National Instrument of India

Hi dude! You might be knowing India’s national song, anthem, flower, bird, animal, emblem, flag and many more. Apart from these, there are many more recognized to be national. Here the subject is all about the national musical instrument of India.

Are you curious to know the national instrument of India?

Veena is the National Instrument of India

Traditional Instrument

Veena has been a popular instrument in Indian Classical Music, and one revered in the Indian culture by its inclusion in the iconography of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of arts and learning. The veena comprises a family of chordophone instruments from the Southern part of India. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations.

The ancient harp, which is called yaal or yaazh(யாழ்) in Tamil, is the ancestor of modern-day veena. It is in the list of musical instruments used by Tamil people in Tirumurai. A person who plays the veena is called a vainika.

Features & Credits

The Sanskrit text stating that "the human throat is a sareer veena or a body's musical string instrument". The same metaphor of human voice organ being a form of the veena is also found in more ancient texts of Hinduism. The ancient epic Mahabharata describes the sage Narada as a Vedic sage famed as a "vina player".

The construction is personalized to the musician's body proportions so that she can hold and play it comfortably. It ranges from about 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters). The body is made of special wood and is hollow. 

The instrument is played with three fingers of the right-hand which is dominant, struck inwards or outwards with a plectrum. As a fretted, plucked lute, the veena can produce pitches in a full three-octave range. The long, hollow-neck design of these Indian instruments allow portamento effects and legato ornaments found in Indian ragas. 

Comparison

The difference between the North and South Indian design is the presence of two resonant gourds in the North, while in the South, instead of the lower gourd there is a pear-shaped wooden body attached.

Both designs have four melody strings, three drone strings and twenty-four frets. The instrument's end is generally tastefully shaped such as a swan and the external surfaces colourfully decorated with traditional Indian designs. 

In modern times the veena has been generally replaced with the Sitar in North Indian performances. The South Indian veena design, used in Carnatic Classical Music, is a lute. It remains an important and popular string instrument in classical Carnatic music.

There are numerous types of veena are Rudra Veena, Saraswati Veena, Vichitra Veena, Sitar, Pinaki Veena and many more.

Famous Artists

There are various artists who dedicate their life to music and made the musical world to remember their presence ever since. Some of the famous Vainika artist are Dhanammal, Asad Ali Khan, Veena E. Gayathri, Sundaram Balachander etc.

Even though governments in most of the countries, in general, do not officially recognize national instruments, the national instrument has been recognized by calculating the famous and usage in a various time period from ancient. 

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GOLDSMTH has come across performances in various studios with different artists. His recent keyboard performance with the Veena player, Mrs Veena Gayatri Raj, live telecasted in Kalaignar News Channel gave a good response from the people.

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