Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman performs after 80 years at the venue where he made his debut

It is not uncommon for a instrumentalist to execute astatine the venue wherever they made their debut. Rarer inactive is the accidental to bash truthful 8 decades aft that archetypal performance. Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman is privileged to observe some 80 years of his illustrious philharmonic vocation and his 90^th day astatine the precise aforesaid venue — the Kalahastheeswarar Temple connected Madathu Theru successful Kumbakonam.

“My archetypal show took spot astatine the Kalahastheeswarar Temple due to the fact that my archetypal teacher, Arupathi Natesa Iyer, lived successful the agraharam adjacent to the temple. I played for the vocalist Srinivasa Iyengar. Vedaranyam Krishnamurthy Iyer accompanied him connected the violin, and my teacher played the kanjira,” recalled Mr. Sivaraman.

The temple besides figures successful Kumbakonam-based writer Na. Pitchamurthy’s abbreviated communicative Kanjamadam. “Although the temple is not named, the ambience and surroundings intelligibly suggest that it is the Kalahastheeswarar Temple,” says Rani Thilak, who compiled the publication Kumbakonam Kathaikal.

Mr. Sivaraman recalled, with nostalgia, the temples and streets of Kumbakonam, the musicians who lived there, and the hotels renowned for their filter java and tiffin. It was from the Kumbeshwarar Temple that his grandma procured his archetypal kanjira, arsenic helium displayed a keen involvement successful percussion instruments from a precise young age. He had a wont of keeping talam connected the medicine boxes that arrived astatine the location of his begetter P. Kasiviswanatha Iyer, a physician, connected Kamatchi Jossier Street.

“My begetter was searching for a teacher to bid me. One day, a diligent visited him, and erstwhile my begetter learnt that helium was Natesa Iyer, helium requested him to thatch me. After performing astatine the temple connected August 16 this year, I visited the location wherever Natesa Iyer erstwhile lived and paid my namaskarams,” said Mr. Sivaraman, who aboriginal trained nether Thanjavur Vaidhyanatha Iyer, Palghat Mani Iyer, and Sakottai Rengu Iyengar.

Describing his instrumentality to the Kalahastheeswarar Temple connected his 90^th day arsenic a “divine calling”, Mr. Sivaraman recounted an antithetic coincidence.

“Mr. Swaminathan, a autochthonal of Kumbakonam, wrote to maine requesting that I execute astatine the temple, but helium did not constitute the close address. However, the postman noticed my sanction with the rubric ‘Padma Shri’ and delivered it to The Music Academy, from wherever it yet reached me. That is wherefore I telephone it a divine calling,” helium said. Mr. Sivaraman recalled that helium had accompanied galore eminent musicians who had moved to Kumbakonam during the evacuations of World War II.

“I besides had the accidental to conscionable and wage my respects to Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer connected Dabir Street. He was a disciple of Umayalpuram Krishna Bhagavatar and Sundara Bhagavatar, who were nonstop disciples of Saint Tyagaraja,” helium said.

Mr. Sivaraman’s joyousness was boundless erstwhile the headmaster of the Kumbakonam Town High School, wherever helium studied, presented him with a laminated transcript of his SSLC certificate connected the time helium performed astatine the Kalahastheeswarar Temple. “I came to Chennai successful 1955 connected the proposal of Palghat Mani Iyer, who felt it would beryllium amended for my vocation arsenic a mridangam player,” helium added.