Young nagaswaram and thavil artistes have turned the spotlight on these instruments

Unlike many great nagaswaram and thavil players of the Isai Vellalar community of the composite Thanjavur district, who dissuaded their children from learning the art, nagaswaram artiste T.C. Karunanidhi was particular that his two sons learn the instrument and carry forward the family tradition. But, he and wife Maheswari made sure it was not at the cost of regular academics.

T.K. Karthikeyan and T.K. Kameswaran, known as the Thirumanur Brothers, are postgraduates in engineering, but have chosen to become full-time nagaswaram artistes.  

The brothers, also adept at playing the flute, are often part of the Bharatanatyam orchestral ensembles.

The Thirumanur Brothers represent a renewed interest and commitment of the community’s younger generation to take forward the art and reinvent its repertoire for contemporary concert settings.  

S. Sanmugasundaram and S. Sethuraman during a concert in Chennai in 2018.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R

Children from the families of nagaswaram and thavil players seem to be enjoying the best of both worlds —academics and art.”  S. Sethuraman, the younger of the Desur Brothers, is also an engineering graduate.

The Next-Gen players

The quality of music of these youngsters is also remarkable. When the Thirumanur Brothers played ‘Rama Ninne’ in Husseini a few years ago to mark the centenary of Karukurichi Arunachalam, they elicited applause from the audience. 

Thavil vidwan Thirurameshwaram T.B. Radhakrishnan with his students at the practice session in Thanjavur.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY M

When Vijay Karthikeyan, a nagaswaram player, teacher and composer, played  Kalyani and Kalyanavasantham ragas at a concert one was reminded of nagaswaram exponent Namagiripettai Krishnan. Thanjavur-based thavil teacher T.B. Radhakrishnan feels that economics too is a major reason for young nagaswaram and thavil artistes to pursue their family traditions. “Even if you play 10 concerts a month, you earn Rs. 50,000. The demand goes up during festival and wedding seasons.”

The community has come a long way from the time when even legendary  nagaswaram and thavil artistes were not confident about their children having a secure future in this field. Hence, nagaswaram vidwans such as Thiruvenkadu Subramania Pillai, Keeranur Brothers, Thiruvidaimarudur Veerusami Pillai and Vedaranyam Vedamurthy, and thavil players Nachiyarkoil Raghava Pillai and Valangaiman Shanmugasundaram Pillai did not encourage their children to follow their footsteps.

Recognition for Nagaswaram artistes

“It was not just about money. These vidwans were not accorded due status in the society. Many of them faded away from the scene without being recognised,” writes musicologist B.M. Sundaram in the preface of his book, Mangala Isai Mannargal.

“With the erosion of royal patronage, the temple losing its centrality in cultural life, the crumbling of the devadasi’s artistic identity, urbanisation and the brahmin’s need for a sanctification of musical practice, the nagaswara and thavil vidwans, who were the greatest practitioners of art music, were left with nowhere to go. They were still playing in the scattered temples of the countryside, but power had moved almost exclusively to Madras, where the Karnatik form was being given a modern hospitality. The power of this new identity was such that it was to become the only identity,” writes vocalist and Sangita Kalanidhi designee T.M. Krishna in his book, A Southern Music: Exploring the Karnatic Story. 

Nagaswaram and thavil players who were attached to temples stayed in their villages even though the remuneration was negligible. Even greats such as T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai continued to live in Thiruvavaduthurai till he fell out with the head of the mutt there. Initially, nagaswaram and thavil artistes were featured prominently during the December Music Season, but they were subsequently reduced to the status of mangala vadhyam during inaugurals and valedictory functions.

In his book, Krishna points out that the paradigm of the kutcheri largely ignores an important art music community: that of the nagswaram players. I adore the music of T.N. Rajaratnam Pillai (1898–1956), the nagaswara giant who transformed both the instrument and its practice. When I think of alapana, the nagaswaram comes to my mind.” 

The nagaswaram and thavil maybe back in the spotlight, but democratisation continues to elude the Carnatic music world.

“Iyermalai Selvam, a nagaswaram player, has great potential. A musician with half his talent would take part in 20 concerts during the festival season. But he did not find such a space,” said Lalitharam, founder of Parivadhini, an organisation committed to promotion of nagaswaram and thavil music.

Though a few organisations such as The Music Academy, Krishna Gana Sabha and Brahma Gana Sabha have launched exclusive festivals for the instruments, these events seek to treat them as a separate genre, instead of offering a space for them in mainstream festivals. This year, the Tamil Isai Sangam has chosen thavil player Vedaranyam Balu for the Isai Perarignar award.

But a welcome move is the Academy featuring a nagaswaram concert in the evening slot in the 2024 December festival. The last time it happened was when the birth centenary of Rajarathinam Pillai was celebrated.