SIMPADIPURA VILLAGE,DODDABALLAPUR: Life has not been kind to the music makers of Simpadipura these past two years. The tiny village, located 65km from Bengaluru and 15km from Doddaballapura, is home to artisans who make the veena. Doddaballapura taluk, known for its jackfruit, yields plentiful wood for this traditional musical instrument, but no one seems to want it any more. Orders are on the wane, say artisans.
The village of Simpadipura is synonymous with the veena, and though the roads leading to it are barely motorable, people from Bengaluru, Mysuru and even Tamil Nadu and Kerala would come here to buy the veena, with musical instrument stores placing big orders.
The village once had over 500 artisans, but over time, their number has reduced to around 170. Umesh (40), one of the artisans, struggles to shift logs of wood and other raw materials to safety, out of the rain which has been battering the region for the past many days. Like him, many of the artisans in this village live in small houses with leaky roofs, and work outdoors.
It’s a family occupation for most of the villagers, who have been making veenas for three generations, yet their living conditions have barely improved. To make the basic structure out of the sonorous jackwood, skilfully carving out the ‘tumba’ (gourd) and the ‘dandi’, besides the minutiae of the instrument, and leaving the stringing and tuning to musical experts.The artisans make the veena, but don’t know how to play it, though a few are keen to learn.
The market price of a veena is Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, but the artisans get just about a third of the amount, and their remuneration includes cost too. The latest blow is the pandemic, which hit their business hard. Now, many artisans are shuttling between their village and Bengaluru, doing odd jobs to earn and save money, so they can again invest in their traditional occupation.
Just a few years ago, each of them would have a number of orders, especially during Dasara, when gurukuls and even individual houses in Old Mysuru region and Tamil Nadu would offer Saraswathi Puja to the revered veena. There was good demand from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Arun, in his early thirties, told The New Sunday Express that orders have all but dried up in the past two years. “Due to the pandemic, there are no programmes and concerts for veena players. Earlier, even students would buy, but all that has almost ended,’’ he rues.
Otherwise too, there has been a gradual decline in demand. Earlier, more than 90 per cent of the villagers were involved in this art, but that has reduced to 40 per cent. “If this continues, the heritage and skill of making the veena itself will vanish,’’ he added.
The artisans are hoping for a turnaround, but are facing investment issues, and are unable to get loans. “When we say we make veenas, financiers don’t lend money which we need to invest in raw materials. This struggle has prompted many youngsters to go to Bengaluru to work as office boys and do other odd jobs,’’ said another artisan who did not reveal his name. Most of them belong to Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.
Manjunath said they are seeking help from the government to secure loans at low interest or even subsidy, to kickstart their business. They are also seeking sheds or a safe place to store jackwood logs and large instruments which take up space and are difficult to store during the rainy season. Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said there are schemes to help SC communities in their business, while ST communities come under Backward Classes ministry. The artisans can certainly get help from the government, he said.