Symbolic representation
Percussion ensembles are part of temple worship in Kerala. Panchavadyam, as the name implies, consists of five instruments. The thimila, idakka and maddalam are percussion instruments; the ilathalam is a pair of big cymbals, and the kombu is a wind instrument. Ilathalam and kombu also find a place in panchari melam.
“But in Panchari melam, the chenda and kurunkuzhal are the main instruments, whereas in the Panchvadyam, it is the thimila artist who leads the rest,” says Chottanikkara Subhash Narayana Marar, who, along with a group of players, was in Chennai to present a performance.
What does he mean by ‘an artist who leads the rest'? “The panchavadyam is the only unrehearsed symphony in the world. Those who played at this concert are from different parts of Kerala, and we haven't rehearsed together. How then did we play in unison? That's where the role played by the lead thimila artist assumes importance. He is the one who gives signals to the rest of the troupe about successive stages.”
Prominent role
Subhash Marar's father Padmanabha Marar was the lead thimila player in the Thrissur Pooram festival for 14 years. Subhash Marar has participated in the Thrissur festival for the past 23 years as an idakka player, and has been the leader for the past three years.
Subhash Marar can play the idakka, thimila and chenda. So why did he choose to be an idakka player in Thrissur? “A panchavadyam troupe will have at the most two idakka players. So it's easier to get a prominent role if you are an idakka player.”
The number of the other instruments (other than the idakka) is usually decided on the basis of a formula 2n+1, where ‘n' is the number of maddalam players. Except for Thrissur, at all other places, Subhash Marar is the lead thimila player.
The panchavadhyam in its present format was arrived at in the 1930s by Thiruvilvamala Venkateswara Iyer, a master maddalam player, and thimila masters Annamanada Achyutha Marar, Peethambara Marar, Parameswara Marar and Chengamanad Sekara Kurup.
Keeping beats
In a concert, as the tempo increases, there is a proportional decrease in the number of beats in each cycle. The base is usually 896 aksharas, and the next segment will have half that many aksharas, that is 448, and so on. The aksharas keep getting halved.
In temples, panchavadyam players perform for eight hours at a stretch, in which case they can include all the stages of the cycle. When there is a time constraint, instead of starting with the 1st pathikaalam, they can start with the 2nd kaalam or 3rd kaalam. An artist like Subhash Marar is the one who decides this. A thripudavattom, similar to the thani avartanam, follows. The last stage in which all the instruments are played, ends with eka talam. After this, only the ilathalam and the thimila are played.
When did Subhash Marar start learning? “My family have been thimila players for a long time. So I was quite familiar with the instrument. I started training when I was eight, and had my arangetram when I was nine and a half.” Kuzhoor Narayana Marar is his mother's uncle, and at the age of 86, is still a lead thimila player.
Subhash Marar also learnt sopana sangeetham from Vaikkom Raghava Kurup. “In earlier times, the raga sung by the sopanam artist would be produced on the idakka. Only after this, the kirtanas would be sung,” he says. But how can a raga be played on a percussion instrument? “The idakka is a versatile instrument,” he explains. “You can produce gamakas on it. However, when the temperature is high, it becomes difficult to do this. At such times, we have to moisten the skin of the instrument with water.”
Long after the concert is over, I notice that the hands of the percussionists are still quivering. The lead maddalam artist Arun Deva Warrier, a software engineer in an MNC, has a huge welt on his palm. If an hour of playing does this to their hands, what happens when they perform for eight hours at a stretch? “We don't feel any pain or discomfort while performing, as we are so involved,” explains Subhash Marar.
During temple festivals, panchavadhyam is played for eight hours in the morning, and again for a few hours in the evening and again at night. “The kombu player not only plays for panchavadhyam, but also for melam. So he plays for more hours than thimila players. The kombu player develops blisters on his lips, but still keeps going!”
The two faces of the idakka are said to represent the Sun and the Moon. The cylindrical portion represents the body.
The two faces of the idakka are said to represent the Sun and the Moon.
The cylindrical portion represents the body.
The two strings at the ends represent the Jivatma and the Paramatma.
The six holes through which the faces are knotted stand for the six Sastras.
The four jeeevakkols stand for the four Vedas. The 64 blobs symbolise the 64 arts.
