Always near extinction, the rudra veena accidentally found a lifeline in a young sculptor

Seven years ago, a young sculptor from Varad village in Malvan was asked if he could craft two unusual wooden figures – the heads of the mythological serpent Vasuki and a peacock. For Kunal Joshi, the challenge was two-fold: he was unfamiliar with wood and he had no clear idea what these animal heads were meant for.

“I thought they were to be used as mementos or show pieces,” he said.

It took him six months to painstakingly chisel away at blocks of Burma teak to shape the figures and dispatch them. Only months later did he learn their purpose: they were to bookend a priceless old rudra veena belonging to Bahauddin Dagar.

The musician was seeking to restore the instrument once owned by his father and was crafted in 1960 in Calcutta by the master luthiers Kanailal and Brother. His father, the rudra veena legend Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, had redesigned the rudra veena to produce a lower octave that would match the human voice. To this, he added the beautiful end pieces for a reason: the Vasuki would reduce tension on the strings, while the peacock head would contain a chamber, allowing for greater resonance.

“I could find no one to restore the veena and thought that...

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