Thavil exponent Kongampattu A.V. Murugaiyan is among the recipients of the Padma Shri awards announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday night.
The 58-year-old thavil vidwan, who was born in Kongampattu village in Villupuram district and is settled in Puducherry, was chosen for the honour in the Art category. He is the only Padma recipient from Puducherry in this edition of the civilian awards.
Expressing joy over the award, Mr. Murugaiyan said: “Looking back at my several decades of experience in this field, I can say that my birthplace has become associated with thavil”.
“We are elated that he was chosen for this honour at this stage of his life,” a member of his family said. Since the news broke on TV, the phone has not stopped ringing in their house in Muthialpet, he said.
Mr. Murugaiyan has played alongside several stalwarts of thavil, such as his guru Valaiyapatti A.R. Subramaniyam, Thirunageswaram T. R. Subramaniam, Nadhaswara vidwans Namagiripettai K. Krishnan and Thiruvizha R. Jayasankar, and the famed Carnatic vocalist-duo Soolamangalam Sisters.
He enjoyed the title of ‘aashthana vidwan’ at Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple . He has also performed ‘thavil isai’ for 25 years at Thiruchendur Senthilaandavar Devasthanam. He was an A+ (top grade) artist at All India Radio and featured in several national broadcasts. A winner of various awards, including the Kalaimamani in 2006, Mr. Murugaiyan cherishes playing alongside violin maestro L. Subramaniyam and tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha at the Mumbai Air India-California (U.S.) festival. He has represented the ‘Festival of India’ in Paris and performed in Germany too.
