Mridangam

Percussion instrument
Developed	First mentioned in Hindu literature: Lord Nandi first played this instrument for Lord Shiva. Lord Senthilgiri played it second.
Related instruments
pakhawaj, khol, tabla ghatam, kanjira (accompanying instruments)
Musicians
Legacy: Palani Subramaniam Pillai, Palghat Mani Iyer, Palghat R. Raghu Current: Karaikudi Mani, T. K. Murthy, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Trichy Sankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam
More articles
Carnatic music

The mridangam (Sanskrit: मृदंगम् , Tamil: மிருதங்கம், Telugu: మృదంగం, Kannada: :ಮೃದಂಗ, Malayalam: മൃദംഗം ) is a percussion instrument from India of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. Alternate spellings include "mrudangam", "mrdangam", "mrithangam", "miruthangam", and "mirudhangam".

The mridangam is also played in Carnatic concerts in countries outside of India, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. During a percussion ensemble, the mridangam is often accompanied by the ghatam, kanjira, and the morsing.

History[link]

In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle and companion of Lord Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva's primordial Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The mridangam is thus also known as "Deva Vaadyam," or "Instrument of the Gods."

The word "mridangam" is derived from the two Sanskrit words mŗda (clay or earth) and anga (body). Early mridangams were indeed made of hardened clay. Over the years, the mridangam evolved to be made of different kinds of wood due to its increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla, the mridangam's North Indian musical counterpart, was first constructed by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the evolution of the tala (rhythmic) system. The system of talas (or taalams) in South Indian Carnatic music may be the most complex percussive rhythm system of any form of classical music^{[citation needed]}.

Mridangists[link]

Over the years and especially during the early 20th century, great maestros of mridangam also arose, inevitably defining "schools" of mridangam with distinct playing styles. Examples include the Puddukottai school and the Thanjavur school. The virtuosos Palani Subramaniam Pillai, Palghat Mani Iyer, and C.S. Murugabhupathy contributed so much to the art that they are often referred to as the Mridangam Trinity. There is also another style i.e., the blending of Saakotai Rangu Iyengar's and Kumbakonam Azhaganambi Pillai's taught to hundreds of disciples by the legendary Late Sri Kumbakonam Narayanaswamy Iyer and late Sri Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer. Other prominent mridangam maestros of today include T. K. Murthy, Yella Venkateswara Rao, Late Sri Vellore Ramabhadran, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Sri V.S.Rajgopal, Pudukottai Rajagopal, Trichy Sankaran, Karaikudi Mani, Madurai T. Srinivasan, Guruvayur Dorai, Trichur C Narendran and Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam, Mannargudi Easwaran, AV Anand, L Vaidhyanathan, Kumbakonam Padmanabhan, Neiveli Narayanan, K V Prasad, Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma

Physical components[link]

The mridangam is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollowed piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick. The two mouths or apertures of the drum are covered with a goat skin leather and laced to each other with leather straps around the circumference of drum. These straps are put into a state of high tension to stretch out the circular membranes on either side of the hull, allowing them to resonate when struck. These two membranes are dissimilar in width to allow for the production of both bass and treble sounds from the same drum.

The bass aperture is known as the "thoppi" or "eda bhaaga" and the smaller aperture is known as the "valanthalai" or "bala bhaaga". The smaller membrane, when struck, produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The wider aperture produces lower pitched sounds. The goat skin covering the smaller aperture is anointed in the center with a black disk made of rice flour, ferric oxide powder and starch. This black tuning paste is known as the "satham" or "karanai" and gives the mridangam its distinct metallic timbre.

The combination of two inhomogeneous circular membranes allows for the production of unique and distinct harmonics. Pioneering work on the mathematics of these harmonics was done by Nobel Prize winning physicist C. V. Raman.^[1][2]

Methods of use[link]

Immediately prior to use in a performance, the leather covering the wider aperture is made moist and a spot of paste made from rice flour and water is applied to the center, which lowers the pitch of the left membrane and gives it a very powerful resonating bass sound. The artist tunes the instrument by varying the tension in the leather straps spanning the hull of the instrument. This is achieved by placing the mridangam upright with its larger side facing down, and then striking the tension-bearing straps located along of circumference of the right membrane with a heavy object (such as a stone). A wooden peg is sometimes placed between the stone and the mridangam during the tuning procedure to ensure that the force is exerted at precisely the point where it is needed. Striking the periphery of the right membrane in the direction toward the hull raises the pitch, while striking the periphery from the opposite side (moving away from the hull) lowers the pitch. The pitch must be uniform and balanced at all points along the circumference of the valanthalai for the sound to resonate perfectly. The pitch can be balanced with the aid of a pitch pipe or a tambura. The larger membrane can also be tuned in a similar manner, though it is not done as frequently. Note that since the leather straps are interwoven between both the smaller and larger aperture, adjusting the tension on one side often can affect the tension on the other.

