, marriage etc. Of course, one could philosophically question whether one should feel obliged to stick to these milestones, but in real life it can get pretty hard when you deviate from them.

I think us “alternative” products have conformed, i.e. married, had kids, worked-but maybe done these conformist things in a non-conformist way, sometimes.

MaidinMalaysia, in a comment on Poppins blog, had this to say some friends of hers who went to The Valley School:

— they are original thinkers, and march to a different drummer.
i dont think they were even aware that there was a rat race and they had to be in it.
i would call them gyan-driven as opposed to moolah-driven

Now whether one sees this as an advantage or a disadvantage is up to the parents really!

A lack of good teachers
Now this may come as surprise, given that I’ve just said above that alternative schools can attract the best teachers! Sometimes they attract teachers who are “running away” from the world and have a host of issues (particularly if it is a boarding school) that leave them unable to deal with their charges.

Secondly, some alternative schools pay their teachers a very low salary, so some good teachers are forced to leave, despite their commitment to teaching and education. This is an area I think my school got terribly wrong.

CFL says its salaries are need based, “calling for commitment and openness from the staff.” I think this calls for an extraordinary level of commitment, that can be rather unfair on both teachers and students.

Teachers and their families have to survive too, and that is increasingly difficult. As for the students, on the one hand they can get a really committed teacher, on the other they can get really bad teaching, because bad salaries often attract only the worst teachers.

Students can thus be left with teachers who aren’t very good at all, and the consistency in the quality of teaching can be lacking, but it must be remembered this can happen in a conventional school as well.

Shripriya summarised what she sees as the pros and cons of alternative schools as follows:

Pros
- sense of self; not defined by the crowd. they really encourage this. it is awesome
- respect for authority, but a good amount of disdain for it as well. they used to allow us to walk out of class if we wanted. it goes to #1 as well.
- learned in a non-traditional way – going and examining leaves for science class. walking outside. unheard of in the traditional sense.
- exercise. daily instead of weekly at most regular schools.
- arts and craft – also a lot of exposure to this and very non-traditional stuff. i used to learn how to model in card board, papier mache, photography (at 7/8 years old). i mean, seriously, they made this part of the education, not something that was tacked on because it had to be.
- singing – lots of singing. singing classes, singing bhajans, singing carols. it was awesome.
- it just felt free and enjoyable. i used to love to go to school. i used to cry if i couldn’t go. now, there’s a reversal if there ever was one.

Cons
- unfortunately we live in a world where competition exists. where public exams exist. where there are, in fact, losers and winners. so, in this regard, the school was like an unreal bubble.
- it was really bad at preparing students for exams. i finally got taken out of my alternative school at the end of the 6th grade – when the first batch went through their public exams and things didn’t go so well. I went to a regular school with lots of mid-terms and test. i was paralyzed and had no clue how to take these simple little tests.

in retrospect, leaving KFI when i did was the perfect right thing. just like spending my youth there was also the perfect right thing.

My experience was the opposite of Shripriya’s in that I joined an alternative school for the 11th and 12th and thought that was perfect! I wish I had joined a little earlier, maybe around the 7th standard.

In conclusion therefore, I think one must take each school on it’s own merits, and see whether one’s child will fit in there. It really is different strokes for different folks when it comes to schools. And there’s a vast variety of alternative schools-they can be quite different from each other, even when they follow the same model-such as the K schools.

I just feel that alternative schools aren’t viewed all that fairly always. If and when I have a child I would seriously consider the option of alternative schools, because having been both “conventionally” and “alternatively” educated, I know which system I preferred and which helped me thrive.

Some articles on alternative schools in India:
http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/education/alternative-education/education.asp
http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/education/alternative-education/alternative-education.asp
http://www.alternativeeducationindia.net/altschools.htm
http://www.alternativeeducationindia.net/

Links to some alternative schools in India: (Please feel free to leave more links in the comments):
The School, Chennai
Centre for Learning
Rishi Valley
Sloka, The Steiner school in Hyderabad.
Mirambika
Shibumi
The Blue Mountains School
The Sahyadri School
Tridha

A British woman who came to India to work for a charity developing women’s rights has told how she was humiliated in court and broke down after accusing a plumber of trying to rape her.

Kaya Eldridge, a graduate of the London School of Economics, has made a formal complaint to the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court after a defence lawyer asked her a series of “irrelevant questions designed to question my character”. In front of a packed court of jeering men, the 23-year-old was asked whether she drank alcohol, socialised with men and even how often she took a shower. All the while, the man she had accused of assaulting her sat just feet away.

