The percussion whiz called Nachiarkovil Raghava Pillai

Thavil vidwan Nachiarkovil Raghava Pillai
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

When he heard his student Nachiarkovil Raghava Pillai play korvais, Thavil vidwan Needamangalam Meenakshisundaram Pillai had a sense of deja vu — they were pieces he had heard from the stalwarts of his time.

Raghava’s father Pakkiriya Pillai was a well- known nattuvanar. Raghava trained for two years under Thiruvalaputhur Pasupathiya Pillai, and for 11 years under the Needamangalam wizard. He also became his son-in-law.

Raghava soon became a ‘special’ thavil player, who was brought in, apart from the thavil vidwans who were part of a set.

The four important sollus in percussion are tha dhi thom nam. “While my guru was outstanding in his rendition of all the sollus, his rendition of ‘tha’ was unique,” says Thanjavur Govindaraja Pillai, who did gurukulavasam under Raghava Pillai. “Perumpallam Venkatesan, another sishya, used to say his guru’s speciality was the uniformity in his expression of tha, which throbbed with life, regardless of the sollukattu he played and no matter what the kala pramanam was.” Praising his dexterity in handling the thavil, the magazine Sudesamitran said that he should be renamed Laaghava Pillai (Laaghava – ease or skill in Sanskrit).

“These days we have thavils with metal rings instead of bamboo rings, and steel in place of leather straps. After three or four concerts, the leather straps would loosen up and had to be tightened, and this was a laborious process, requiring expertise. Raghava Pillai’s go-to man for adjusting the straps was Nachiarkovil Rajagopala Pillai,” says Govindaraja Pillai.

Raghava Pillai’s house
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Govindaraja Pillai says his guru was magnanimous towards his disciples. During the janavasam in the family of an industrialist, Karukurichi Arunachalam suggested that Govindaraja Pillai accompany him for some time, and his guru gladly made way for his pupil. He encouraged his students, but was not lavish with his praise, for he did not want them to become complacent.

“My father always upheld the dignity of thavil vidwans,” says Raghav Pillai’s son Vasudevan. Actor S.S. Rajendran wanted Raghava Pillai to play at his house-warming ceremony, and sent him an advance of Rs 1,000. This was a few months before Raghava Pillai death, when his medical expenses were mounting. But, while the invitation mentioned nagaswaram maestro Karukuruchi Arunachalam, the names of the thavil players had been inadvertently left out. Raghava Pillai returned the cheque, and refused to play.

After a concert during a temple festival in Thiruveezhimizhalai, the pontiff of Dharmapuram Adheenam honoured the Thiruveezhimizhalai brothers Subramania Pillai and Nataraja Sundaram Pillai and Needamangalam Meenakshisundaram Pillai with shawls. Unfortunately, the official had forgotten to arrange a similar honour for Raghava Pillai. However, NRP continued to play, despite the Thiruveezhimizhalai brothers telling him to step down, for the mangalam had been played. When the pontiff was apprised of the omission, he honoured Raghava Pillai too, and only then did the latter stop playing.

Many Sri Lankan thavil players trained under the giants of Chola Nadu. In Sri Lanka, during temple performances, Indian and Lankan thavil vidwans vied with each other in displaying their percussive skills, with the whole thing acquiring the contours of a contest. These friendly contests drew crowds like a modern-day India vs Sri Lanka cricket match. Invariably, the knowledgeable audience was bowled over by Raghava Pillai’s performance and they would shout jubilantly, “India has won!”

Raghava Pillai with Karukurichi Arunachalam
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan once arranged a Karukurichi concert with five thavil vidwans including Raghava Pillai, for a family function. Vasudevan recalls that the audience clamoured for a thani avarthanam even before Karukurichi could play. Karukurichi told the thavil vidwans to go ahead. Raghava Pillai began the thani, which went on for two hours, after which he asked Karukurichi to begin. But once again the audience wanted a thani. So the thani continued for another hour, before Karukurichi finally took over. An enthralled Sivaji showered Raghava Pillai with a basketful of currency notes.

Raghava Pillai’s first outing had been in the Nachiarkovil temple, where he had played for the Thiruveezhimizhalai brothers. His last concert was during the Nachiarkovil Kal Garudan festival, for the junior Thiruveezhimizhalai brothers — Govindaraja Pillai and Dakshinamurthy Pillai.

Although Raghava Pillai played for all the top nagaswaram artistes, he had a special bond with Karukurichi Arunachalam, who died on April 6, 1964. Raghava Pillai followed him four days later! Ananda Vikatan’s obituary for the two vidwans was about an imaginary concert in devaloka.