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SOUND PLAY

Maddalam: Indispensable in Kathakali.

In a Kathakali orchestra, the musicians traditionally stand behind the dancers. Thus the maddalam player, like his chenda counterpart, stands with the instrument roped around the waist with thick cloth. This leaves both hands free to play, but taking the weight of the instrument, which varies between 10 and 20 kg, even while keeping rhythm throughout the performance, requires stamina. Today lighter instruments are being made, by reducing the size of the maddalam and the thickness of wood. Size , though, does affect the volume.

The maddalam is made of the hollowed-out wood of the jackfruit or chembaka tree. Its two ends are covered with leather, and includes buffalo hide. The player applies a layer of rice paste on the fingers of the right hand.

The primacy of the maddalam in a Kathakali performance can be gauged from it being the first to be sounded before the performance. ‘Maddala keli’ is a term used for the ritual of ‘announcement’ made with to the public that a Kathakali performance will take place later on. The first stroke is on the maddalam, the left side of which produces the Omkara dhwani. It is because that toppi maddalam allows a more prolonged sound of Omkara as compared to the shuddha maddalam that it is preferred in Kathakali and other theatre forms.

Later, when the musicians enter the stage, before the play begins, the maddalam is again the first to be played in the segment known as the ‘Arangathu keli.’ During a Kathakali performance, the custom for accompaniment of various characters dictates that the maddalam accompanies female characters, whereas male characters are accompanied by chenda as well as maddalam percussion. Apart from dance and theatre forms, the maddalam is used in performances of ritual music such as panchavadyam. Here, the main instrument is the edakka. Other constituents of the panchavadyam are the maddalam, the ilatalam, the kombu and the timila.

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