A wonderful article by Chintan Girish Modi, who kindly left the link on the post below:

The success of libraries like Akshara and Kaleidoscope perhaps lie in the freedom that they offer children. They recognize that different children have different preferences, and it is therefore important to make available a wide range of books. They do not insist that the children read a particular author or genre of writing. When children are exposed to a variety of books, they will have the opportunity to experiment with something that they are not familiar with. They also support interests other than reading.

I cannot believe that some schools actually choose the books for children to read. Really kills the joy of discovery, apart from assuming that everyone is reading at the same level.

This is an updated version of a post I wrote some time ago, when two people were thinking of starting an NGO in Calcutta for underprivileged children and wanted recommendations for children’s books.

We lived in a tiny flat for most of my childhood and it overflowed with my parents’ papers (they are both in professions that require the use of a lot of paper) and their books. If they were interested in something they bought the book.

While my father was the one who made up stories to tell us every night, I owe my love of books to my mother. My mother would receive cheques in the mail for her work, paltry sums, but the cheques would cause much excitement, because they meant a visit to the bookshop. My mum would open the envelope, do a little jig around the room with me ( I would already be hopping and down with excitement) and a couple of days later we would be off to Strand Book Stall “in town” whose redoubtable owner, Mr. Shanbag, recently passed away. Sometimes we would go to Book Point, a shop near Ballard Pier. My mother would give me a free run at the book shop and I would place a little pile on Mr. Shanbag’s desk to take home. I think she cut down on her selections to accomodate mine.

Sometimes if it was an Enid Blyton or a mystery, books that were more commonly available, and if she had the money I would run down the road to the local bookshop to get it.

There is nothing I like better than telling people which children’s books I have enjoyed. A and I still do read a fair amount of children’s literature and though we aren’t up to speed with a lot of the newer authors, the authors mentioned below should still find a place in a child’s library. The list below concentrates on non-Indian writers and books available in English and is not at all comprehensive. Hopefully one day I will be able to do a list that includes Indian literature.

Many books I read fervently and occasionally re-read now, but do not consider essential, have been left out, such as the Chalet School series. Aishwarya blogs about this series as well as children’s writers and the pitfalls of such advice as giving your hair a good, hard brushing until your scalp tingles.The more recent and well-known series such as Harry Potter do not feature in this list either.

I haven’t mentioned what age which book is appropriate for-that research can be left to the parents who can decide what they think is appropriate. Also, deciding on “age appropriateness” is often a highly subjective process, both for parents and children.

Here are some books/authors I think a children’s library MUST have:

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. If you’re an adult and haven’t read it, read it now. My sister R2 identified strongly with Scout, as she also used to sit on my father’s knee, behind the newspaper.

2. ALL of Diana Wynne-Jones. She was around much before JK Rowling and really understands magic and the way it works-without wands. In particular I’d recommend the Chrestomanci Series (start with Charmed Life), Dogsbody, Archer’s Goon, Howl’s Moving Castle and The Merlin Conspiracy.

3. Noel Streatfield who wrote wonderful books about children on the stage. I think her most popular book is Ballet Shoes, but my favourite is Curtain Up (later published under the not so appealing title of “Theatre Shoes”).

4. Gerald Durrell-for a love of animals, nature, and his sense of humour.

5. James Herriot-essential for the same reason as above, but told from the point of view of a vet or a naturalist.

6. The Moomin series.

7. The Lord of the Rings. I am not a fan but A would be very unhappy if I did not include it on any “must have” list.

8. Asterix comics. I prefer those by Goscinny, i.e. the older ones.

9. Tin Tin comics(not a fan again, but appreciate it from a distance).

10.The Anne of Greengables series by LM Montgomery is well known and well recommended but the Emily series is well worth reading too.

11. Everything by Garth Nix. His books have a lot to do with death, especially the Abhorsen series, and can be quite frightening, but ultimately they are about overcoming fear. I think you should be over ten or eleven to read them. Start with Sabriel, she’s lovely.

12. Everything by Philip Pullman, though you/your child needs someome to hug after reading The Amber Spyglass, the last book in the His Dark Materials Series. They are avaialbe in one volume or separately.

13. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Was delighted when I met Chox recently for all of twenty minutes and her two precious girls and the elder one had her nose buried in this book. Please READ THE BOOK FIRST before watching the film! I received a second-hand copy from friends of my parents who lived in the US, whose son had read it. Read it ’til the pages fell out. It’s all about a bored little boy called Milo, who gets a magic tollbooth as a present and enters a world that isn’t so boring after all. This is a book that reveals something new after each re-reading-it’s full of puns and wordplay and mathematical fun.