Posture[link]

The mridangam is played resting it parallel to the floor. A right-handed mridangam artist plays the smaller membrane with his or her right hand and the larger membrane with the left hand. This can be described in words as follows: The mridangam rests upon the right foot and ankle, the right leg being slightly extended, while the left leg is bent and rests against the hull of the drum and against the torso of the artist. For a left-handed percussionist, the legs and hands are switched.

There is also a parallelounds of the mridangam. Students of this art are required to learn and practice both the fingering strokes taught as the training becomes more advanced, which are generally used as aesthetic embellishments while playing. These notes im, and chaapu. The combination of these finger strokes produces complex mathematical patterns.

Strokes[link]

Basic strokes on the mridangam:

• Tha: Non-vibrating tone played on the left hand side.
• Dhi: Non-vibrating tone played on the centre black portion of the right hand side using middle, ring and small fingers.
• Thom: Vibrating tone played on the outer side of the left hand side.
• Nam: Vibrating tone played on the outer layer of the right hand side using index finger, minimizing the black portion vibration with middle or ring finger.
• Gumukki: Bass tone produced by playing on the inner layer of the lower end of the left hand side. Sound is produced only when there is a special applied paste.
• Full Chapu: It is a vibrating tone played with the small finger on the right hand side, between the black patch and the outer layer. The sound is tuned to the tonic of the tambura.

Modern usage[link]

Today the mridangam is most widely used in Carnatic music performances. These performances take place all over Southern India and are now popular all over the world. As the principle rhythmic accompaniment (pakkavadyam), the mridangam has a place of utmost importance, ensuring all of the other artists are keeping their timing in check while providing support to the main artist. One of the highlights of a modern Carnatic music concert is the percussion solo (thani avarthanam), where the mridangam artist and other percussionists such as kanjira, morsing, and ghatam vidwans exchange various complex rhythmic patterns, culminating in a grand finale where the main artists resumes where he or she left off. Mridangam is used as an accompanying instrument in Yakshagana Himmela (orchestra) where it is called Maddale. However, Mridangam used in Yakshagana is markedly different in structure and acustics from the ones used in Carnatic music. Significant players of the mridangam in modern times are Late Palghat Mani Iyer, Late Palghat Raghu, Dr.T.K.Murthy, Umayalapuram K. Sivaraman, Vellore Ramabhadran, Trichy Sankaran,T.S.Nandakumar, Karaikudi Mani,Madurai.T.Srinivasan(Seenakutti),Yella Venkateswara Rao, Srimushnam Raja Rao, Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam, Cheluvaraj Trichur C Narendran who have been playing and advancing the technique since decades.

See also[link]

Indian classical music portal

• Khol
• Mrdanga
• Tabla
• Thavil
• Karatalas
• maddale -- an instrument used in Yakshagana

References[link]

This biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (April 2012)

Guruvayur Dorai (left) accompanying Ravikiran (center) playing the navachitravina, a variant of the chitravina. Also shown are Ravi Balasubramanian, ghatam and Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi, violin.

Guruvayur Dorai (born July 2, 1935) is one of India's senior-most exponents of the South Indian classical percussion instrument, the mridangam. He had his initial training under Palghat Subba Iyer and E.P. Narayana Pisharody, and later from the legendary master Palani Subramaniam Pillai. Initiating his concert performances at the age of eight, Guruvayur Dorai has performed on the concert platform for the past 60 years. His wide range of efforts in the field of mridangam and music have helped propagate the art around the globe.

Early years[link]

An exponent of the Pudukottai style of mridangam, Guruvayur Dorai (his real name being Vaidynathan) was born in Guruvayur, Kerala, to G.S. Krishna Iyer and Meenakshi. His father was a priest and mother, a housewife. He has two brothers and three sisters. His sister Guruvayur Ponnammal was a highly reputed singer at the time. His other sister is a reputed music teacher in Madras, while his brother, G.K.Rajamani is a notable violinist living in Palghat (Kerala).

Young Dorai had a penchant for percussion and was frequently seen drumming on his body with his fingers even while in sleep. Struck by polio at the age of five, his father thought it would be difficult for Dorai to go outside of Guruvayur for higher studies and a job.

