Thavil as an extension of the body
LALITHAA KRISHNAN
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The applications are of immense value, especially in treating stroke victims whose motor functions are affected by brain lesions.
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“Based on my findings, I have formulated individualised therapy which has revealed marked improvement.”
Photo: R. Shivaji Rao
Rare feat: Subbulakshmy and Venugopal Pillai
Recently, a distinguished gathering at the Department of Indian Music, University of Madras, was treated to an unusual illustration of the focal points of a thesis entitled ‘The Cognitive and Behavioural Aspects of Indian Classical music.’
; The demonstration featured 64-year-old research consultant, Subbulakshmy, playing the thavil in the presence of her venerable guru, Mayavaram Venugopala Pillai, with an enthusiasm and commitment belying her age.
Original piece of research
Rated as ‘an outstanding and original piece of research’ by Karaikkudi S. Subramaniam, founder-director of Brhaddhvani, the project has also drawn encomiums from other examiners including Dr. Sharadha Menon, eminent psychologist.Subbulakshmy expresses her deep gratitude to her thesis guide, Karaikkudi Subramaniam, her supervisor, the late Dr. Namasivayam, Director, A.L.Mudaliar Postgraduate Institute for Basic Medical Sciences, and her guru, the 87-year-old Venugopal Pillai. ‘Vadhyar was wonderfully encouraging, despite thavil playing being an exclusively male preserve.’
“Initially I wondered whether her age would allow for the strenuous discipline. But her passion for learning and painstaking research lasting six years overcame obstacles,” says the vidwan who hails from a great melam lineage and whose father was the renowned maestro Ammachatram Kannuswami Pillai.What is the thesis about? “Cognitive and behavioural neurology and related studies have made rapid strides in the West. In India, this field is slowly gaining prominence as the applications are of immense value, especially in treating stroke victims whose motor functions are affected by brain lesions. I have undertaken these studies with special reference to thavil as a learned motor skill process, highlighting the melam tradition in the Isai Vellalar lineage,” says Subbulakshmy. The studies proceeded on two levels. The first involved her attempt to correlate the areas of the brain involved in this learning process, based on modern neuroscientific literature. “Procedural learning memory in musical activity is guided by the prefrontal cortex of the brain. In using the musical instrument as an extension of the body, by the repetition of sollus in three speeds and through long hours of practice, I have observed greater fluency in verbal expression, cogency in association of ideas and enhanced memory on a personal basis.”
The second level involved functional MRI studies on ten highly skilled thavil artistes which revealed greater right temporal lobe development in musicians, this being the centre of melodic processing. “This has also helped in my study of handedness in the spectrum of right to left handed playing and ambidexterity, the latter revealing patterns of inter-hemispheric transfer of information and coordination. In the past few years, there has been a notable increase in the number of left-handed thavil drummers, a likely result of tandem playing i.e. two thavil accompanists on stage.” All these observations have contributed to the neuro-rehabilitation of percussionists. “Their problems could be caused by post-stroke neuro deficit or sensory-motor overcrowding which could manifest as task-specific dystonia. Based on my findings, I have formulated individualised therapy which has revealed marked improvement.”
It could also help in treating forms of autism. The study’s four-pronged approach also stresses the importance of preserving the melam tradition in its ancient form, the ethnomusicological historiography touching upon the Sangam period, on to the Tamil Isai movement and the present scenario. Scholar-musician Subbulakshmy’s lecture on ‘Brain function and South Indian Classical Music’ will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, at Brhaddhvani . Contact 98405-71731 for details.
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