How nagaswaram artistes have inspired Carnatic vocalists

Thiruveezhimizhalai, an idyllic colony adjacent Kumbakonam, occupies a important spot successful the Saivite tradition. Legend has it that, during a terrible drought, Lord Shiva placed coins known arsenic padi kaasu —on the pali peedam adjacent the Veezhinathaswamy temple vessel to assistance provender the poor, astatine the behest of Gnanasambandar and Thirunavukkarasar.  ‘Vaasi theerava kaasi nalguveer’, the Thevaram hymn by Gnanasambandar beseeches the Lord to bestow these coins.

The colony has besides produced illustrious exponents of the nagaswaram — S. Subramania Pillai and S. Natarajasundaram Pillai — popularly known arsenic the Thiruveezhimizhalai Brothers. Subramania Pillai was the archetypal nagaswaram vidwan to person the Sangita Kalanidhi successful 1956.

When this writer visited their location astir 20 years ago, Natarajasundaram Pillai’s son, N. Swaminathan, recalled a sojourn by the legendary Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and M.S. Subbulakshmi. They had brought with them a grounds subordinate and recorded ‘Payyada paimeede’, a padam successful raga Nadanamakriya.

This incidental highlights the immense repertoire and philharmonic extent of yesteryear nagaswaram maestros, peculiarly the Thiruveezhimizhalai Brothers, who had learnt vocal euphony from the inimitable Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer. The brothers, aft Malaikottai Govindaswamy Pillai, organised the Tyagaraja Aradhana for galore years. The representation of Tyagaraja without a tambura, which was carried during the unchavritti, is inactive preserved astatine the residence of Subramania Pillai.

In fact, the Thiruveezhimizhalai Brothers began their philharmonic travel arsenic vocalists. . “Our guru told america to larn a ample fig of keerthanas, arsenic it would assistance america successful the elaborate rendering of ragas and pallavis, and besides imbibe the elements required for raga exposition from these compositions,” said Subramania Pillai successful his statesmanlike code astatine the Music Academy’s yearly league year.

Mudikondan Venkatrama Iyer, different Sangita Kalanidhi, successful his tribute to Subramania Pillai, published successful The Music Academy souvenir, observed that the Thiruveezhimizhalai Brothers would archetypal larn kritis vocally earlier rendering them connected the nagaswaram. “Only past volition the euphony dependable cleanable and lucifer vocal rendering,” helium wrote.

Venkatrama Iyer besides reminisced astir an invitation extended by Swaminatha Pillai, the begetter of the Thiruveezhimizhalai Brothers, to enactment successful their colony and larn music. “He promised to marque maine an fantabulous vocalist if I stayed with them for six months,” wrote Venkatrama Iyer, who learnt the intricacies of layam from the legendary thavil vidwan Ammachathiram Kannuswami Pillai. Another thavil artiste, Iluppur Panchapakesa Pillai—known arsenic Thavil Panchami—was an all-rounder. A vocalist who had released a disc, helium acceptable the chittaswaras for Tyagaraja’s keerthana ‘Niravathi sukatha’.

In earlier times, nagaswaram and thavil artistes perpetually exchanged ideas and learnt from 1 another, enriching the contented done adjacent collaboration and communal respect. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer spoke of however his ain cognition was enriched by listening to Thiruvenkadu Subramania Pillai and others during temple festivals, adjacent arsenic helium was learning from Gottuvadyam vidwan Thiruvidaimarudur Sakharama Rao. “I moved astir with the nagaswaram subordinate connected the acold nights of Margazhi, and the Sankarabharanam rendered by Subramania Pillai inactive echoes successful my ears,” helium said astatine the 90th commencement day of Subramania Pillai.

In his memoir, Papanasam Sivan, celebrated arsenic Tamil Tyagaraja, waxed eloquent astir the elaborate rendering of Bhairavi by the nagaswaram subordinate P.S. Veeruswami Pillai astatine Nagapattinam. Veerusami Pillai excelled some successful raga alapana and keerthana rendering.

P.S. Veeruswami Pillai, different Sangitha Kalanidhi awardee, would larn keerthanas by inviting a vocalist to his house. “While the vocalist would beryllium adjacent a pillar successful the muttram and sing, Veeruswami Pillai would locomotion around, listening. After proceeding it a mates of times, helium would maestro the keerthana and render it successful his ain way,” recalled Ganesan, who kept tala for Veeruswami.

Raga alapana has, for long, been the forte of nagaswaram players, who execute them for agelong hours during temple festivals.

“It is well-known that nagaswaram vidwans played antithetic ragas astatine antithetic times of the day, and connected astir occasions successful the signifier of an alapana. During festivals, alapana was a cardinal constituent of their philharmonic presentation. It cannot beryllium an mishap that the main signifier of Carnatic euphony presumption successful the nineteenth period was the alapana. It is said that musicians sang alapanas for implicit an hr oregon more. We person an thought of the duration of nagaswaram presentations successful the nineteenth century, truthful it is logical to presume that they would person been astatine slightest of the aforesaid duration successful an earlier era,” writes vocalist T.M. Krishna successful his publication A Southern Music: Exploring the Karnatik Tradition.

Though Veena Dhanammal was a celebrated artiste successful the Carnatic euphony world, and musicians thronged her location to perceive to her playing, she preferred listening to nagaswaram vidwan T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai. T. Sankaran, her grandson, narrates an incidental successful his publication Isai Methaigal.

Once, erstwhile Dhanammal was unwell, Rajarathinam Pillai visited her. She played the tambura, and helium played the nagaswaram. After immoderate time, she asked, “Brother, what is this raga?” Rajarathinam replied that helium had tried his manus astatine Vachaspati. “Oh, is this Vachaspati? I cognize the raga. Why don’t you play Bhairavi oregon Kamboji?” she said. He past played those ragas.

In his book, On That Note, Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam, writes however helium benefited from interactions with nagaswaram players. He mentions nagaswaram vidwan E. Uthirakumar, member of Vyasarpadi Kothandaraman, teaching him an casual acquisition connected singing Husseni astatine Thiruvaiyaru.

“‘Ada, summa sa pa sa vecchu paadunga!’ (Just support singing the notes ‘sa pa sa’); Huseni volition travel through. That was an eureka infinitesimal — until past cipher had explained the raga this mode to me. He adjacent sang utilizing conscionable these 3 notes for 5 minutes that day. I retrieve being blown distant by however helium explained it and the mode the raga came together. Even now, each clip I sing Husseni, I retrieve his lesson,” writes Sanjay, who aboriginal learnt from Semponnarkoil S.R.D. Vaidyanathan. He says his conversations with Vaidyanathan opened up, psychologically, a abstraction of state successful his singing.

“Until then, for me, dependable accumulation was a precise minimalist affair, but successful the precocious octave, wherever I sang full-throated. The ornamentation and phrasing of my euphony were mostly minute, astir similar filigree work. But nagaswaram euphony is each astir longer swoops — sweeping sounds that determination successful slow, agelong curves. When I mixed these sweeps with raga singing, the soundscape itself began to change,” helium further writes.