There was already a vocalist and a violinist in the family, a mridangist was all that was lacking. So his father decided to sculpt him into one. His father thought Ponnammal, Rajamani and Dorai could give concerts together and that the siblings would take care of Dorai. Moreover, they could make a living out of it.

Dorai began to learn mridangam under the Late Palghat Subba Iyer when he was six. E.P. Narayana Pisharody of Eranallur also taught him at this time. Pisharody's book 'Mridanga Nada Manjari' (a practical study of mridangam) was published by Guruvayur Dorai on September 23, 2001.

The legendary vocalist Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar was teaching Ponnammal at that time. Whenever he came to Guruvayur, Chembai used to stay at their house. He took active interest in Dorai's mridangam practice. Dorai had his debut performance (arangetram) at the age of eight, performing with none other than Chembai himself.

1949 was a watershed in Dorai's career, as he came to Chennai for the first time to perform with Chembai in a concert. Meanwhile, Ponnammal got a chance to sing in a Malayalam film. As the opportunities were more copious in Chennai, their father decided to settle there. Dorai, Ponnammal, Rajamani and the father stayed in a rented house in the city while the rest of the family remained in Guruvayur. In the same year, he also happened to meet the legendary mridangam artist Palani Subramaniam Pillai in Thirupoontharai. After Palani Subramaniam Pillai moved to Madras in 1953, Dorai commenced classes with the maestro. This helped him understand and absorb the complexities of the Pudukottai style of mridangam. Dorai stayed with Palani Subramaniam Pillai in his residence for nearly nine years in the gurukulavasam fashion.

Performances[link]

Dorai performed with nearly all the eminent artists even at a young age, including Musiri Subramania lyer, M. D. Ramanathan, Semmangudi Srinivasa lyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi (it was Dorai who performed with her in Carnegie Hall, New York), G. N. Balasubramaniam, Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, S. Balachander, Chitti Babu, T. R. Mahalingam, Mysore T. Chowdiah, Palghat Ghatam Sundaram, Alangudi Ramachandran, G. Harishankar and others.

Dorai also accompanied Sr. Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar on multiple occasion to concerts across Andhrapadesh. An excerpt from his interview - "He encouraged me very much, kept me with him and let me play for him. Apart from that, I gave a lot of kutcheries in Andhra Pradesh. For all those places, Vinjamuri Varadaraja Iyengar took me with him; like Kakinada, Guntur, Tenali, Vijayawada and to many other places he took me with him and introduced me. Because of his taking me with him, those Sabhas/ people got acquainted with me and got to know me". Read More About the Interview

Moreover, he is one of the few mridangists who has performed with nagaswaram wizards, namely T.N.Rajarathnam Pillai (in 1956, Rama Seva Mandali, Bangalore; P. Bhuvaneswariah played violin, Bangalore Venkatram played ghatam, and a khanjira artist was part of the team), Thiruvengadu Subramanium Pillai in 1951, and Namagiripettai Krishnan (from the 1960s onwards). He has also performed with leading present-day artists including T. V. Sankaranarayanan, T. N. Seshagopalan, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Chitraveena N. Ravikiran and others.

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guruvayur Dorai

Indian classical music portal

Mannargudi Easwaran (Tamil: மன்னார்குடி ஈஸ்வரன்) (born April 1, 1947) is a leading contemporary mridangam player and Carnatic musician. He is a staff artiste of All India Radio and has received several awards, including Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2003 (for the year 2001)^[1] and the Palghat Mani Iyer Award in 2006.^[2][3][4][5]

Easwaran has played the Mridangam alongside many notable carnatic musicians, including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Maharajapuram Santhanam, M. Balamuralikrishna, Veena S Balachander, T. N. Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, Flute Mali, Dr N. Ramani. Among the contemporary artists he has played alongside T. V. Sankaranarayanan, O. S. Thyagarajan, N. Ravikiran, Maharajapuram S Ramachandran, Sudha Raghunathan, Unni Krishnan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Vijay Siva, Ganesh and Kumaresh and T.M. Krishna.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mannargudi A Easwaran website

Trichy Sankaran (born July 27, 1942) is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost virtuosos of the mridangam and also plays the kanjira on occasion. Since the early 1970s, he has performed and recorded in a number of cross-cultural projects.

