A new world!! A new dimension!!

Not a lot of people have traveled through this path because the tread is not as soft as it should be or it is thought to be. Other thing is, only certain people have gone far and some of them get out of it, not able to be comfortable with the complexity that increases as they go through the different phases. Wondering what I'm talking about? Well, I'm talking about the age old music instrument of India, the one that is getting less importance because of the inclusion of modern day electronic instruments in the music industry, Mridangam. It is frustrating to have done not even one concert after having been with it for a long time. But after a long time I've understood that it has got no bounds. People think that it is only about hitting on both sides of the instrument like crazy. But it is way beyond all that. It is about having the highest level of concentration, speed, agility, hand-mind coordination, mathematics, timing, listening and above all it is about years of practice. It starts with very simple lessons and those simple lessons starts getting combined and becomes more complex.

The magnificent instrument of the South of India that has not lost its value but the popularity.

What makes it difficult?

There are totally 5 jaathis namely: Thisram, Sadusram, Kandam, Misram and Sankeernam which have got 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 beats respectively. There are 7 thaalams. Each of the jaathis can be incorporated without any difficulty in the 7 thaalams. This makes about 35 different kinds of thaalams. There are so many lessons and each of these lessons can be combined and this itself leads to a lot of permutations. Each of the resulted lessons can be combined in such a way that they suit to the 35 thaalams. This leads to further more permutations. Each of the jaathis can be given in such a way that those 5 can be combined and incorporated in each of the thaalams. Gee, this is going like crazy isn't it? This is why I tell you that it has got no bounds. It sure heads towards infinity though some of the lessons when combined and played would be sonorous to listen to. This is not the end though, there is something else. There are various speeds in each of these. There are further division of three speeds namely: Mel kaalam, Madhyama kaalam and Keel kaalam. Each of the above mentioned thaalams can be played in any of these speeds. Maestros play it in combined speeds. So it is like giving the audience a feel of listening to everything, all together.

Even after knowing so much why can't we do it?

This is a simple question to answer. Simply knowing doesn't do the job. We have to play everything we think at the right moment. Execution is very important than anything. To do that. It requires the mastery in everything I told you. First resistance is knowing the lessons. Then getting them right by knowing the right fingering technique. Knowing to play the lessons in a combined manner is next. Then knowing all the thaalams. Our ancestors have experimented a lot and they have come up with some standard lessons. Knowing that and practicing reduces the effort of coming out with our own lessons. That helps a bit at the time of a concert. Then the next thing is to know how to play every lesson at different speeds. After all these, it should be something that would be pleasing to the audience. A very important purpose of the instrument.

தித் தோம் தகஜோனு தாம்(3) கிடகிடதோம்
தித் தகஜோனு தாம் கிடகிடதோம்
தகஜோனு தாம்(3) கிடகிடதோம் தாம்(3)
தித் கிடகிடதோம் தாம்(3)
தித் தோம் கிடகிடதோம்

16 Aksharam Lesson-3 in the middle tell us that there is a pause equal to 3 beats

Most of the time, the instrument is used wherein there is more of classical singing. At the time of the concert, percussionists are given least importance. But they make the song more pleasing. It is easy to sing a song because, the singer has got only two things to do. One is singing and other is maintaining the speed of the song through the thaalam. They are at the freedom of doing whatever they want with the song, especially changing of speeds.(of the song and not the thaalam) But the percussionist has to first work out the mathematics each moment with his lessons to suit the thaalam, before that he has to realise the speed at which the singer is singing, has to get the lessons right, and also the fingering right and has to do all these in a small amount of time. One wrong calculation or one wrong beat here or there can do the song a lot of damage and also the percussionist a lot of insult. It would show up though the audience do not know the subject.

Who have gone to the extreme in this field?

My master knows a lot but still he says he has not done much in the field. But he always says that there is a guy named Prakash in Coimbatore, who can do a lot with all that I've told you so far. Palghat Mani Iyer is one who has mastered in playing different speeds effortlessly. The living legend, Umayalpuram Sivaraman can make you involved to the maximum extent by giving the right combinations of sollkattu. It is simple for these people cause they are strong in their basics and it is their practice that makes it simple for them. It is in their veins. Each beat is in their blood. They need not do anything extraordinary. They use the simplest of lessons to make the concert good.

Umayalpuram Sivaram with his instrument

There are other maestros who are equally capable of doing a lot of things with this instrument like the Palghat Raghu, Lalgudi Jayaram, Karaikudi Mani. Karaikudi Mani is not married and when asked why, he said that he has already got married and said that his wife's name is Mridangam. He is so passionate about it and it shows in his concert.

Karaikudi Mani with his wife(Mridangam)

What I've told you is not the whole story but only a part of an ocean. There is so much in this field that I feel engineering is simpler than this. The one thing I've seen is that it is important to practice nearly for atleast 4 hours a day to keep yourself in the groove and achieve what the maestros have achieved. But with engineering as profession it is really difficult to do it. So what you do is play the instrument whenever possible for the sake of your peace of mind. Whether others have the peace of mind or not? That's a different issue but obviously it is a new world and it takes you to a new dimension wherein there is more peace than the outside world. Comes in handy when you're in the tough times of your profession.

-SATZ