Nothing captures the tension between the classical and folk art forms more powerfully than Tharai Thappattai, directed by Bala. It is befitting that the music for the film was scored by Ilaiyaraaja, who blends all forms of music effortlessly. Tharai Thappattai, Ilaiyaraaja’s 1,000th film, captures the confrontation between the classical and folk art forms through the father-son characters. The father, Swami Pulavan, is an uncompromising classical thavil player, while his son, Sannasi, is capable of straddling the two worlds, but pursues a career as a folk artiste and leads a troupe of naiyandi melam players and karagam dancers. The film explains the yardstick used by the Tamil society to distinguish between what is considered “classical” and “folk”. More often than not, such a division is made by caste.
The word, naiyandi, means making fun. A classical nagaswaram and thavil troupe performs only Carnatic ragas and keerthanas, whereas naiyandi melam follows a set of folk tunes and a lot of cinema songs. A thavil artiste, accompanying a classical nagaswaram player, wears koodu on all fingers, except the thumb, to play on the right side of the instrument. On the other hand, a thavil player of a naiyandi melam troupe uses a thin and long stick. Both use a short stick to play on the thoppi or the left side of the instrument. Two pampai and murasu players will be part of a naiyandi melam troupe and play their instruments with a stick curved at one end. Some troupes include urumi, another percussion instrument.
Karakattam, poikkal kuthirai, and kavadi dancers join the naiyandi melam troupe to heighten the entertainment. Ramarajan-starrer Karkattakaran, in the music of Ilaiyaraaja, picturises a typical naiyandi melam and karakattam troupe at Vadakku Vasal and Reddipalayam in Thanjavur district. In southern Tamil Nadu, naiyandi melam and karakattam troupes are run by two separate teams.
Increasing opportunities
Naiyandi melam is performed by artistes of different communities. In southern districts, besides Dalits, the community of Padaiyachi (inland fishermen), Thondaman, Sunnabu Paravar, and Maruthuvar play naiyandi melam. Kambar, a community of nagaswaram players and Kali temple priests, once played only classical nagaswaram. It now performs naiyandi melam too because of increasing opportunities and remuneration. Isai Vellalar musicians do not play naiyandi melam.
Nagaswaram legend Karukurichi P. Arunachalam had played naiyandi melam in his initial years. Naiyandi melam captured the popular imagination with the song Sithadai Kattikittu in the film Vannakili. The song is popular even after five decades. When the kodai (summer) festival is organised for the folk deities, naiyandi melam players are invited to perform. No naiyandi melam performance is complete without this song. Chennai Sangamam, organised by the Department of Art and Culture, featured a few naiyandi melam concerts this year.
“Naiyândi Mêlam is the term for the ensemble of shawm (oboe) and drum players that accompanies the domestic and religious ceremonies of castes of low status,” says the sleeve notes of the naiyandi melam recorded by William Tallotte, a French Scholar. His collection contains naiyandi melam performed by Valliyoor M.S. Rajukutty, the most-sought-after artiste.
But one could not fully agree with the argument that naiyandi melam is performed at the domestic and religious ceremonies of castes of low status. Religious ceremonies of castes of low status here means the (kodai) ceremonies at the temples of folk deities. Today, barring Brahmins, all communities have folk deities of their own and the kodai festival is regularly organised at the temples of Mutharamman, Sudalaimadan, Santhanamariamman, Muppidari, and Vandimalachi.
A set of tunes
“Naiyandi melam follows a set of tunes, beginning with ‘thooku’, which will start with the slow tempo and peak at a great speed to the perfect beat of percussion instruments. The harmony among nagaswaram, thavil, pampai, and murasu will have a tremendous effect on the audience and make a good beginning,” explains Panakudi S. Mani, a nagaswaram player, who performs both classical and naiyandi melam.
Film songs dominate
Other items include ‘Kavadi Chinthu’, ‘Pallu’, ‘Magudi’, ‘Kummi’, and ‘Themmangu’. A ‘thooku’-like tune will be played when karagam artistes join the naiyandi melam troupe. But today’s naiyandi melam performances are dominated by film songs and the tunes unique to naiyandi melam are gradually disappearing. Nagaswaram players of naiyandi melam will play ‘neelambari’, to the accompaniment of thavil, pampai, and murasu, to propel the oracle of the folk deities to dance.
“I do not say that great naiyandi melam artistes such as Tenkasi Kittappa and Vasudevanallur Swaminathan did not play film songs. But they played Carnatic raga-based film songs. They would also play ‘viruthams’,” says Mr. Mani. The recording of Puliyampatti Kurusami, available on YouTube, gives a clear idea of naiyandi melam tunes. He had also played the ‘virutham’ Kayatha Kaangathe.
One artiste who dominated the world of naiyandi melam was Kadayanallur Shanmugasundaram. He was known as ‘Gnanapazham Pugal Shanmugasundaram’ because he would play the entire ‘virutham’, ‘Gnanapazhathai Pizhinthu’, made famous by K.B. Sundarambal. It was Shanmugasundaram who introduced a lot of film songs. He is perhaps the first artiste to cut a disc containing the ‘virutham’, a ‘thooku’, and the song ‘Thiruparamkundrathil Nee Sirithal’.
