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Tamil Nadu

The tonal variations of nagaswaram

Enjikudi E.M. Subramaniam

Whenever I perform a nagaswaram concert with a violin and mridangam accompaniment, listeners often ask how I “control” an instrument known for its robust sound. These are not really novel attempts as I only follow what some great maestros have done in the past.

The legendary T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai, teamed up with the violin and mridangam and even released a few recordings. There is a classic photograph wherein he sports a blazer and plays the instrument, in the company of a mridangam artist.

Rajarathinam Pillai's contemporary and relative Thirvenkadu Subramania Pillai performed a number of concerts with the violin and mridangam instead of the tavil. Interestingly, Karukurichi Arunachalam has played along with singer S. Janaki in the film Konjum Salangai.

Playing with other instruments in my opinion, elevates the mellifluousness of a nagaswaram concert and in no way limits the scope of the instrument.

It is possible to produce milder tones in the nagaswaram. While playing ragas such as Huseni, Neelambari or thukkadas such as the magudi, nagasaram players use a method called “ onti minukki” (embellishing a particular note while bringing down the volume by almost a third). Karukurichi Arunachalam and Vedaranyam Vedamurthy were adept at this style.

Today, nagaswaram artists use the pari type of instrument . With its shruti ranging between two or two and half, the pari is perfectly suited for chamber concerts. Its predecessor, the thimiri was shorter in length and had a sharp, high pitch sound with a shruti of three and above. It was necessary at the time, as it could be heard from miles away when megaphones had not entered the concert arena.

It was similar to the lead actors singing in high pitch in dramas trying to reach out to members of the audiencein the last row. But, the thimiri also took a toll on the health of the nagaswaram artists since it demanded enormous lung power. My father used to say that 50 per cent of the revenue from a concert would go towards buying mutton and chicken, milk, butter and ghee to keep the musician fit for the following concert. Yet many of them suffered from hernia.

It was Rajarathinam Pillai who brought about a change. He felt that the shuddha madhyamam could not be produced clearly in the thimiri. He designed the present day pari type by making modifications to the thimiri. He spent many days with Ranganathan Achari of Narasingampettai and together they created the pari. Today we have both pari or nadu pari .

I would also like to point out the presence of another type, the Tiruvarur pari, played exclusively in Tiruvarur Tyagaraja Swamy temple. Its lower portion ( anusu) is made of brass. In the novel ‘ Tillana Mohanambal', the heroine would challenge Sikkil Shanmugasundaram to learn the Tiruvarur pari and enter the fray. Depending on the type of nagaswaram, the seevali (reed) would also be changed to suit the particular shruti.

Nagaswaram is made from the wood of acha maram. It should be atleast 60 years old. In the present day, the nagaswaram makers use the wood from old pillars from Chettinadu.

The wood needs to be completely dry so that it does not absorb any form of moisture, especially saliva. If the wood absorbs the moisture, the sound would change, but we apply ground nut oil on the instrument to prevent it from breaking.

A word about Vedaranayam Vedamurthy, whose nagaswaram sounded like the veena. Though an outstanding musician, some felt that the sound he produced on the nagaswaram was not pleasing to the ears. After several efforts, he fitted a pipe inside the wooden instrument. It created magic.

(Enjikudi E.M.Subramaniam is a noted nagaswaram vidwan. His website is: www.injikudiems.com)

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