Sankaran has lived in Toronto since 1971. He is the founder of the Tyagaraja Aradhana in Toronto and is a professor of music at York University. He has regularly performed at all leading organizations in Chennai every December Music Season and continues to accompany a wide array of top ranked musicians. Trichy Sankaran has been conferred the illustrious title, Sangeetha Kalanidhi, from the Madras Music Academy for the year 2011-2012.^[1]

Early life[link]

Born on July 27, 1942 in Thiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India, Sankaran had his early musical training first under his cousin, the late Sri P. A. Venkataraman, and later became the star disciple of the legendary mridangam maestro, the late Sri Pazhani Subramania Pillai. He made his debut at the age of 13 in a concert given by the Alathoor Brothers at Nanrudayan Temple in the town of Thiruchirapalli

Since then he has performed with all top ranking Carnatic musicians, including Sri Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Sri Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavatar, Sri Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Sri Musiri Subramania Iyer, Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Sri G. N. Balasubramaniam, Sri Madurai Mani Iyer, Sri T. R. Mahalingam, and others.

Winner of the All India Radio gold medal in 1955 and the President of India award in 1958, Sankaran is one of the world's top ranking mridangam players. In addition to being the most sought after successor to the style of Pazhani Subramania Pillai, Sankaran has cultivated and infused new dimensions to the art of performing on his instrument, thus making his style innovative, yet treading ever so finely within the confines of tradition.

He has developed over the years a unique style of accompaniment trademark to only himself for which he is highly sought after amongst musicians, percussionists, audiences and connoisseurs alike. The forte of his style includes the most superior of nadai calibration, subtle koraippu structure, innovative mora – korvai permutations and most significant of all; his innate ability to present performances in any tala combination, not compromising detail or structure. Added to his reputation are, his tala-specific renditions, highlighting patterns contouring the tala orientation. His lyrical displays of rhythmic aesthetics in mridangam playing have been the object lessons of the percussionists' logistics.

He has dedicated himself for the cause and propagation of Carnatic music in North America in more than one way: as academician, global artist, composer, and collaborator.

Teaching[link]

Sankaran is the Founding Director of the Indian Music Program and a Professor of Music at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he has been teaching since 1971. In addition, he has also conducted workshops and seminars at Wesleyan University, the Berklee College of Music, the University of Michigan, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of Illinois, McMaster University, Cornell University, and Dalhousie University. He has made valuable contributions at many scholarly conferences across North America and has also published a number of his works in the leading journals of the continent. He has also written a textbook on the mridangam, which defines the basic techniques and principles of Carnatic percussion, entitled The Rhythmic Principles & Practice of South Indian Drumming.

Sankaran is also the founder and artistic director of Kalalayam, an institution dedicated in cultivating the nuances and techniques of the Pudukkottai style of percussive embellishment. He has successfully trained many South Asian and North American students on the mridangam, kanjira, ghatam, tabla, and other Western percussion instruments. He was the pioneer in starting the Thyagaraja Festival in Toronto which has flourished into an annual event hosting a series of concerts featuring top ranked musicians from India, identifying and promoting talented youth in North America and endowing scholarships to students pursuing a career in music.

International tours[link]

Sankaran has performed far and wide at major festivals in India, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and North America. With over half a century of concert experience in Carnatic music, he has accompanied over five generations of musicians.

Awards[link]

As a performing artist of international repute, Sankaran has received numerous honors and awards. The titles include:

• Sangeetha Kalanidhi (Madras Music Academy, India) ^[1]
• Tala Kalai Arasu (Bharati Kala Manram, Toronto)
• Laya Sikhamani (Bhairavi, Cleveland)
• Nadha Laya Brahmam (Bharathi Vidya Bhavan, Trichy)
• Tala Vadya Prakasa (CMANA, New York)
• Sangeetha Choodamani ( Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai)
• Viswa Kala Bharathi (Bharat Kalachar, Chennai)
• Mridanga Kala Shironmani (Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore)
• Asthana Vidwan (Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Kanchipuram)
• OCUFA teaching award (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association, Canada)

He was also nominated as the Professional Of the Year by the executive committee of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Toronto. He has received the prestigious Palghat Mani Iyer Award from the Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore, the Chowdiah Memorial Award from the Karnataka State, and Sri Pazhani Subramania Pillai Award from the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. In 1998 he received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada, for his achievements in the academic and professional fields. He has also held honorable positions at The Glenn Gould Foundation and Canada Council.

Work with ensembles[link]

In addition to his usual traditional settings, he has performed with gamelan, jazz, electronic, and African music ensembles, and World Drums in fusion concerts. He has performed in jugalbandhi concerts with Ustad Vilayat Khan, V. G. Jog, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shanta Prasad, and Swapan Chaudhuri, to name a few. As a composer, Sankaran has to his credit numerous pieces in the genres of gamelan, jazz, traditional Western classical orchestra, and various instrumental ensembles respectively.

