Raags Performed:
- Raag Multani
- Raag Poorvi
Musicians :
- Jyoti Hegde (rudra veena)
- Surdarshan Chana (jori)
- Debipriya Sircar (tanpura)

At the age of 12, when distractions grapple with the mind ripe with a thousand curiosities, Jyoti Hegde was pining to learn the rudra veena. Considered the king of Indian instruments, a mythical creation of Lord Shiva (inspired by his consort Parvati’s hand over her breasts in a reposeful posture), the bulky rudra veena poses a huge challenge to any musician. Hegde’s undeterred gumption and immersed dedication has put her on top as the only female musician in India who can handle this ancient, masculine instrument with elan.

In this video from the ninth Darbar festival, one can see her serenely taking to the music. Her halcyon smile is a constant fixture and the tranquil eyes open and close to the cues of the tonal sentences. Her hands gripping the cumbrous instrument positioned snugly over her shoulder and knee makes the act look deceitfully effortless whereas in reality, the strength, skill and tenacity required to handle the rudra veena with such a calm composure can be fiendishly monumental.

Hegde plays two ragas – Multani and the rare Poorvi. Multani is a late afternoon melody based on Todi thaat. Hegde’s journey to the vadi swar Pa (5th) through the raga’s assymetrically structured path is redolent with yearning. Her sonorous, sweeping bends on the curvaceous melodic plane is masterful. She introduces the raga in unhurried cadence, gradually infusing a linear pulse and building an unflagging jod. Filling up the spaces with the strum of the chikari (onomatopoeic word denoting the top-most string on the veena strummed to maintain pulse and play the jhalla), she adds textures to this part and carves rotund oscillation between the notes.

She is accompanied by Surdarshan Chana on the Jori, another rare instrument that owes its origins to its classical antecedent, pakhawaj – a percussion instrument that was used to accompany dhrupad. The pakhawaj was split into two drums to create the jori by the 5th Sikh saint Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606) when kirtans (spiritual hymns) were transforming from classical to more of a devotional style.

Hegde’s madhyalay composition in Ektal is supported beautifully by Chana. The stately sound of the jori is calibrated to the dense weave of the veena’s sound and he positions his improvisations in majestic moments throughout the recital making the presentation compact.

Hegde pivots to the haunting territory of Poorvi, stretching and bending the notes to lay out the deep and deferential pathos of this raga. The swift, precise movements of her right hand and the riveting left hand structure the tonal sentences of Poorvi over a neat, linear pulse ending in ecstatic waves each time. She concludes this piece with a madhyalay composition in Sool taal.