From the collection of Heinz Baumgarten (Münster/Germany): A remarkably rare Vichitra Vina associated with the workshop of Murari Mohan Adhikari of Kanailal & Brother, Calcutta, dating from around 1982. Adhikari was one of the distinguished instrument makers of his generation, and while Rudra Vinas formed a small but documented part of his output, Vichitra Vinas appear to have been made by him only on very rare occasions.
The instrument is distinguished by an elegant and richly detailed dandi, most likely made of teak and finished in a deep walnut-brown lacquer. Eight main tuning pegs with carved floral heads accommodate six melody strings in the pegbox and two chikari strings along the neck, complemented by 15 sympathetic strings. The pegbox culminates in a finely sculpted Makara, the mythological aquatic creature traditionally associated with the goddess Ganga. Carved swan-wing elements, horn bridges and engraved celluloid ornamentation complete the refined decorative appearance of the instrument.
The dandi has survived in remarkably fine condition. Its two large, undecorated gourd resonators were added later by Jochen Thies, who fashioned them from unfinished Indian gourds supplied by India-Instruments in Berlin. They were polished by luthier late Dieter Zarnitz. Their restrained, natural appearance provides an interesting contrast to the elaborate workmanship of the original dandi.
The provenance of the instrument is particularly well documented. Jochen Thies acquired the dandi directly from Murari Mohan Adhikari in Calcutta in 1992 and subsequently kept it in Bremen, where it remained virtually unplayed until 2008.
Photo: Jochen Thies.
Murari himself is reported to have estimated his total production of Rudra Vinas at only around 40 to 45 instruments over approximately 35 years of instrument making. His Vichitra Vinas were apparently considerably fewer; their total number may even have remained in the single digits. Surviving examples are therefore exceptionally uncommon, making this instrument an important and highly unusual document of late 20th-century North Indian instrument making.
The Vichitra Vina is fully playable in its present condition and requires no restoration for musical use. It has no box and no „stone“ (used for sliding along the strings)
| SPECIFICATION | MEASUREMENT |
| Total length | 137 cm |
| Scale length | 90.5 cm |
| Bridge height | 2.7 cm |
| Neck width | 9.5 cm |
| Toomba 1 circumference & weight | 127 cm/860 g |
| Toomba 2 circumference & weight | 130 cm/1000g |
| Weight (Dandi only) | 3.45 kg |