14. All of Astrid Lindgren. My favourite from the ones I read was Ronia the Robber’s Daughter.

15. Roald Dahl. I’ve gone off him but he is a phenomenon.

16. Philippa Pearce wrote gems like Tom’s Midnight Garden and The Way to Sattin Shore.

17. All of Nina Bawden. My favourite is Carrie’s War. The context is the time during WW2 when children in London were evacuated to the countryside. But Bawden has a way of understanding how a young person might see the world, an understanding that many may find universal.

18. All of Jane Austen, of course.

19. The Bronte sisters-particularly Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and perhaps Agnes Gray as well.

20. Louisa May Alcott. All the little women, men, wives and boys.

21. Edward Lear’s Limericks.

22. T.S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Essential to understand the feline mind.

23. All of E. Nesbitt, in particular the Railway Children.

24. Jane and the Kenilwood Occurrences. This book was picked up for me by my mother at Book Point, for Rs. 20. Loved it deeply. Some years later, someone borrowed it and never returned it. Fast forward to several years later, when A tracked it down second hand and gave me a copy for a birthday along with my first laptop. Now no one is allowed to borrow it. It’s out of print now, but I’ve seen it on ebay and Amazon. Buy it now if you can, before it disappears and becomes totally out of reach. It’s about a very special relationship between a girl, Jane, and her eccentric grandfather, who can make things happen with his “thoughts.” What these “thoughts” do to a quiet English village and Jane and her family forms the substance of the book, hilarious and tender at the same time.

25. Playing Beatie Bow, by Ruth Park an Australian writer. It is a romance but suitable for those aged around 12+. Very tenderly written book about growing up and friendships, but also includes time travel. I still read it often-there’s something about it that just stays with you, a certain warmth, that makes you want to keep going back to it.

26. The Carbonel Series by Barbara Sleigh. Carbonel is a talking cat and “belongs” to a girl named Rosemary (or is it vice-versa? With cats one can never be sure). Written a long time ago, but magical even today.

27. Books by Helen Cresswell. I was much taken by the Bagthorpe Series, but I don’t know how well that would go down today. Lizze Dripping and The Piemakers remain perennial favourites. I was delighted when Cresswell replied to a letter I wrote to her as a child!

28. Betsy Byars: Haven’t kept up with all her books, and she’s written some new ones. She writes for all ages.

29. Margaret Storey’s (not the mystery writer) Melinda Farbright series. Melinda Farbright is a witch, and a very special part of the life of two children, Timothy and Ellen. The books are absolutely wonderful, haunting, scary and of course magical, but not too scary, because Melinda is a safe reassuring presence throughout.But they are out of print. Some of them are available second-hand. I’d snap them up.

30. Another Margaret-Margaret Mahy from New Zealand. Lots of books to choose from.

31. Susan Cooper-The Dark is Rising (series) is her most famous work.

Please do add your own favourites in the comments, especially if they aren’t Enid Blytons and Roald Dahls. Might feel inspired to do another post based on your recommendations (please add a few details about the books if you can), or feel free to take it up as a tag.

Some time ago, a reader had sent in thislink to a New York Times article on sexual desire in women-I’m very late posting the link.
Here it is: What Do Women Want?
As expected, it’s complicated, but very interesting.

From my inbox. You need to be in college in India to apply:

THE FOUNDATION FOR UNIVERSAL RESPONSIBILITY
of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

presents

NINTH GURUKUL PROGRAMME 2009
North India

The Foundation is organizing a month long programme in Dharamsala, North India,
to experience monastic tradition, Tibetan culture, Buddhist philosophy and engage
in various activities of the community. Meet and share insights with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, His Holiness the Karmapa and Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche.

Programme Overview:

The month long programme at Dharamsala will provide participants an opportunity
to interact with monks and nuns, receive lectures on Buddhist Philosophy from eminent
Tibetan Buddhist lamas, learn arts and crafts of Tibet, learn Tibetan music and dance, and
engage in various activities with Tibetan NGOs.

Schedule: June 7th to July 7th 2009

Places of Visit: McLeod Ganj, Sidhpur, Gangchen Kyishong (Dharamsala, North India)

Eligibility: College Students

To Apply, please submit:

- A short essay (500-800 words) explaining why you wish to participate at the workshop.
- Completed Application form with contact details
(Contact us or download from our website at http://furhhdl.org/gurukul_2009)

Note: The Foundation will provide boarding and lodging for the duration of the Programme.
Travel from Delhi to Dharamsala and back will be arranged and covered by the Foundation.
The Foundation WILL NOT cover travel expanses to and from Delhi for participants from
outside Delhi

LAST DATE FOR APPLYING: 20th May 2009

For more information, please contact:

Thupten Tsewang (Mr.)
Programme Manager
thuptentsewang@gmail.com
http://furhhdl.org/gurukul_2009
Tel: +91 11 24648450 ext. 102

I will be sending a pink chaddi to the Shri Ram Sene via my sister-in-law, R1, who is in India. Join the campaign

Hope we can have campaigns against all the Senas of the Shiv, Navnirman variety.

