Dr. Lionel Algama, who died in March 2008, was a renowned and gifted singer, musician, music teacher and composer. He also invented two musical instruments, which he called the “soorthar”, and the sophisticated “sree veena”.
Dr. Algama spent 15 long years researching and creating the 36-stringed sree veena. He gave an enthralling demonstration of the instrument in 1979 at the Bharathiya Vidya Bhawan Institute, in London, for the Brahmin community there.
Lionel Algama’s demonstrated his musical gifts at an early age. In 1955, when he was 20 years old, his father sent him to Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, in West Bengal. Besides music, he studied Bengali and Hindustani, and joined the university broadcasting team as an instrumentalist.
While evolving his own distinctive musical style, he experimented with instruments and sounds. The result was his invention, the “soorthar”, which blends the sounds of multiple musical instruments, including the sitar, the sarod, the santoor, the harp, the goothawadyam, and the Hawaiian guitar.
In the years 1955 to 1959, Lionel Algama performed in classical and jazz concerts, as well as ballet shows, in India and Pakistan. He later gave concerts in Britain, Australia and Scandinavian countries.
The sree veena can be used exclusively as a solo instrument. Lionel Algama played the sree veena at a solo concert at the Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana on January 7, 1996.
Since his demise, the family of Lionel Algama has been trying to find a way to preserve the instrument for future generations. Appeals to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and other state departments have not yielded results.
The sree veena is the only instrument of its kind in the world. The Algama family hopes some music lover and sponsor will come to the rescue of this unique instrument.
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