VIZIANAGARAM; The globally renowned Bobbili Veena, a symbol of rich musical heritage and craftsmanship, is gradually losing its voice due to the shortage of raw material. The historic instrument-making industry is now facing an acute shortage of raw material, especially jack (jackfruit/panasa tree) wood. Despite this crisis persisting for years, concrete solutions remain elusive on the ground, leaving local artisans in deep distress.
The making of the Veena “Bobbili Veena” popularly known as Saraswati Veena, a large plucked string instrument used in Carnatic classical music, started in the 17th century during the reign of Pedda Rayudu, the king of Bobbili Samsthanam who was a great patron of music.
Bobbili Veena is carved from a single piece of jack (jackfruit/panasa tree) wood by Sarwasiddi community artisans of Gollapalli under Bobbili Samsthanam.
Sarwasiddi hereditary artisans from Gollapalli have been continuing the tradition of making Veenas over the past three centuries.
Bobbili Veena is lost its glory after the emergence of electronic music instruments and digital sound system. Now, many people are considering the Bobbili Veena as a great masterpiece of art and are adorning to living rooms. Therefore, they have been making small Veena’s as gift articles with small jack wood.
Speaking to TNIE, Sarwasiddi Ramakrishana, in-charge, Bobbili Veena Manufacturing Centre, said, “We have been facing severe shortage of Jack wood for making Bobbili Veena. We have a requirement of at least 2,240 cubic feet of wood annually to sustain production. The jack wood was ready in the godown. However, the forest officials have not distributed yet due to various administrative reasons including recent transfers of the key officials,’’
He said they met the State forest departmet officials in Vijayawada a couple of weeks ago and explained our plight for the jack wood. Ramakrishna said the officials have assured us to distribute the jack wood in next couple of days. If the government ensures a seamless and timely supply of this timber, all our operational hardships will vanish, and this historic art form can be preserved for generations, he added.
The artisans of Bobbili Veena are predominantly clustered in Gollapalli village under Bobbili municipality and Vadada village under Badangi mandal now. However, the artisans of Bobbili Veena have been facing difficulties with the shortage of raw materials, especially Jack wood. Jack wood trees are not available locally and must be sourced entirely from the forests of Odisha.
Procuring and transporting this wood across state borders is an expensive and logistically challenging task for the poor artisans. Therefore, Bobbili MLA RVSKK Rangarao (Baby Nayana) raised the plight of the artisans for Jack wood in the Legislative Assembly.
Responding to the issue, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan directed the forest department to supply timber at subsidised rates. He had also sanctioned a special fund of Rs 5 lakh, enabling artisans to purchase the required wood to resolve the immediate raw material crunch. Following this, the state-level officials gathered specific size requirements from the craftsmen and procured the logs. However, the promised relief is yet to reach the craftsmen. Shockingly, even though the purchased timber arrived at the local veena manufacturing centre six months ago, it has not yet been distributed to the artisans. The entire stock currently sits idle and unused in godowns, stalled by administrative delays.
Bobbili Veena has earned a Geographical Indication (GI) in 2012 for its unique design and high-quality craftsmanship. The government of India recently selected it under the flagship “One District - One Product” (ODOP) initiative. This instrument has earned immense recognition internationally as the government of Andhra Pradesh has presented as many as 350 Bobbili Veena replicas to the international delegates as a token of honor in the recent Global Investment Summit at Visakhapatnam and G20 Summit at Delhi.