The conflict that drives the Tamil blockbuster Thillana Mohanambal is the challenge between dancer Thiruvarur Mohanambal and nagaswaram exponent Sikkil Shanmugasundaram. When they challenge each other, the former makes a specific demand: Shanmugasundaram must perform the thillana on the Pari nagaswaram, an instrument played exclusively at the Thyagarajaswamy Temple in Tiruvarur. This crucial detail, however, did not make it into the film; it appears only in the eponymous novel by Kothamangalam Subbu.
The demand is easier said than done. To begin with, the Pari nagaswaram is traditionally played only at the Thyagarajaswamy Temple, by a single family that has held this right for generations. Moreover, the instrument is tuned to the madhyama kala sruti, requiring extraordinary lung power to play — almost three times as that needed for a regular nagaswaram — and produces an exceptionally powerful sound.
“It is played only during the sayaratchai (evening poojas) at the temple. Its sound can be heard at all four entrances of the sprawling temple complex,” says S. Palaniappan, the temple’s current nagaswaram player, who belongs to the 23rd generation.
In the nagaswaram tradition, there are two instruments: the Kumbakonam timiri (six kattai) and the Thiruvarur Pari (4.5 kattai). The timiri was replaced by the longer Pari nagaswaram, conceived by T.R. Rajarathinam Pillai, as it took a toll on the health of players and could not produce suddha madhyama.
The Thiruvarur Pari, however, has remained unchanged for centuries. Legend has it that when Thyagarajaswamy descended upon earth, he came with 18 musical instruments, among which were the Pari nagaswaram and the Kudamuzha (panchamuga vadhyam). The pipe of the Pari is made of wood, while the anusu (sound enhancer) is made of brass.
“I still follow the tradition of our ancestors and play what they played for centuries. As it is dedicated to the Thyagarajaswamy Temple, our ancestors never took it to other temples or places. They were given nagaswarams made of ivory and stone by the kings, and they played these at the temple. It is said they would drink one padi of ghee to gain the energy required to play the ivory nagaswaram,” says Mr. Palaniappan.
As someone who learnt the instrument from his father Selvaganapathy, he explains that the musical tradition of the temple was established by Ramaswamy Dikshitar, father of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, one of the Carnatic Trinity. There are two annual festivals held there: the 10-day Margazhi Thiruvathiri and the 27-day Panguni Uthira Thiruvizha. At night on the 23rd day, Thyagarajaswamy is taken to the Aazhi Ther, and the procession is accompanied by 18 instruments, including kodukatti, suddhamathalam, panchamuga vadhyam, Pari nagaswaram, ekkalam, thiruchinnam, panga, dakka, karna, perikai and jallari.
During the evening pooja, the Pari nagaswaram is played with the accompaniment of the thavil. The veena and flute were traditionally played from the southern side of the sanctum, but today only the nagaswaram and panchamuga vadhyam remain in use. Many of the temple’s musical traditions have disappeared over time. The temple tradition also includes keerthanas and Pallahi Seva Prabandam, a Telugu opera by King Shahaji dedicated to Thyagarajaswamy.
Musicologist P. Sambamoorthy, who published the opera, notes that the tradition had ceased many years earlier. He was able to record it with the help of an elderly woman, Veerammal, who knew most of the songs and abhinaya but was reluctant to sing them. However, industrialist V.S. Tyagaraja Mudaliar invited her to his bungalow. “It was a stroke of providence. She sang the songs of the opera that she knew well, and I was able to record them in notation then and there,” Sambamoorthy writes.
Mr. Palaniappan says that during the festival, the car streets of Tiruvarur are divided into eight parts, known as kodi. “There is a written prescription for what should be played at every festival, during both day and night. Four nagaswarams were played during the festival. Every day, one padam is played in a particular raga. There is a mallari called nivethana mallari in 41.5 atcharam, played when food is taken from the madapalli to the deity,” he explains.
A type of padam known as Ula, set to the raga Panthuvarali, is played in Naduvahana Theru (the central street). Each day also features a varnam set to a specific raga; there are 22 varnams in 22 ragas. The Nalvar Utcham, on the eighth day, is marked by the Navroz raga in the first kodi and rakthi sarva lagu, a unique rhythmic pattern, in the second kodi. This is followed by a varnam in the third kodi. Navroz on the nagaswaram is followed by Alarippu on the thavil.
Todi is played on the day when the Bhootha Vahana is taken in procession. Sankarabharanam and Reetigowla accompany the Gaja Vahana procession. The Rishabha Vahana procession is accompanied by Kamboji on East Street and an Ada Tala Varnam on South Street, known as the Street of Devadasis or Ponparappiya Veedhi.
Mr. Palaniappan says Kothamangalam Subbu took inspiration for his novel after witnessing Gnanathammal, the senior-most devadasi of Tiruvarur, dance to the music of four nagaswarams and thavils. “He once had the opportunity to witness the performance. The nagaswaram player character Samikannu, who teaches Shanmugasundaram, in the novel is based on my great-grandfather Samiappa Nayanakkarar. Kodi Veetu Kuppu, the character who creates trouble in the novel, was actually my grandfather,” he adds.
