Beats of a great tradition
G.S. PAUL
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Korambu Subramanian Namboodiri is the architect of the the popular mridanga mela, which is held in connection with the Chembai Music Festival at Guruvayur.
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THE MASTER AND HIS DISCIPLES: Korambu Subramanian Namboodiri.
Innumerable musicians perform at the annual Chembai Music Festival held in connection with the Ekadeshi celebrations of the Sree Krishna Temple, Guruvayur. But rasikas thronging the Melpathur Auditorium on the temple premises eagerly look forward to a rare musical event, `mridanga mela.' The mela, which was staged recently in connection with the ongoing Chembai festival, completed 25 years this year. Eighty young percussion artistes participated in the mela.
The architect of this rare ensemble is 74-year-old Korambu Subramanian Namboodiri, a disciple of the maestro Pazhani Subramanian Pillai. On the eve of the show at Guruvayur, Namboodiri spoke about the circumstances that made him a percussionist five decades ago.
Zealous student
Poverty forced him to work in the kitchen of a royal family at Thripunithura at a very early age. A member of the family used to play the mridangam and the young boy was surprised to see how a single finger could evoke such a resonant sound. Fired by the zeal to own and learn the instrument he sold his only asset, a gold chain. He worked hard under Kochunni Thirumulpad and soon connoisseurs at Thripunithura identified him as a promising student. Opportunities to accompany dancers and bhajan singers were aplenty. It was his rasikas themselves who took him to meet Pazhani Subramanian Pillai who had come to Thripunithura for a performance of violin maestro T.N. Krishnan.
"My joy knew no bounds when he asked me to come to Madras [Chennai] at the earliest," Namboodiri reminisced.
Students performing at the mridanga mela.
Working in a hotel to earn his subsistence, the young boy dedicated himself to the service of his guru.
"I was mainly taught the `paadhoms,' (basic lessons) which I mastered painstakingly,' he said.
They were special lessons, ingeniously prepared by Muthayya Pillai, Dakshinamurthy Pillai and Mamundya Pillai for tutoring Subramanian Pillai, he pointed out. Namboodiri also had the rare privilege of accompanying his guru to concerts of all the stalwarts of the day. Strangely enough, he was picked up to play the tambura on such occasions.
"Is it not a great privilege for a person like me to share the stage with celebrities like Ariyakudi Ramanujam Iyengar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, T.R. Mahalingam and so on?" he asked.
Namboodiri's association with Trichy Sankaran dates back to his days in Chennai. Sankaran was senior to him at Pazhani's place. After his guru's death, Namboodiri learnt under Sankaran.
Idea of an ensemble
Back at Irinjalakuda, his native place, Namboodiri started training young boys and girls. It was a parent who suggested the idea of presenting the students in an ensemble.
First staged before Jayaendra Saraswathy of Kanchi Kamakodi Peedhom during one of his visits to Kerala, the mela soon hit the limelight.
In addition to many of the temples and major festivals in Kerala, the programme was presented at Navachetana, Bhopal, Tamil Sangham, Delhi, World Peace Meet, Bangalore, and Bharath Kalachar, Chennai.
A symbol of humility and simplicity, Subramanian Namboodiri's disciples are a legion.
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