A teacher can make a world of difference in a student’s life, right from his regular classes to encouraging him to innovate and engage in the lifelong love of learning. This is what guru Thanjavur V.S. Vaidyanatha Iyer did to his student, mridangam maestro T.K. Murthy, who lived with his guru from a very young age and learnt the nuances of playing the mridangam. T.K. Murthy, now 97, still continues to practise and play mridangam for hours, besides performing in concerts and training students, of different age groups, across the globe.
Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer (1897-1947), though carried the name of a more popular town, was born in Vaiyacheri village located about 10 km northeast of Thanjavur, which is also the birthplace of eminent composers Aanai-Ayya, and the Sivan brothers — Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan, the creator of the 72 mela ragamalika, and Ramaswamy Sivan, a scholar, composer and musician.
A view of the Agastheeswara-Mangalambikai temple, Vaiyacheri village, Thanjavur. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Sivan brothers were Vaidyanatha Iyer’s maternal uncles. Aanai-Ayya composed the kriti ‘Paruvam paarka nyayama’ in raga Dhanyasi, in praise of Mangalambika, the presiding deity of the Agastheeswara-Mangalambikai temple. The village also houses a temple dedicated to Sri Lakshmi Naryana Perumal.
At a time when many artistes, with the same name, dominated the music scene, Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer was referred to as ‘Mridanga Vaitha’, for his proficiency in playing the mridangam. The founder of Thanjavur school of mridangam, Vaidyanatha Iyer initially trained under Thanjavur Doss Swamigal, and later came under the tutelage of Kannuswami Nattuvanar, father of Thanjavur K. Ponnaiah Pillai of the Thanjavur Quartet.
“While Kannuswami’s other student, Azhaganambiya Pillai, a stalwart of Thanjavur School of mridangam, played for dance performances, Vaidyanatha Iyer began his career by performing for Harikatha”, says T.K.V. Subramanian, former Head of the Department of History and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi, who is now working on the biography of T.K. Murthy.
“Vaidyanatha Iyer accompanied exponents such as Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, and Tiruppazhanam Panchapakesa Sastrigal. His quest to learn more about the concert craft took him to Kodaganallur Subbiah Bhagavatar”, says the professor.
The disciples
As a teacher Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, had the natural ability to identify his pupil’s strengths and trained them for concerts. Palghat Mani Iyer, a senior contemporary of T.K. Murthy, Thanjavur R. Ramamurthy, and much later Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, were all trained by him.
Vaidyantha Iyer used to address T.K. Murthy, as ‘sittu’ or ‘chittu’ (meaning sparrow), for his nimble playing, , and quick-learning skills. Before training under Vaidyanatha Iyer in 1932, Murthy was under the tutelage of his father Thanu Iyer, also known as Appu Bhagavatar, who was a violinist in Trivandrum. When Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer happened to watch Murthy perform at a Ramanavami utsavam, he was impressed and decided to train him. He took Murthy to Thanjavur, where Palghat Mani Iyer was also undergoing training.
Mridangam vidwan T.K. Murthy. | Photo Credit: K. Pichumani
Maiden concert
Murthy’s maiden performance was at the age of nine at the concert of Musiri Subramania Iyer with Karur Chinnaswamy Iyer on the violin, in Coimbatore. Thus began Murthy’s nine-decade long career in mridangam, in which he has accompanied many stalwarts including Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Madurai Mani Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Mysore B.S. Raja Iyengar, D.K. Pattammal, M.L. Vasanthakumari, T. Brinda and Mukta. Murthy's long concert association with M.S. Subbulakshmi is well-known, including the concert at the UN General Assembly in 1966, where he played the mridangam along with T.H. Vinayakram on the ghatam and V.V. Subramaniam on the violin.
T.K. Murthy along with other artistes at M.S. Subbulakshmi’s concert at the UN General Assembly in 1966. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Vaidyanatha Iyer taught the patterns and variations of 35 talas and also let Murthy handle on-the-spot challenges in concerts. When Murthy had a year-long stint at the All India Radio in 1945, he presented 10 of the 108 talas as Laya Vinyasam. “Vaidyanatha Iyer might have listened to this set and added inputs, but it was Murthy who created the patterns for the 108 talas”, observes Prof. Subramanian. Similarly, Murthy has also composed and played mohras and korvais for 35 talas, and 72 melakarta talas. His subtle tonal variations enhances the rhythmic effect of the instrument while playing.
“My thatha, Palghat Mani Iyer, used to say that I should listen to Murthy sir If I want to listen to guru Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer’s style of mridangam playing. ,” recalls vocalist Palghat R. Ramprasad. “Being a senior under the same guru, Mani Iyer too had taught young ‘chittu’ the nuances of playing in concerts,” he adds.
Murthy’s son T.K. Jayaraman, a music composer and director, speaks about his father’s guru bhakti, and how he wanted to give an exclusive performance dedicated to his guru, and his birthplace, Vaiyacheri. “My father was treated more like a son by his guru, and so he still offers the ceremonial oblations and rites to his guru as a son”, he says.
Tribute to the guru
Carrying on the legacy of Thanjavur school of percussion for the past 89 years, Murthy has trained innumerable disciples, who in turn have taken the rich musical tradition to the next generation by training many young aspirants. As a mark of tribute to guru Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, T.K. Murthy’s School of Music and Trust, and Sri Guhadasa Trust, named after the signature of Sivan brothers, hailing from Vaiyacheri, will present ‘Laya Vruksha Vedika: generations and beyond’, a tribute by the students of Vaidyanatha Iyer and T.K. Murthy, , on March 31, 4 p.m.., at Vaiyacheri Village, Thanjavur. It features performances, demonstrations (of the Thanjavur style of percussion), and a special ‘Laya Vinyasam’ on Sekhara Jhampa, the 81st tala of the 108 talas, by T.K. Murthy and his students — Kodunthirapalli Parameswaran , B. Sivaraman ), Harinarayanan , Ashwini, Narasimhan, Kowshik and Vignesh (mridangam), T. Satyamoorthy (mridangam and morsing), Guru Prasad (ghatam) and Anirudh Athreya (kanjira), along with T.K. Jayaraman (vocal) and T. Chandramouli (violin). Thavil maestro Haridhwaramangalam A.K. Palanivel will be the guest of honour.
The writer specialises in Carnatic music.
