Tara Rajendran

Veena Sheshanna (1852—1926) Sheshanna was a concert musician at the court of the princely state of Mysore. Back in the days veena artistes played the Saraswati Veena holding it vertically and it was Sheshanna who played it holding it in the horizontal position for the first time. It is believed that, Sheshanna was perhaps the originator of the Mysore style of rendition. He was an exceptional composer and his profound knowledge in north Indian classical music is striking in his Tillanas.

The recorded history of Saraswati Veena, the fretted seven-stringed plucked classical musical instrument, dates back to 15 century BC. This ancient south Indian/Carnatic instrument has a uniquely complex mechanical system. In 1921, Indian physicist and Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman published ‘On some Indian stringed instruments’ analyses the geometric significance and effect of Veena’s bridge on the radiation of sound. The instrument is the epitome of a structural-acoustic coupled problem.

Blood and the Vermillion By Tara Rajendran Machher Jhols’ Bengal. Roshogolla's Bengal. Sandesh's Bengal. Pather Panchali's Bengal. Tagore’s Bengal. I stood beneath the Howrah Bridge, letting my eyes wander in the hues of flesh, the setting sky spread, that matched the priest's dhoti. Brilliant flames of Ganga Arti flickered in the gentle breeze, which had the fragrance of camphor. Bhashkor da stays somewhere nearby, the male nurse in our cancer ward.