It comes under the chordophonic group of instrument. It can be described as a long necked lute with a large resonating bowl called the Kudam, held across the lap by the player. There is a smaller gourd called the Kudukkai, which hangs from the neck. This serves as a rest. The narrow end of the Veena is shaped like the head of a dragon.
Photo: Gayatri, a famous veena player in India.
There are twenty four frets which are made up of bell metal or steel. There are seven strings in all, of which four passing over the frets are the playing strings, and the other three are the drone string which run through a special side bridge. The instrument is usually made of jackwood.
Two of the playing strings and the drone strings are made of steel whereas the other two are made of brass. To enhance the resonating quality, a hold is made on the Kudam (bowl). the tonal quality of the Veena depends on the size of the Kudam.
Only the pointing finger and the middle finger are used to play and the little finder is used to keep time on the Tala strings. The small gourd is placed on the left thigh and the main bowl is placed on the ground, partly supported by the right thigh.
There are two types of Veena. The Ottu Veena is where the neck and the bowl are made of separate pieces of wood and the Eganda Veena is where it all made out of a single piece of wood. Of the two, the Egantha Veena produces better tonal quality.
**Terminology used is in Tamil.
