Vedaranyam Balasubramaniam. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Thavil Vidavan Vedaranyam VG Balasubramaniam is back on the concert circuit after a break. Recently, he and grandson Harish Raja visited Annamalai Mandram with Nagaswara Vidwan SRGS Mohandas, son of Sembanarkoil Sambandam. “Though I have not participated in music festivals for some time, I am busy teaching,” says Balasubramaniam, who has trained around 200 students over the years. He has won 17 awards, including the ‘Laya in Malaysia’ Gnana Sudaroli’, ‘Thavilnada Jothi’ in Kerala, ‘Nada Laya Bhoopathi’ in Delhi and Madurai Ponnusamy Award. The latest achievement in his kitty is the ‘Isai Perarignar’ award from the Tamil Isai Sangam this year.
Music came naturally to Balasubramaniam. “His maternal grandfather was Ammachhatram Kannusamy Pillai Ashtavadhani and a musician. He could play the violin, thavil, nagaswaram, mridangam, dholak and jalatarangam. He played the thavil for my grandfather Ramasamy Pillai. Balu’s maternal uncle Venugopal Pillai played the thavil for my brother Sambandam and me,” says Nagaswaram exponent Sembanarkoil Rajanna. Balasubramaniam’s elder brother was the renowned Nagasvara scholar Vedaranyam Vedamurthy. When Balasubramaniam’s family moved to Mayavaram, he started learning Thavil from Venugopal Pillai.
Balasubramaniam says that his uncle’s training was rigorous. He had to wake up at 4 a.m. every day and practice on Silambu Palagai. “With its two wooden planks, this palagai looks like a two-ended stool, and is slightly taller than the thavil. Instead of the usual Thavil stick, a pestle-like piece of wood with a short handle and round head is used. It is called Kottapuli. The rigorous Silambu Palagai training can be compared to Chenda training, where the student practices on a stone! In both cases the idea is to make the student stronger,” said mridangam maestro Pandanallur K, grandson of Sembanarkoil Rajanna. Parthasarathy explains.
The generosity during the recital was unheard of, recalls Balasubramaniam. Vedamurthy was also often a harsh critic. Balasubramaniam is grateful for this candid criticism, as it helped him hone his skills.
Balasubramaniam’s first concert was unplanned. Vedamurthy was to play at the Palakkarai Pillayar temple in Tiruchi, when the temple priest asked him to ask his brother to play the thavil for some time. Balasubramaniam got the opportunity to play on the thavil of Needamangalam Shanmugavadivel in his very first public performance. “It was Shanmugavadivel who bought my first thavil for me in Needamangalam. I remember it cost Rs 40,” says Balasubramaniam. From playing secondary Thavil and then primary Thavil in various ‘sets’, Balasubramaniam progressed over the years, becoming a specialized Thavil player when he was 30.
Balasubramaniam has played in many temple festivals. “In Tiruchendur, I used to play for nine hours each on the seventh and eighth day of Avani festival. Not anymore. The modern Thavil is heavy and carrying it around is no longer possible. I cannot use the traditional thavil, because Mayavaram Perumal and Mayavaram Nagarajan, who were experts in tightening the leather straps, are dead, and no one else has that skill.
In Singapore, many Malaysians and Chinese in the audience were impressed by the ‘Kirra’ sound, played by Vedaranyam Balasubramaniam on his thavil. , Photo Credits: Akhila Easwaran
Balasubramaniam has played in Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Canada, Thailand and Sri Lanka. In Singapore, many Malaysians and Chinese in the audience were impressed by the ‘kirra’ (a sound like tearing a fine piece of paper) that he produced. “At the end of the concert, he came up to me and asked me to play ‘Kirra’ for him again and again,” says Balasubramaniam. “To produce Kirra, the left hand is required to drag the stick across the Valanthalai. Is brought to the right side. The right hand acts like a pitch bender, providing the necessary modulation,” explains Parthasarathy.
Balasubramaniam was a lecturer at the Government Music College, Chennai for three years. “When I was teaching in music college, two students from Canada learned Thavil from me. He now teaches in Canada. One of them even sent me a recording of his thavil playing,” says Balasubramaniam, who later became vice principal at Tamil Christian College.
The Government of Tamil Nadu appointed him to guide Thavil teachers in improving their teaching methods. His CD ‘Laya Vinyasam’ is used as a teaching aid for MA Music students at the University of Madras. He is an A-graded All India Radio artiste, and has been on the panel selecting artistes for various grades in All India Radio.
published – December 31, 2024 05:44 PM IST