Sankaran has also worked in the fields of jazz, electronic music, and free improvisation with the composers David Rosenboom, Richard Teitelbaum, Charlie Haden, Pauline Oliveros, Paul Plimley, the Jazz Orchestra of York University, Anthony Braxton, Dave Brubeck, Glen Velez, Nexus, and World Drums.

In 1996, Sankaran was commissioned by leading Canadian Bharatanatyam dancer Lata Pada, C.M., to compose a contemporary work entitled 'TimeScape', for her dance company, Sampradaya Dance Creations.

Personal life[link]

Sankaran lives in Toronto, Canada in the district of North York. His daughter is the vocalist and pianist Suba Sankaran. A York University graduate, she is a freelance performer in Toronto and has her own group called "Autorickshaw", which specializes in contemporary and instrumental fusion themes (Indo-jazz). Suba, along with her father Trichy Sankaran and wind specialist Ernie Tollar, perform as Trichy's Trio. She also performs jazz numbers with the group Retrocity.

Trichy Sankaran has also been involved with numerous multi-cultural initiatives, such as performing at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square as a headliner of the 'desiFest' May 2007 South Asian Canadian music festival founded by youth entrepreneur Sathish Bala.

Discography[link]

Released in North America[link]

Instrumental ensemble/fusion[link]

• 1975 - Suitable for framing - with David Rosenboom and J. B. Floyd (ARC Records)
• 1993 - Whirled - with Oilver Schroer (Big Dog Music)
• 1996 - Oliver Schroer and the Stewed Tomatoes - with Oilver Schroer (Big Dog Music)
• 1998 - Ivory Ganesh Meets Doctor Drums - with Paul Plimley (Songlines)
• 1999 - Catch 21: Trichy's Trio - with Suba Sankaran and Ernie Tollar (Deep Down Productions)
• 1999 - Innovative Music Meeting - with Rajesh Mehta and Rohan De Saram (True Muze Records)
• 2004 - Maza Mezé: Secrets Moon Magic - with John Wyre and Suba Sankaran (CBC)

Traditional Carnatic[link]

• 1990 - Laya Vinyas - Mrdangam Solo (Music of the World)
• 1993 - Sunada - with Karaikudi Subramaniam (Music of the World)
• 1997 - Lotus Signatures - with Dr. N. Ramani (Music of the World)
• 2001 - The Carnatic Violin - with Prof. T. N. Krishnan (Kriyative World Music)

Released in India[link]

• 2001 - Kutcheri: Live at Kalakshetra - with Sanjay Subramanyan (Charsur Digital)
• 2002 - Mukhari - with Chitraveena Ravikiran (Rajalakshmi Audio)
• 2005 - Gajaleela - Mridangam and Kanjira Solo (Charsur Digital)
• 2007 - Kutcheri: Live in Chennai - with Lalgudi G. J. R. Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijaylakshmi (Charsur Digital)**
• 2007 - Live at Music Academy Madras - with Malladi Brothers (Rajalakshmi Audio)**

** - Forthcoming

Books[link]

• 1977 - The Art of drumming: South Indian Mridangam. Toronto: Private Edition
• 1994 - The Rhythmic Principles & Practice of South Indian Drumming. Toronto: Lalith Publishers
• 2003 - Frame Drums of South India: A Handbook on Solkattu (Rhythm Solfege). Toronto: Lalith Publishers.

External links[link]

• Trichy Sankaran official site
• Trichy Sankaran site
• Trichy Sankaran faculty page from York University site
• Trichy Sankaran interview

Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman
Background information
Born	(1935-12-17) 17 December 1935 (age 76) Umayalpuram, Tanjore, Madras Presidency, British India
Instruments	mridangam

Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman (born December 17, 1935) is an Indian mridangam player. He was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor, on the occasion of the country's 61st Republic Day observance on January 26, 2010 ^[1] and received Honorary Doctorate from University of Kerala in 2010.^[2]

Awards[link]

• Padma Shri from Government of India in 1988
• Kalaimamani from Government of Tamil Nadu in 1992
• Padma Bhushan from Government of India in 2003
• Padma Vibhushan from Government of India in 2010
• Sangeet Natak Academy Ratna Fellow, 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Umayalapuram K. Sivaraman's Homepage
• Interview with Sri Sivaraman after the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award
• Carnatic corner - short biography