INTRODUCTION
Thavil and Nadaswaram are auspicious musical instruments, which would be played regularly in most of the Hindu temples, and it forms part and parcel of Hindu wedding ceremonies, and also in other functions of Hindus. Thavil and Nadaswaram are used in Carnatic music concerts and during the times of festivals and ceremonies in South India. For playing both of these instruments, the players must contain good health, since these instruments extract lot of energy from the music players. In ancient Hindu texts, these two instruments were praised by the great poets, for its purity.
In order to describe the popularity of thavils and Nadaswaram, the famous picture "Thillaanaa Mohanambal", was produced in the year 1968.
Thavil is considered as a popular instrument, especially in Thanjavur. The thavil and Nadaswaram are made out of using good inputs, and it would be usually produced by the experts in the field. The musical instruments Thavil and Nadaswaram were mentioned in our Holy Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Similar to Lord Krishna’s flute, these instruments have gained popularity among the people, due to its sweet sound. By listening to the Thavil and Nadaswaram music, we would forget our worries, and would get freshness in our mind and body.
Both the instruments, Thavil and Nadaswaram would be played by the experts in the relevant field. These instruments have been played since ancient times, and during the marriage ceremonies of kings and rich people, these instruments would be played, in order to entertain the guests, and also to make the ceremony to look rich. The kings would treat the players in a respectable manner, nicely reward them, and they would be offered grand feast at the palace, after the completion of their musical concerts.
Some famous Thavil players are:
⦁ Thirumulaivayil Muthuveer pillai
⦁ Thirumulaivayil Shanmugavadivel pillai
⦁ Valangaiman A. Shanmugasundaram Pillai
⦁ Valayapatti A. R.Subramaniam
⦁ Haridwaramangalam A. K.Palanivel
⦁ Needamangalam Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai
⦁ Thirunageshwaram Subramaniana Pillai
Some of the famous nadaswaram players are:
- Thirumarukal Nadesa Pillai
- T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai
- Thiruvengadu Subramania Pillai
- Vedaranyam Vedamoorthy
- Karukurichi Arunachalam
- Thirucherai Sivasubramanian Pillai
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR
