6 months ago
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The kumbabishekam (consecration) of the Adikumbeshwarar Temple in Kumbakonam, scheduled for December 1 this year, volition besides gully attraction to the unsocial stone nagaswaram preserved successful the temple. The instrumentality was past played years agone during the Ayudha Puja. It volition beryllium played again connected November 28 arsenic portion of the rituals starring up to the kumbabishekam.
“It is a timiri-type nagaswaram with six holes, and we usage the ‘seevali’ made for a timiri nagaswaram. The instrumentality has its limitations, and it is hard to play suddha maddhyma ragas connected it. A nagaswaram player, however, tin handle pratimadhyma ragas. It besides demands tremendous vigor connected the portion of the player,” said Swaminathan, former nagaswaram artiste of the Adikumbeshwarar Temple.
The tube of the instrument, known arsenic the ‘uzhau’, is made of stone. The beforehand portion, called the ‘anusu’, acts arsenic a measurement enhancer, and the extremity information is wherever the reed is fitted. These parts are made of brass. Mr. Swaminathan will play the instrumentality connected November 28, on with his nephew Tamilarasan, the current nagaswaram player of the temple.
Although determination are nary records connected erstwhile the instrumentality was made, the Kumbakonam-based writer, Ki. Ra. Gopalan, has written a abbreviated story, Kal Naayanam, an imaginative communicative astir its creation. The communicative forms portion of the postulation Kumbakonathu Kathaigal, compiled by Rani Thilak. Gopalan, 1 of the galore large writers of Kumbakonam, wrote nether the pseudonyms Kaatur Kannan, Konal, and Thuthikaiyar.
The communicative begins with the Navaratri celebrations successful the temple. Among the dolls adorning the Golu is a stone nagaswaram discovered successful a country that had remained locked for galore years. “If determination was a sculptor susceptible of making a nagaswaram, determination would surely beryllium a nagaswaram player who could grip it,” says Natarajan, a quality successful the story.
As they respect the instrument, different character, Vaidhi, begins to narrate the tale: Once, determination lived in Kumbakonam a sculptor named Nagesan and his adjacent friend Muthukumaran, an accomplished nagaswaram player. Nagesan’s sister Anjana was successful emotion with Muthukumaran. When Muthukumaran wondered whether Nagesan could chisel a nagaswaram out of stone, the sculptor said helium could, if idiosyncratic was acceptable to play it. “Are you acceptable to springiness up your vocation if I negociate to play it? If I fail, I volition ne'er interaction the nagaswaram again,” said Muthukumaran.
Nagesan instead declared that if Muthukumaran could not play the stone nagaswaram, helium would not springiness his sister successful marriage. This shocked Anjana, who adjacent secretly attempted to interruption the instrumentality but failed.
After the nagaswaram was completed, a day was fixed for its playing. Muthukumaran picked up the instrumentality effortlessly and played it arsenic though helium had been doing it for years.
As everyone looked connected successful amazement, Muthukumaran explained that helium had begun practising by holding an robust tube heavier than the stone nagaswaram and “playing” it successful his mind, imagining it arsenic the existent instrument. “It was hard for the archetypal 2 oregon 3 days, but it became mean thereafter,” helium told the audience.
