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This village breathes music
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In this village of musicians, at least one member in every family plays the nadaswaram or thavil
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EVEN AT the age of two-and-a-half, Sathyagiri shows interest in playing the thavil. He walks around the verandah of his house and tries his hand at the instrument before being taken away and rocked to sleep.
Sathyagiri represents the fifth generation of nadaswaram and thavil artistes in Chinnavedampatti village. Located on the outskirts of Coimbatore city, this village with 500 families is known for its nadaswaram and thavil vidwans. Believe it or not, at least one member in each family is either a thavil or nadaswaram performer!
Says S. Padmanabhan (25), a thavil artiste: "It is an art handed down over generations." Proof is the seven thavils kept at his home. One notes with wonder the chaste Telugu in which these villagers converse. "We're Naickers who settled here long back. Telugu is our thaimozhi (mother tongue)," he explains.
Chinnavedampatti artistes are much sought after for performing in temple functions, marriages and kutcheris in the State and in neighbouring Kerala. For playing at local functions, a group (comprising two thavil and two nadaswaram artistes, one artiste for shruthi and another for thalam) gets up to Rs. 3,000. Long-distance performances fetch Rs. 5,000. Anbarasu, who has been playing nadaswaram for 15 years, says the going has been good with steady bookings from Kerala and around the State.
Not all agree, though. "Times have changed. The number of programmes has come down. Many temples have opted for recorded music," artiste P. Selvaraj, says. "In another three years, things will be worse," he points out.
Rangaraj, with 25 years of experience playing the nadaswaram, is now a disappointed man, and wants his son to take up "some other job". "My monthly income has come down to Rs. 1,500," he rues.
That quite explains why youngsters like Pannerselvam, who is learning nadaswaram in Karur, intend to perform only part-time. "My aim is to work as a mechanic and perform when time permits," he says.
All limitations notwithstanding, artistes in Chinnavedampatti seem to be better off than their counterparts elsewhere; they own houses, have regular water supply and good roads.
This is not the case with the 50-odd artiste-families in Maniyakarampalayam, a neighbouring village. Debts and poverty is the common link between all families here.
"Playing the nadaswaram and thavil full-time will not feed you," says V.K. Mandrachalam, a nadaswaram artiste. A graduate in Political Science, he is also an astrologer. "Leave alone income, artistes are not even respected now. Most bus conductors and drivers won't allow thavil artistes to board the bus, because the instrument takes up space," he remarks.
They are also unhappy with the way organisers of functions shamelessly bargain. Ten youngsters from this village have completed their studies at the College for Music in Palani. But, they get few chances to perform.
Their mothers work in construction sites to feed them. The instruments, which are bought from Chidambaram and Panruti, also don't come cheap. Assembling a thavil costs anywhere between Rs. 5,000 and 10,000 while a nadaswaram costs Rs. 2,000. Artistes in Maniyakarampalayam mostly take instruments on lease for functions.
V. SANDHYA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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