Today is the remembrance day of Thavil legend TA Kaliyamurthi. Sharing the piece I wrote for his commemorative calendar.
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If one were to take a census among Nagaswaram artistes who have performed widely for the past fifty years on who would be their most preferred accompaniment, the results would undoubtedly point to thav ilmaestro T. A. Kaliyamurthy.
T. A. Kaliyamurthy was born in Thiruvalaputhur (originally Thiruvazkoliputhur) to V.Arunachalam Pillai and RajamaniAmmal. Talking about his ancestry in an interview published in The Hindu, Kaliyamurthi says, “My grand aunt Tiruvalaputhur Kalyani Ammal was an accomplished Bharatanatyam artiste and was famous for her Simhanandanam dance. My paternal grandfather, Vaidyalingam Pillai, was a mridangam vidwan. Tiruvalaputhur Pasupathiya Pillai was my grand uncle.”Kaliyamurthy started learning thavil at the age of five under the guidance of his maternal uncle S.Kadirvel Pillai. He later joined the much-acclaimed Guru Thiruvalaputhur Pasupathiya Pillai and immensely benefited from the three-year association.
Many artistes who are legends in the musical world have become immortal by playing thavil. There were a few, however, who attained great heights by not performing but by teaching and creating artistes. Foremost among them is Thiruvalaputhur Pasupathiya Pillai. Having learnt the art of thavil-playing from the legendary Ammachathiram Kannusami Pillai, Pasupathiya Pillai could only have a short stint as a performer. His fingers could not take the stress involved in playing the instrument and would bleed profusely if he played the instrument. Not a man to give up easily, Pasupathiya Pillai shifted his focus to teaching. He is credited to have taught over a thousand students without touching the thavil! He is regarded as a ‘Guru Peetam’ among the thavil artistes. The list of his disciples includes legends such as Nachiarkoil Raghava Pillai, Yazhpanam Chinnathambi Pillai, Poraiyar Venugopala Pillai and Perumpallam Venkatesan.
A video interview of T.A.Kaliyamurthy informs that he started playing in concerts even at the age of 10. In his twelfth year, he joined Nagaswaram Maestroes Vandikaratheru Mani–Manpoondiah Pillai’s set. Further, he joined the sets of Vidwan Thiruvengadu Subramania Pillai and Vidwans Semponnarkoil Sambandham and Rajanna. His last stint as a ‘set thavil’ artiste was in the troupe of Vidwan Sivapuri Padmanabhan. By the time he was 19, he had established himself as a player of repute and set out as a ‘Special Thavil’ artiste.
In his twenties, Kaliyamurthy took the music world by storm and played for all the leading artistes of his time such as Thirumeignanam Natarajasundaram Pillai, Sheikh Chinna MoulanaSaheb and Namagiripettai Krishnan. ‘Clarinet Everest’ AKC Natarajan says, “His balance between the thoppi (the left head of the instrument played with the stick) and valanthalai (the right head of the instrument, played with the right hand of right-handed artiste) was something very unique. When he played along it pushed me to play more and explore different musical ideas. Forget his playing; he had the power to captivate the audience by just the way he appeared and the style with which he held the instrument.”
His partnership with Padma Shri awardee Haridwaramangalam A.K. Palanivel catapulted his popularity to dizzy heights. The duo was in great demand to perform all over the country. In a touching video tribute,Vidwan Palanivel says, “In the thousands of concerts we have played together, we have never discussed about what to play in the concert. He had the uncanny ability to reproduce whatever I played—no matter how complex the laya patterns were. My association with him spurred me on to create something new for every concert to challenge him.” In the late 1970s, two more thavil maestros viz. Thanjavur Govindarajan and Vedaranyam Balasubramaniam joined the duo. Together the quartet elevated the status of thavil and the quartet was the first to be booked for important events including celebrity weddings, temple festivals and prestigious music festivals in India and abroad.
Vidwan Kasim says, “I have enjoyed his playing when I was a youngster—when he played for my grandfather—as well as later when I had the fortune of having him accompanying me in my concerts. What struck me most was his humility and his manner of always giving the centre stage to nagaswaram artiste despite his colossal talent and stature. His playing was never intrusive and this approach remained the same for both senior and junior nagaswaram vidwans. He always focused on elevating the concert and waited for the thani to showcase his individuality. He had a distinct approach to playing for different pieces. For example, his playing during the kalpanaswaras during a kriti would be completely different from the way he played for ragamalika swaras during a pallavi. When it came to accompaniment for the lighter pieces towards the end of the concert, he had no equal. I used to wonder if he was playing a tabla instead of the thavil—such were his melody-soaked strokes.”
Kaliyamurthy’s playing took a bigger leap when he joined as a collaborator with the legendary Mridangam player Karaikkudi Mani.Thavil maestro Thanjavur Govindarajan says, “His playing acquired depth and sensitivity after his association with Guru Karaikudi Mani. He carved out a style that was never heard before in thavil. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the generation of thavil players that came after Kaliyamurthy were totally enamored by this new style and incorporated it in their playing. He often played something that was so melodic for the ears but was difficult to comprehend for the brain. One required no effort to appreciate his music butonehad to be extremely sharp to understand and reproduce it.”
Ghatam maestro V.Suresh says, “His unique compositions had progressions within progression and overlapping yati (rhythmic cadences) arrangements. They are inspiring and lasting ones. He was a genial, soft-spoken gentleman all through my association for more than two decades. I have toured with him to Singapore, London and many parts of Europe in the band SrutiLaya headed by Mridangam phenomenon Guru Karaikkudi Mani along with a big contingent of Jazz musicians of the Australian Art Orchestra in 2002. The four of us (with Srirangam Kannan on the Morsing) gelled like a family and presented many grand percussion ensembles in many notable venues. I have also performed with Kaliyamurthy in many saxophone and nagaswaram concerts. I have been inspired by his compositions and have made several musical compositions in similar lines. His performances were packed with intellectual content and aesthetics, guiding along the audience on a rhythmic voyage.”
In his illustrious career he was bestowed with several accolades including the Kalaimamani from the Tamil Nadu Government (1981), AkilaUlaga Thavil Vadhya Janaranjaga Laya Chakravarthi award by RR Sabha, Trichy, (1999), Sangeet Natak Akademi award (2014) and SangitaChoodamani title given by Krishna Gana Sabha (2014). He has traveled widely and performed in many countries including Srilanka, Malaysia, Germany, England, Canada and Australia.
Hundreds of students from various parts of South India have learnt from Kaliyamurthy. Some of the notable students include Srinivasan, Durga Rao, Anjaneyalu and Bangalore Krishna. His son and disciple T. A. K.Shanmuganathan is carrying forward the family legacy today. However, it would be an injustice to say that only the students who had learnt directly from Kaliyamurthy are his disciples. He readily shared his knowledge with anyone who approached him. He encouraged artistes who were junior to him and when he performed with them, he would provide them with many aspects of learning that would last them for a lifetime.
He passed away on 19th February 2020, leaving behind a rich musical treasure to the generation of thavil artistes that followed him.
கமகம் 