This follows on from T is for Tanpura not Sitar; it’s Good to Know the Difference and S is for Sitar and Surbahar. The intention of these three posts is to help people tell the difference between these instruments, primarily because the Tanpura is the most fundamental instrument of Indian classical music and is often confused with the Sitar and the Veena (sublime instruments in their own right) because of some similarity in appearance. A lot of important and exciting detail has been left out (for example, there is so much more to the Tanpura than being a four stringed “drone”) but hopefully, those who are interested, will dig deeper once they leave this page! As always, videos need not be watched for their full length, they are for reference to help recognise the instrument and playing techniques.

Veena:

Nepalese Saraswati holding a Veena.

Image credit: Kaladarshan Arts

Also with a long neck and rounded resonators, the Veena is considered to have ancient origins. However, string instruments of almost all types were called “Veena” in ancient Indian texts and the Veenas played today are the product of several years of history and continue to be modified. Here is a developing discussion on the subject. A distinction is also made between Veenas belonging to the lute and zither families. We shall not get into the technical and historical classifications (and attendant arguments) here, but just try to identify the main types of Veena played today.

Gods and Goddesses are often depicted playing the Veena, particularly the Goddess of learning and the arts, the Goddess Saraswati.  Ravana was also supposed to be a great Veena player.

Some of the main types of Veena played today are: the Rudra Veena (also known as the been or bin), the Saraswati Veena, the Vichitra Veena and the Chitraveena or Gottuvadyam. Veena players are often referred to as Beenkars (or Binkars) or Vainikas.

The wandering sage Narada Muni being given a Veena by Lord Vishnu. Image credit: Sikh Heritage

The Rudra Veena (Been or Bin):

Image credit: tanpura.de

Please note, pictures are only indicative, as various schools of music and musicians add their own modifications.

The Rudra Veena is a large instrument and played by only a few; it almost fell into total obscurity. It is played mostly by instrumentalists from the Dhrupad style. It usually has 24 frets. There are four main playing strings and three to four drone strings. At either end of the dandi (the long tubular neck like part) there are two hollow gourds.

Traditionally the Veena was played with the player sitting in the vajrasana posture with his legs folded under him, and one of the two gourds placed on the left shoulder.

Here is Ustad Asad Ali Khan playing the Rudra Veena, holding it with a gourd above his left shoulder:

One of the Rudra Veena’s foremost exponents, (and amongst my favourite musicians) was the late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar who made his own modifications to the instrument. Ustadji’s alaps (i.e. elaborations of ragas that do not have rhythmic accompaniment, usually performed at the beginning of a piece) on the Rudra Veena were exquisitely slow and detailed. This is the music that caresses one’s soul if one has the patience to let it. Ustadji’s students describe him like his music; tender, gentle, loving and quiet and of great depth.

A clip of Ustadji’s playing an alap on the Rudra Veena in the Raga Yaman:

Note that in the video above Ustadji sits cross-legged and holds the Rudra Veena across his lap and not his shoulder. Ustad Zia Mohiuddin adopted the South Indian or Carnatic style of holding the Veena, which is followed today by his son Baha’uddin Dagar.

In an interview to Deepak Raja, Baha’uddin Dagar speaks of the posture used by his father and the need to tailor make the Rudra Veena according to the waistline of the Beenkar:

My father was the first significant beenkar to shift from the traditional posture to the Carnatic style posture. He had, of course, learnt the Been in the traditional posture, holding it under his right arm, and across his chest. My grandfather probably also played in the traditional posture. My father made the change because the lap-top posture gave him much greater control over the meend [glide from one note to the other]through the in-tandem use of three left-hand fingers, without compromising the impact of the strokes. He found that this was a very valuable asset in the alap, which was his forte. The posture he adopted conformed to the prescription in our scriptures that the top of the stem at the left end should be at the same height as your left shoulder. Therefore, no traditional tenet of Been playing has been breached by the change.

In the early stages, I was taught the Been in the traditional posture, and I have experienced the difference. When you hold the instrument across your chest, your approach to music changes entirely. The melody and the strokes both become more agile, drifting towards the sitar idiom. If you want to play an alap-dominant, soulful quality of music, the lap-top posture works better.

