Tambura is back. But where are the players?

For the past several years R. Lakshminarayanan, R. Vaidyanathan, Latha Venkataraman and Kalyani Viswanathan have been on the most prominent fora of Carnatic music, yet most people are unlikely to know them. Unknown and anonymous, he is a tambura player.

Still, like Nisha Rajagopalan, most singers can’t imagine doing concerts.

Without Tambura player. Nisha says, “I practice with a tambura at home and there is no substitute for it.” Singer Vignesh Eshwar agrees, “The tambura player can set the tone for the entire performance.”

Professional tambura players came into existence only a decade ago. Earlier, senior musicians used to have their students play the tambura for them or choose an electronic version.

gain prominence

Despite the many options available today, luckily we still get to see tambura players on stage. In fact, many musicians are the first to book their favorite tambura player after accepting a concert date. As more musicians show a renewed interest in the instrument, the tambura is experiencing a revival. Ironically, the number of dedicated artists playing it is declining.

Late Saraswati aka Rani Anantaraghavan was known for both her immaculate chimes and her bright and cheerful appearance. Tambura Ganesan was another such artist. It’s a fine line between being involved with a tambourine player and being attentive to intrusions and harassers.

Playing an instrument may sound easy but it is not so, says senior musician and teacher RK Sriramkumar. “How it’s played is important – . . . Keeping the fingers parallel to the strings, gently moving the finger (not the nail) from string to string, the accompaniment of the strum, its regularity – every aspect is important and none of it Not trivial.” He adds that the tambura player should be sensitive to the overall sound. “If the sound of the instrument changes midway, the force on the strings should automatically change.”

With over 50 years of experience, the 93-year-old R. Lakshminarayanan may be the longest active tambura player. He and his brother had performed decades ago as a vocal duo known as the Vellore Brothers. Lakshminarayanan plays the flute as well as the kanjira. He has worked for TR Mahalingam, KB Sundarambal, Madurai Somu, N. Ramani, TS Sankaran, TV Sankaranarayanan and others. One of the few tambura performers who can tune an instrument entirely by himself, Lakshminarayanan is able to adjust the instrument immediately if Shruti changes in the middle, usually even before the singer notices.

Jayalakshmi Balakrishnan of Nada Inbum says that Lakshminarayanan’s skill earned her praise for the late violinist TN Krishnan. The tambura player owes his expertise as a technician to the renowned music school, which helped musicologist Prof. Helped Sambamurthy.

Kalyani Viswanathan, 67, who has been playing tambura for more than 15 years, spent many years in Mumbai, where she was convener at The Fine Arts Society, Chembur. When Kalyani moved to Chennai, she first started playing tambura during the music season and now plays regularly. She likes to experience music nearby and often asks singers about the songs they sing and thinks of interesting rhythms.

R. Vaidyanathan, 73, enjoys music, having taken it from his father, Thirukokarnam Ramachandra Iyer, a venika of Karaikudi Bani. She took up the tambura full time 25 years ago. She has shared the stage with M. Balamuralikrishna, Bombay Sisters, PS Narayanaswamy, Mandolin Srinivas and many current artists. A memorable moment for her is dancer VP Dhananjayan mentioning her in his comments after a concert. Despite suffering from fractures in his leg and back, Vaidyanathan continues to play tambura. “I fall for the music I enjoy a lot,” he says.

69-year-old Latha Venkataraman has been a tambura artist for 18 years and recently played in her 1,251st concert. He and his siblings took the music and its nuances from his father KV Krishnamurthy Iyer, a disciple of GN Balasubramaniam. Later Lata started playing tambura.

While Lakshminarayanan, Vaidyanathan and Latha travel in autorickshaws for concerts, Kalyani drives for concerts. They usually arrive at least 30 minutes before a concert and are fully dressed when the singers arrive. Tambura artists usually get Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 per concert, but even this small amount is often not remitted immediately. Most tambura artists have other jobs or get government or NGO grants. But they are all inspired by their love for music.

RK Sriramkumar is so obsessed with the tambura that he himself tunes it in most of the concerts of which he is a part. He has a firm belief, as does singer N.N. Vijay is that of Shiva, that the voice takes on the character of the instrument used for the Shruti. “Everyone should sing for the tambura. Thyagaraja himself has praised the instrument in many compositions,” says Sriramkumar. However, he laments the fact that the instrument is used to differentiate it from its electronic version. Need to be referred to as an acoustic tambourine.” It’s a tragedy that musicians have brought upon themselves by settling for electronic versions. Just as players are expected to bring their own instruments to concerts, singers should be instructed to bring tamburas. Students should be encouraged to play the tambura for their gurus on stage to experience the constant give and take. ,

He appreciates the Academy of Music’s emphasis on instrumentation for ‘Senior Slot’ concerts and hopes to do the same for other categories. “Any musical organization should have at least two functional tents – one for male and female shruti,” says Sriramkumar. He mentions the Shruti Music and Dance Society of Philadelphia, which acquired the tambura, and the Cleveland Aradhana, which was given several tamburas by Shankar Ramachandran, the grandson of Kalki Krishnamurthy. Locally, Jayalakshmi Balakrishnan says that the Raga Sudha Hall has a dozen tents on site in various Shrutis.

Sriramkumar suggests that electronic instruments can be used as a baseline for tuning an acoustic instrument, but should not be louder than this. He is clear, and Nisha and Vignesh agree, that the traditional tambura is irreplaceable in its depth and sense of sound and is certainly not up for optics alone.

Chennai-based writers write on art and culture.