Daunting task for nimble fingers
NAVEEN NAMBOODIRI
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Meet V.K. Narayanan who makes the chenda that drums up excitement at temple festivals.
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SOUND BUSINESS: V.K. Narayanan belongs to the third generation of chenda makers at Vellarkadu, a small hamlet near Kunnamkulam.
Far removed the carnival grounds and maddening crowds, nimble fingers slog away tirelessly inside a mud hut. Outside, sheets of cow hide are nailed on the ground. The place is filthy, the air repulsive.
But that shouldn't bother the Perumkollan. Four months from now, his creations would become prized possessions of veteran chenda artistes. And soon, make riveting music at prestigious festivals.
Maker of the chenda
Meet V.K. Narayanan, Kerala's most sought-after maker of the chenda. Mattannur Shankaran Kutty swears by his skills. So does a host of eminent chenda players such as Kalamandalam Nambeeshan, Chandran Marar, Aaliparambu Shivarama Potuval, and Kallaikulangara Achyutan Kutti.
"I regularly buy chendas from him on account of the quality of the instruments. Moreover, there are very quick in meeting orders," says Mattannur Shankaran Kutty.
Narayanan belongs to the third generation of chenda makers at Vellarkadu, a small hamlet near Kunnamkulam. His father, Krishnan Kutty, not only made the instrument, but also played it to perfection. Krishnan's clientele included greats like Trithala Keshava Potuval. Today, all of his seven sons and their kin, living at Vellarkadu and Velapaya, near Avanoor, are into this business.
Peak season is in October
Come October, and Narayanan's hands are full. Once the orders are taken, he and his two sons go to the nearby market to buy the skin. The edanthala (left face) of the chenda is made of cow hide while the valanthala (right face) is carved out of bull skin. The skin is pegged down to the ground and stretched out to dry in the sunlight for three days. It is then cut according to the requirements, scrubbed thoroughly, and hung on the wall for a month.
The dry hide is fastened on hollow wooden rings - cut out from the trunk of a palm tree - using a special gum. The gum is prepared by crushing seeds of the pananji plant. The skin is then secured to the cylindrical frame (kutti) and tuned by pulling ropes through holes pierced on both the faces, thus stretching the heads. The edanthala has two layers of skin and is smooth while the valanthala is sturdier with seven layers and lasts longer.
Jack wood is ideal for the kutti, which is about two feet long. The wood, cut out from a tree preferably facing north, should, ideally, never be exposed to sunlight. Earlier, chenda frames were made by carpenters; now lathe machines are used for the purpose. It may take almost three months to make a chenda.
"When we buy skin we ensure that it is not salted and doesn't bear any knife marks, lest it should break. We make chendas of different dimensions for Thayambaka, Pandi, Panjari and Keli. Usually, a `chenda vattam' is 13-14 inches in diameter. We also make thimila and edaka," he says. Among those who buy the thimila from Narayanan are artistes Kongadu Vijayan, Madhu, Poruru Unnikrishnan, Kongadu Mohanan and Parakkad Tangappan. The artisans do brisk business till the onset of monsoon, churning out nearly 600 chenda vattams in a year. "It's a dirty job, painstaking too. But I am happy to keep alive a century-old tradition," he says.
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