But, interestingly, the change of posture introduced by my father did not obviate the need for tailor-making the instrument. The distance between the two gourds is defined by the waistline of the beenkar, and this requirement remains valid because of the size of the gourds. This is why the 150-year old Veena of Murad Khan, now in possession of Pandharinath Kolhapure, has multiple sockets for fixing the gourds. That was an interesting experiment. The Carnatic Veena does not have this problem because the gourd sizes are smaller, and the construction of the instrument is different. And the combination of design and posture works fine for their music.

The posture change introduced by my father need not be a major issue of debate. The Vajrasana posture evolved in the era when the music was performed in the temples and in the courts. In that environment, it was considered proper and respectful for a musician to be on his knees, and not to expose his feet. For the same reason, the traditional posture for the sitar and the surbahar was also Vajrasana, changing only later, when musicians found Vajrasana less efficient for playing the music they wished to play. Today, we should consider the issue in relation to how efficiently it delivers the music.

The Vichitra Veena

Image credit: Tarang Indian Instruments

While the Rudra Veena has frets, the Vichitra Veena has none. Apart from the absence of frets, one can recognise a Vichitra Veena by the fact that one of the ends of the dandi will be shaped into a peacock head. The Vichitra Veena is placed on the ground in front of the musician. To play it the musician uses an egg shaped piece of glass (batta) and plectrums on the fingers of one hand. This also a difficult instrument to play. The Vichitra Veena has nine to eleven main strings and eleven to fifteen sympathetic strings. It also has some drone strings. The number of strings and their tuning depends on the artist.

Pandit Lalmani Mishra was a renowned Vichitra Veena player, click on the link below for a video of him playing the instrument:
Pandit Lalmani Misra DVD excerpt

Here is a video of Beenkar Dr. Mustafa Raza playing the Vichitra Veena (look out for the glass egg!):

More about the Vichitra Veena here.

Gottuvadyam or Chitravina

Image Credit: chandrakantha.com

Similar to the Vichitra Veena, is the Gottuvadyam or the Chitravina, played mainly in the South. It too is fretless, and played with a slide and plectrums. Traditionally, the slide was made of wood or bison horn, but today, well known Chitravina exponent N Ravikiran uses a teflon slide. It has twenty-one strings, including playing strings, drone strings and sympathetic strings (the latter are the maximum in number).

Here is a video of a young Chitravina Ravikiran (the name of the instrument often gets attached to the musician’s name in the South) playing the Chitravina/Gottuvadyam:

He plays another version these days, easier to carry around, and easier to tune to higher pitches, called the Navachitravina, that he has designed. Here it is:

There is some argument over which sounds better, the traditional Chitravina or the modified “Nava” version.

Saraswati Veena:

Played mainly in the South, this is perhaps the most popular type of Veena played in India today. The most prized Saraswati Veenas are made in the historic city of Tanjavur, from jackwood and metals. Veenas that are carved out of a single piece of wood are preferred to those that are not. Only one of the gourds acts as a resonator, the second gourd (which rests on the musician’s thigh) may be made of a lighter material. The Saraswati Veena does have frets, unlike the Chitravina/Gottuvadyam. It has four main playing strings and three drone strings.

Image credit: veenvidhya.com

Plectrums are usually worn on the right hand to pluck the strings while the left hand is used to slide on the fretboard and pull the strings.

The close up in the beginning of this video of Vainika Jayanthi Kumaresh demonstrates the playing technique:

That wire you see creeping out of the Veena is a modern addition to increase amplification.

Vocal music is the foundation of Indian classical music. Before the advent of the violin, the Veena was often played to accompany vocal music in the South. There was a great emphasis on the Veena producing the nuances of the human voice (both in the North and the South) and this approach to Veena playing persists.

The Saraswati Veena is held across the lap of the musician (I have read that there were Vainikas who held it upright, indeed Saraswati is often depicted holding the Veena vertical,  but this is not seen nowadays).

There are several well-known Vainikas (youtube has a series on Notable Vainikas). One of the most legendary was the late Veena Dhanammal who played without plectrums. Her style of playing has influenced Vainikas and vocalists alike.

Image credit: The Hindu

It is said that as Dhanammal lay dying:

The family began a continuous round of singing in order to ease her passing. Regaining consciousness briefly, she asked for her veena and when it was placed next to her, embraced it, stating that it was the only thing she regretted being parted from. Her last words were “Muvva Gopala.” That was the signature of Kshetragna whose padams she had made immortal. It was found that her fingers searched for the veena till she passed away…link

More on the Saraswati Veena here.