It was a dream come true for E. Chandrasekaran, a budding nagaswaram player, when he was presented with a new instrument to replace the one he had inherited from previous generations of his family.
Chandrasekaran, who followed in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather, both of whom were nagaswaram practitioners, had been facing trouble performing in concerts with an instrument that had developed cracks over the years.
But poverty, compounded by family circumstances, prevented him from buying a new instrument and unleashing his musical potential.
It was against this backdrop that Parivadini, an organisation committed to the promotion of music, particularly that of nagaswaram and thavil , presented him a new instrument along with reeds.
Talking about his travails, the 18-year-old said, “My father Ezhumalai died of cirrhosis, and I was unable to study beyond Class VI. I completed a three-year course at the Government Music School in Villupuram under nagaswaram player Idumbavanam Ilayaraja. Now, I am eking out a living by performing at marriages and small events.”
Poverty had forced Chandrasekaran to leave formal education, with hardly any scope to improve his skills or take up advanced training.
Though he is very keen on honing his skills, family circumstances have been an impediment to his future plans.
“My sister got married only recently, and I have another sister and a brother, who is learning nagaswaram from my teacher,” he said.
Mr. Ilayaraja said that Chandrasekaran had, a few months ago, wanted to buy an instrument, but couldn’t afford the price tag of ₹8,000. “Fortunately for him, Parivadini came forward to offer help,” he said.
Two more students of music — B. Balaganesh and Velmurthy — were also handed nagaswarams at the event.
Balaganesh is also a student of Mr. Ilayaraja, and comes from an underprivileged background. Velmurthy is a nagaswaram student of Annamalai University.
Thavil prodigy
It was V. Gobeeswaran, a Class IV student and a thavil player, who drew the crowd’s attention at the event. A disciple of T.B. Radhakrishnan, a thavil teacher at the Music College in Thiruvaiyaru, he received an instrument worth ₹30,000.
“His family is very poor. He has been learning from me, and I had allowed him to perform during the Muthupallakku festival of the Punnainallur Mariamman Temple near Thanjavur. A friend posted his performance on YouTube. Parivadini took note and offered him a thavil ,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
Explaining why he had decided to donate nagaswarams and thavils to at least two students every two months, Lalitha Ram, founder of Parivadini, said, “Although nagaswaram music is considered a part of Carnatic music, there seem to be many fundamental differences between the so-called Carnatic world and the nagaswaram world.”
“Promising artistes often emerge from tragic conditions. Unfortunately, the talented youngster, in such a situation, neither has the life skills to work his way up the urban Carnatic world, nor the financial freedom to pursue higher musical goals,” he said.
Mr. Lalitha Ram said a lot of people had come forward to offer financial help, and it was their contribution that enabled Parivadini to buy the musical instruments for the underprivileged.
