Oru̱ Tandīyiṉ Kural

At the outset my humble pranam-s to my great guru-s Smt Dr. Poorna Vaidhyanathan and “Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar” Awardee and “Kalaimamani” Mridangam Maestro Sri J. Vaidhyanathan for initiating me to learn the art of playing śruti mātā (Tambura).  Śrī J.  Vaidhyanathan Sir first taught me how to play the Tambūrā, the sitting posture and the hand posture, plucking the strings of the Tambūrā without affecting the śruti.  He also used to spend time with me to oversee my progress in Tambūrā playing. I am indebted to both of them for all my learning in music and as a Tambūrā artiste.

JV Sir is my mentor in several ways – off stage and on stage manners, stage presence and importantly – punctuality. I would also like to thank Smt. Jayalakshmi Balakrishnan who is the secretary of Naada Inbam music organisation in Mylapore Chennai for giving me so many opportunities in her sabha.

I studied Sangeetha Visharada (Violin) in Tirupati S V College of Music and Dance from 2016 to 2019 under the guidance of Dr. Poorna Vaidhyanathan and after finishing the course successfully in Tirupati, I chose to come to Chennai in 2019 to pursue my music learning. I joined the Music College Adyar, Chennai to do my degree course in Violin. 

As a degree student, I was (and am still) very fortunate to have been taken under the wing of Sri J. Vaidhyanathan who accommodated me in his house and provided all the help, support and guidance needed in every way possible. During this time JV Sir taught me how to play and tune the Tambūrā. He used to teach me and make me practise the same daily. He would also introduce and recommend me to other artistes and sabhā secretaries that fetched me plenty of opportunities. Since then there was no looking back and this is how I became a professional Tambūrā artiste, also going forward in my educational path. 

I hold a Bachelors’ degree in violin, and masters' in vocal music. I have played Tambūrā for over 800 concerts in and outside of Chennai and gained experience in my musical journey.

Difficulties in playing Tambūrā:

Initially during the concerts in which I accompanied on the Tambūrā I had unbearable pain in my thighs and my right hand because most of the concerts were either 2 ½ hours or more. I used to get muscle cramps during my initial concert days. But after playing many concerts, I could overcome this problem . This problem arises because, while some artistes bring Mīraj Tambūrā which has a huge kuḍam (resonator) made of gourd shell, some other artistes bring solid wooden Tambūrā which is very heavy, though the resonator is medium. Accordingly I have to adjust my sitting posture and finger placement for both the types of Tambūrā-s. I also used to feel heaviness in my right hand and fingers while playing for more than 3 hours continuously.

Tambūrā artistes are the only artistes on the stage who cannot take a break even for a second. Even if it is a 3 hours concert the Tambūrā artiste plays the instrument non-stop from varṇa to manġaḷam. There were times when i have had three concerts the same day too. But when all is said and done, I learn a lot by playing the Tambūrā for different artistes. 

In most of the concerts when the artistes on the stage are introduced,  the name of Tambūrā artiste is conveniently forgotten. As a Tambūrā artiste, this hurts me very much. But on the other hand, there are artistes and Sabha secretaries who treat us with respect and affection.

Remuneration: 

I feel that the Tambūrā artistes are not paid well both by the artistes and also by the sabhā-s. Except for a handful of artistes the rest do not pay sufficiently.  

Consider this situation. I am a Tambūrā artiste who stays in Alwarpet. If I have a concert in Velachery and I am not taking the instrument with me, I can go to the concert by public transport. But if I take the instrument with me I have to travel to the concert either by auto or car which is very expensive compared to the meagre amount which the artiste or the organisers pay, which will not even cover my travelling expenses. Moreover, they are not concerned about how I came or how much I spent for my trip.

I personally feel all Tambūrā artistes should be adequately compensated for the transport as well along with a decent concert remuneration. I sincerely wish that all artistes and Sabhā secretaries insist on the traditional Tambūrā in a concert to keep the tradition alive and also help Tambūrā artistes in turn.  

I would like to thank all the artistes and concert organisers who have been encouraging me and providing me with opportunities from the bottom of my heart.