Thayambaka

Thayambaka or tayambaka is a type of solo chenda performance that developed in the south Indian state of Kerala, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and ilathalam players around.

A thayambaka performance on the chenda has thus its focus on the stick-and-palm rolls produced on the itantala (treble) of the chenda, while the rhythm is laid by his fellow instrumentalists on the valanthala (bass) chendas and ilatalam (cymbals). [Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham. "World Music", vol. 2, p. 97 (contributor Rolf Killius). Rough Guides, 2000. ISBN 1858286360] . Thayambaka, believed to have flourished during the feudal era, spans an average of 90 minutes. It begins at a slow pace before scaling on to a medium tempo and eventually culminating in high, frenzied speed. It has a skeletal pattern on which the performance progresses, but the main performer has the liberty to improvise and innovate to showcase his grip of rhythm, finesse of techniques and cerebral brilliance. In fact, thayambaka is one chenda concert that allows maximum individual freedom to the main player.

Thayambaka, like panchavadyam or most chenda melams, is primarily a temple art, but it is also performed outside shrines -- like on proscenium stages, open fields or pagentry grounds. As a ritual temple art, thayambaka is performed mostly at the annual festivals soon after the sunset ritual of deeparadhana inside the sanctum sanctorum, following which the deity is brought to the nadappura (open hall inside the temple precincts). In such cases too, artful exhibition of skills remain prominent, yet the performance is regarded as an offering to the presiding god/goddess. Like any art, thayambaka has its connoisseurs huddled around, listening to every beat of the player and judging them critically.

Over the past half a century or so, there have also been thayambaka performances with more than one main player. If they total two, it is called double thayambaka; and if they are three, it is called triple thayambaka. Rarely, there is also the pancha thayambaka, featuring five main chenda players in a row.

Thayambaka, like any major percussion art in India, is largely a male domain, though of late it has a handful of women practitioners as well. Also, thayambaka is occasionally performed on the mizhavu, an instrument that provides support to koodiyattam and koothu performances, besides idakka and less common instruments like villu. Certain patterns of rhythmic rolls in the thayambaka have influenced the taniyavartanam, the 20-minute-or-so instrumental concert on Carnatic music concerts, where mridangam plays the lead role.

Chapters of Thayambaka

The thayambaka has three main stages to it. First is the slow-paced Pathikaalam, where the main player(s) improvises on the eight-beat chembada thalam (taal). In the middle, some 50 minutes after the start, comes a switchover to another beat, and this stage is called 'Kooru'. The popular beats in this stage are the 14-beat adanta, six-beat panchari and five-beat chamba. The last stage, during which the thayambaka gains terrific pace in single-beat ekathalam, is called irikida. (It has, in fact, three sub-chapters called irunila, idavattam and irikida.)

Prominent Schools of Thayambaka

Thayambaka, which predominantly developed in central Kerala, has two major schools -- called Malamakkavu and Palakkad. The Malamakkavu school is known for its measured progression and grammatical purity, espcially in the initial Pathikaalam stage. The Palakkad school revels in imagination and lays emphasis on an improvisation-filled Kooru besides a prolonged yet patterned irikida.

It is another matter that thayambaka manifests itself with subtle changes in patterns and overall aesthetics in all the places it has developed over the years -- from northern Travancore to the erstwhile provinces of Kochi and Malabar.

Leading Masters of Thayambaka

Thayambaka today has its masters ranging from veterans to youngsters. To name a few, they include Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Kalloor Ramankutty, Kallekkulangara Achuthankutty, Sadanam Vasu, Kadannappilly Sankarankutty, Payyavur Narayana Marar, Cheruthazham Chandran, Pallassana Ponnukuttan, Kalamandalam Balaraman, Porur Unnikrishnan, Kalpathy Balakrishnan, Manjeri Haridas, Thrithala Kesavadas-Sankarakrishnan, Cherpulassery Krishnakumar Poduval, Sukapuram Radhakrishnan, Kanhangad Muraleedhara Marar, Thiruvalla Radhakrishnan, Guruvayur Haridas, Neeleswaram Santhoshkumar-Nandakumar, Pramodkumar, Mattannur Srikanth-Sriraj and Cherpulassery brothers (Jayan and Vijayan).

The late masters of the modern age, say from the 1950s, include Malamakkavu Kesava Poduval, Thiruvegappura Rama Poduval, Pallassana Padmanabha Marar, Thiyyadi (Narayanan) Nambiar, Pallavur Appu Marar, Thrithala Kunhikrishna Poduval, Alipparambu Sivarama Poduval, Thrithala Kesava Poduval, Pallavur Kunhukutta Marar, Kodulil Gopi Poduval, Pookkattiri Divakara Poduval, Angadippuram Krishnadas, Neettiyathu Govindan Nair and Mulangunnathukavu Appukutta Kurup.

ee also

* Kuzhal Pattu
* Maddalam and Chenda Keli
* Pandi Melam
* Panchari melam
* Panchavadyam

References

* Killius, Rolf. "Ritual Music and Hindu Rituals of Kerala". New Delhi: BR Rhythms, 2006. ISBN 81-88827-07-X (with author's permission).

Notes

External links

* [http://melam.gosree.org Melam Collections]