Perhaps in this present world mobile phones, apart from helping us communicate, serve as alarm clocks too. But the temple city has long had an alarm system that not only wakes people but also announces that the Meenakshi Amman Temple is open.
At the city's nerve centre, the world-famous Meenakshi Amman Temple, life is in full swing. Tourists, residents and vendors jostle for space near the temple and the shops at the Pudumandap. At Amman Sannithi, the sun has spread its golden charm on all things. Suddenly, around 4.30 p.m., sweet music breaks out, drowning out the activities and noises of scores of people on the streets.
The rhythmic drumbeats in tandem with the nadaswaram announce that the divinity in the temple is ready to grace one and all.
Source of the music
For novices it takes some effort to trace the source of the music, but it can be found up a narrow staircase leading to a small mandap. The Nagara Mandap houses a huge nagara or drum, a thimiri nadaswaram and thaalam. Many parts of this mandap are now hidden by shops and signs, but the top portion, housing the instruments, has retained its tradition and structure.
For ages it has served as an announcement and alarm system to the people of Madurai.
“The mandap, also known as Acharaya Mandap, stands facing the Ashtasakti Mandap of the Meenakshi Amman Temple,” says V. Vedachalam, senior epigraphist. “It is named after Kamattam Acharayan, a minister of Rani Mangammal, who is believed to have built it.”
“Statues of Rani Mangammal and Muthu Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayak adorn the walls of the mandap,” he adds. “The statues resemble the statues found at Horse Mandap in Tiruparankundram Temple”.
The Nagara mandap also contains a statue of Kamattam Acharayan on the northern side.
“Nagara mandap was built to sound the nagara, announcing to people that the temple has been opened,” says Vedachalam. “Besides, it was also used to announce important events and festivals to the devotees.” He adds that the mandap construction is mentioned in the book “Madurai Kovil Thirupani Malai”. It has also been used to store temple vahanas.
Musicologist N. Mammathu says that the nagara, also known as the ‘murasu', is the South Indian drum used to announce important news. It is placed on a pedestal and often immovable.
Mr. Mammathu adds that the thimiri nadaswaram is the shortest nadaswaram and gives out high-pitched notes. The big and round thaalam instrument is known as ‘ialai thaalam.'
Playing on
“This has been a tradition since the regime of Rani Mangammal,” says B. Basakaran, who has played the thimiri nadaswaram for the past 25 years. As a boy he accompanied his father, a musician at the mandap. “As a tradition, our family members of Naidu community have been playing the music instruments for centuries together,” says B. Selvaraj. Selvaraj, who is in his early 40s, also accompanied his father, who played the nagara. A. Srinivasan, who plays the thaalam, tells the same story.
They play together every morning and evening between 4.30 and 5.00, and they elaborate various ragas. They prefer Bhoopalam and Mayamalavagowla in the mornings and Kalyani and Hamshadwani in the evenings.
As high concrete structures began to interfere with the sounds, the temple authorities in 2004 installed amplifiers and microphones so that the music could be heard in nearby streets. The nagara itself, witness of a great legacy, remains in poor condition, held together with cellotape and its centre worn out. The torch-bearers of the tradition are in similar condition.
Mr. Selvaraj and Mr. Srinivasan are daily wagers earning Rs.100 for playing the instruments and working in the temple. Even after eight and nine years of service respectively, they could not get permanent posts that would fetch them a decent monthly salary.
Unlike Mr. Baskaran, who was privileged to enter temple services with his diploma certificate in nadaswarm, these two learned from their fathers. There is no music school to teach them to play the nagara or to give them diplomas.
None of the children from the three families are ready to take up the legacy and confine themselves within the walls of the Nagara Mandap. Instead, they are venturing out to better prospects.
Once these three musicians move on , will their centuries -old tradition survive? And whose responsibility is it to continue the divine music?
