Long neglected, the lone museum for instrumental music equipment in Kerala is finally being resurrected by the State Archaeological Department. Visualised as a memorial for Mridangam maestro Palakkad Mani Iyer some years ago, the museum at Chathapuram, near Kalpathy, here has been in disrepair, with the 2,000-odd traditional instruments gathering dust.
The Archaeological Department, which took over its control from the Kerala State Folklore Academy, is now refurbishing the structure in such a way as to attract music lovers from across the State and outside. According to Archaeology Director J. Reji Kumar, the museum will be opened for the public in a couple of months.
A wide range
Apart from being the lone memorial for Mani Iyer, who was born in the adjacent Kalpathy agraharam and took Mridangam to unprecedented heights, what makes the museum stand apart is its unique collection of instruments. The museum paid ₹30 lakh to Thiruvananthapuram-based curio collector Joseph V. Fernandez to procure a rare collection of old instruments from England, Australia, China, Sri Lanka and some parts of the African continent. Most of them are more than 150 years old.
The amount for buying the instruments was sanctioned in the State Budget of 2011. The instruments have remained unattended so far.
Mr. Reji Kumar said the instruments would be displayed in such a way as to ensure their proper care. The building, constructed in 2009, is now being modified, with more amenities, to make it a fitting memorial to Mani Iyer.
The proposal for constructing a befitting memorial for him has been in the pipeline for the last three decades – soon after the demise of Mani Iyer in 1981. However, bureaucratic hurdles delayed its complete realisation.
