The newly invented Gajveena makes it to the Guthman Musical Instrument competition in Atlanta

Even as the world was in uproar in mid-March, the Gajveena, a statuesque instrument that blends the looks and sound of the double bass and rudra veena, made a striking debut at the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, organised at the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

Though it did not win a prize, its inventor and noted Indian double bassist and composer Debjit Mahalanobis is thrilled to have showcased it on the world stage. “I was one of the 10 finalists at the competition and the Gajveena was the only acoustic instrument in the running. It was crafted because of my guru Ustad Bahauddin Dagar, who also coined its name,” shares Debjit over a call from Georgia.

 Debjit’s guru Ustad Bahauddin Dagar.
| Photo Credit:
D. Deepali Jain

“The ‘gaj’ in Gajveena could mean an elephant or also an older connotation of ‘board’. In the Western world too, the sound of the double bass has been compared to that of elephants,” he adds. The lower portion of the Gajveena resembles that of a double bass. Standing at a towering six ft 11 inches, it is fitted with a 42-inch fretted fingerboard and dual resonators. It offers microtonal control, deep-drone textures and real-time string bending, with its sound travelling from the lower body through a hollow neck conduit to an upper tumba resonator near the ear. “This is the first instrument that can be plucked just like the veena and bowed like a double bass. The board and double bass are obviously Western, but the tonal and timbral quality is just like the Indian veena,” says Debjit.

It has been a six-year journey for Debjit, who first envisioned the instrument in 2018, while learning to play the rudra veena from Ustad Bahauddin Dagar. The young musician hails from a distinguished lineage — scientist and statistician P.C. Mahalanobis on the paternal side, and musician Pt. Ramshankar Bhattacharya (founder of the Bishnupur Dhrupad Dhamar gharana), from his maternal side.

A dream come true

Debjit has worked with two instrument makers in Kolkata — Ranjit Ray and Dipen Das — for close to two years to see the Gajveena take shape. “Luthiers are hard to find in India. I was fortunate to have worked with Ranjit Ray (of Ray Musicals), who was my original double bass maker, whom I have known for more than 15 years. Dipen Das (of D.K. Das and Sons), who comes from a case-making background is a first generation veena maker and was also taught by Ustad Bahauddin Dagar. Much later I learnt that Ustad had asked Dipen to create what I wanted without asking me too many questions,” says Debjit.

Over five months, short of cutting the wood (maple, spruce and ebony), Debjit was closely involved in every stage of the Gajveena’s making. “I stopped playing other instruments, and stayed put in West Bengal, until the Gajveena took shape,” he recalls. While only a few knew about Debjit’s tryst with the Gajveena, he was still practicing the instrument when he applied for the Guthman competition. “I was lucky enough to be selected as one of 10 finalists, even though travelling to the programme was a different adventure altogether,” he says.

When the attacks began in West Asia on February 28, the Gajveena — packed in a humongous protective crate that weighed nearly 500 kg — was in Delhi. “Since the courier company found the instrument too large to transport, it was flown to Hong Kong, and then somewhere in between, it was transported across the Pacific Ocean as an unaccompanied cargo,” laughs Debjit. “Meanwhile, I had to reschedule my flights, and flew through Mumbai, London, New York City and then Atlanta. The Gajveena reached the East Coast, and then it took us a few more days to get it to my uncle’s house on the West Coast,” recalls Debjit.

The unprecedented delays in getting the right transport meant that Debjit got only five minutes to prepare for his stage showcase at Georgia Tech.

Debjit hails from a distinguished lineage — scientist and statistician P.C. Mahalanobis on the paternal side, and musician Pt. Ramshankar Bhattacharya from the maternal side. 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

He was encouraged by the response to the Gajveena from his fellow contestants . “Many of them were actually double bass players, and when they tried to play this string instrument, they loved it, because they could play it in an upright position, with the knowledge of a Western instrument, but got the timbral quality of the Indian sound.

Most Indian instruments are meant to be played with the artiste seated on the floor.

To him the Gajveena is a ‘sampoorna’ (complete) instrument. “Even if one does not know how to bend strings and achieve gamaka (a rapid, oscillating movement on a note or between notes), the weight of the frequency is such that even in straight notes, it has got a long sustain. Each of the notes can stand for more than 12-14 seconds,” elaborates Debjit.

According to him, fusion is not a new term in the world of music. “The sitar follows the grammar of the Persian setar and Indian veena. The sarod comes from the Afghani rabab. So the classical instruments that we consider now Indian, are actually fusion instruments. Music is like a river, it simply follows its own path,” he says.

Published – March 28, 2026 09:04 am IST