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Veene Sheshanna
ವೀಣೆ ಶೇಷಣ್ಣ
The prince of the veena — the divine instrument made to speak
Years
1852 – 1926
Known as
Sheshanna — the asthana vidwan of Mysore
Birthplace
Mysore, Karnataka
Field
Artists & Performers
“The veena is the voice of the goddess — the musician only lends it his hands.”
— The spirit of Veene Sheshanna
The Story
Born in Mysore in 1852 into a family of court musicians, Sheshanna was trained in the veena from childhood and became a prodigy of the instrument. The Maharaja of Mysore, recognizing his genius, made him the asthana vidwan of the court — and his concerts, at the court and across South Bhārat, drew the same wonder as the greatest singers'.
His playing was famous for its vocal quality — he made the veena sing the raga with the sweetness of a voice, and his mastery of the gamaka, the ornamentation of Carnatic music, was unmatched. Musicians said that to hear Sheshanna was to hear the goddess Saraswati herself, and the Maharaja honoured him with the title of 'the Tansen of the veena'.
He trained a school of disciples and raised the veena to a place of honour in the concerts of the south. He died in 1926, and his name passed into the tradition: the Veene Sheshanna style, the Veene Sheshanna tradition, still taught and played by the instrument's masters, is his living monument.
Core Ideas
The Instrument's King
The greatest veena player of Bhārat.
The Tansen of the Veena
The title the Maharaja of Mysore gave him.
The Vocal Veena
He made the instrument sing like a voice.
The Gamaka Master
His ornamentation was the wonder of the age.
The Living Style
His tradition is still taught to veena masters.
Why it matters today
Veene Sheshanna's name is the highest honour of the veena — the Veene Sheshanna tradition is still the standard of the instrument, and his concerts are the golden legend of Mysore's music. He is remembered as the proof that the sacred instrument of Bhārat can speak with the sweetness of the human voice.