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The nagaswaram and tavil, popularly known as the ‘mangala vadyam’, enjoy the pride of place in Tamil Nadu. These ‘auspicious instruments’, which have been integral to temples and weddings over centuries, have further journeyed over the years to the sabha circuit. There have been several nagaswaram and tavil maestros whose names are synonymous with the villages they hail from. Tiruvavaduthurai Rajaratnam Pillai, Tirumarugal Natesa Pillai, Tiruvengadu Subramania Pillai, Karukurichi Arunachalam, the Semponnarkoil Brothers and Namagiripettai Krishnan are among the many nagaswara vidwans who have brought fame to the place and the instrument. Recently, a village near Kumbakonam has shot to fame not because of the artists who play the instrument, but because of the artisans who make the nagaswaram. Narasinghapettai – a village in Tanjavur district in Tamil Nadu – is home to several families of traditional artisans who specialise in fashioning the nagaswaram out of the specific sturdy ‘acha maram’ or wood most suited to produce the sonorous sounds of the blowing instrument. It takes about three days for three artisans to painstakingly make one nagaswaram; each family in the village is said to produce about 40 pieces in a year.
It is a matter of pride for Indian art and culture as well as for Tamil Nadu and Carnatic music that, after the Tanjavur veena (in 1914), the ‘Narasinghapettai nagaswaram’ has been recently granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag under ‘musical instrument of class 15’; possibly under the woodwind category. According to the GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, goods having specific geographical origin and possessing “distinct qualities, reputation or characteristics essentially attributable to that place of origin” are given the GI tag. It is commendable that the Geographical Indication Registry of the Government of India issued the registration certificate number 420 in January 2022, based on the application on 31 January 2014, on behalf of the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers Cooperative Cottage Industrial Society under the guidance of P. Sanjai Gandhi, the Nodal Officer for GI registration of products of the Tamil Nadu government. The GI has now turned the spotlight on the makers of the Narasinghapettai nagaswaram which has been used extensively by famous nagaswaram artists over the decades. This will hopefully extend legal protection and financial assistance to the artisans and check unauthorised use of the brand name by others. It is indeed good news for those working quietly behind the scenes.
In the classical arena, there are many singing duos and dancing duos, but singing-dancing duos are very few. The brilliant duo -- Odissi musician Raghunath Panigrahi and his wife Odissi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi immediately comes to mind. So do the names of the internationally acclaimed duo of Bharatanatyam exponent Chitra Visweswaran and her musician husband R. Visweswaran. The spotlight in the April issue of Sruti, is on a talented couple of the next generation – Bharatanatyam exponent and teacher Indira Kadambi and Carnatic musician and teacher T.V. Ramprasadh. Indira is a vivacious dancer, brilliant choreographer, and a traditionalist who has the spunk to take up challenging themes in the vocabulary of Bharatanatyam. Ramprasadh’s music is mellow, sonorous and laced with emotion as he sings for dance. Both revel in exploring their respective mediums, have carved a name for themselves as individual artists, and have also wowed audiences wherever they perform together. Read the interesting story of this family of artists.
There is also a story about another duo from Kerala – that of a guru and a disciple who often sang together – Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma and P.R. Kumarakerala Varma.
Veteran Bharatanatyam exponent and guru Lalitha Srinivasan offers insights into the tradition of javalis in Karnataka. In this issue we have several reviews about the performances of young musicians and dancers – in the concluding segment of the music season as well as in the News & Notes section. Happy reading!
S. JANAKI