Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
7TH HEAVEN WITH THANJAI NOTE
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
|March 31, 2025
The first musical instrument in the country to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Thanjavur veenai is known for its design, featuring a long, hollow body made of jackfruit wood
The rhythmic sound of wood being chopped fills the air near the entrance of the centuries-old Sivaganga Park, adjacent to the Thanjavur Big Temple, piquing the curiosity of visitors from far and near. A closer look reveals workers carving mace-like structures from wooden logs. These artisans, members of the Thanjavur Veenai Workers Welfare Association, are preparing the wood for crafting the Thanjavur veenai, a string instrument.
The renowned Thanjavur veenai (veena), which is being made in the historic city – the capital of the imperial Chola kings – received Geographical Indication (GI) certification in 2013. The present structure of the Thanjavur veenai was designed by Thanjavur Nayak King Raghunatha Nayak (1614-1632).
"Raghunatha Nayak, who wrote a treatise on music titled "Sangeetha Sudha", was adept at playing the veena. He was an expert in playing the Vipanchi veena. Raghunatha Nayak modified the veena used in his time, creating the version we now recognise as the Thanjavur veenai," says historian Kudavayil Balasubramanian.
Highlighting the uniqueness of the Thanjavur veenai, former principal of Tiruvaiyaru Government Music College and veena teacher Rama Kausalya explains, "The structure of the Thanjavur veena itself is unique. Until Raghunatha Nayak's time, the frets on the fingerboard (thandi) were movable, similar to those on the sitar today. He introduced fixed frets and increased their number to 24."
She adds the veena designed by Raghunatha Nayak also has a distinctive shruti. The Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers Cooperative Cottage Industrial Society Limited, which applied for the GI certification, stated in its application that the craftsmanship involved in making the functional resonator (Kudam) is unique to the Thanjavur veena, distinguishing it from other veenas.
This story is from the March 31, 2025 edition of The New Indian Express Tiruchy.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The New Indian Express Tiruchy
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Modi, Shah to attend 3-day DGP conference in C’garh
PM Narendra Modi & Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the All India Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police on Nov 29-30 at Indian Institute of Management, Nava Raipur.
1 mins
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Stalin presents awards, lays foundation for HR&CE projects
CHIEF Minister MK Stalin on Thursday presented the Children’s Welfare-Service Awards for 2025 to Thanjavur Annai Sathya Ammayar Memorial Government Children’s Home, Thoothukudi St Mary’s Mercy Home, the Chennai Government Observation Home and the Ramanathapuram District Child Protection Unit. Each received a certificate and a cheque for %1 lakh. Awards were presented across four categories: government-run children’s homes, homes run by voluntary organisations, homes for children in conflict with the law and district child protection units.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
HEAVY RAIN ALERT FOR THREE DAYS CYCLONE DITWAH HURTLING TOWARDS TN-PONDY COAST
THE deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm, Ditwah, and is very likely to reach southwest Bay of Bengal near north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts early on Sunday morning, the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said. 'Ditwah' or 'Detwah' refers to a lagoon on Socotra Island in Yemen.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Focus on Rohit & Kohli ahead of One-Day series
KL RAHUL will don captain’s hat almost two years after his last stint as India skipper when the hosts take on South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi on Sunday.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Civil servants vital for Viksit Bharat, must operate across sectors: Mishra
CIVIL services stand at the heart of India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat and officers must think across domains, operate across sectors, and anchor their work in humility, integrity, and purpose, P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said on Thursday.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
2-child norm, no-tax dues must for contesting civic body polls
AS Jharkhand gears up for Municipal polls next year, the State Election Commission has issued guidelines for the same, stating that candidates with more than two children will be barred from contesting elections, if the last child was born after February 9, 2013.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
SWISS HOCKEY CROWDFUND THEIR WAY TO WC
SWITZERLAND'S command over the sporting world cannot be ignored. Some of the top sport-governing bodies like FIFA, International Olympic Committee (IOC) and even the international hockey federation (FIH) are all based in the country. The national football teams are regulars in top international tournaments. The country is also home to argua-
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Jemimah lends hand to Mandhana
IN a noble gesture, women’s ODI World Cup winner Jemimah Rodrigues decided to miss the remaining Women’s Big Bash League season in Australia and stay back in India to lend emotional support to her national teammate and good friend Smriti Mandhana.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
Land docus to have high resolution satellite images
TAMIL Nadu has launched an effort to further modernise the way land records are maintained by significantly increasing the transparency and efficiency using high-resolution satellite images with a resolution of 30cm, which can offer granular details, covering the entire 1.3 lakh square kilometre of the state.
1 min
November 28, 2025
The New Indian Express Tiruchy
WHEN A CLEAN-UP BECOMES A MESS
A year ago, the idea of a massive nationwide exercise to visit every single household to verify, add, or delete voters was not on anyone’s radar. After all, the Narendra Modi government did not even conduct the mandatory dec-adal census. Chief Election Commi sioner Gyanesh Kumar took charge in February 2025 and, for three months, did not utter the term ‘special intensive revision’ (SIR). Suddenly, one day in June, the CEC announced a nationwide SIR beginning with Bihar. Why so suddenly and so hastily?
3 mins
November 28, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size