History of Mridangam Musical Instrument In English

History of Mridangam Musical Instrument

• Mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the Pakhavaj, is the primary percussion instrument. During tabla music, mridangam is often accompanied by ghatam, kanjira and morsing.
• Mridangam is a percussion instrument made of leather and jackfruit. This traditional instrument is found in different parts of South India. It is a popular binaural drum in Carnatic music and is used as an accompaniment in South Indian classical music.

Etymology

• The word “mridangam” is coined by the union (sandhi) of two Sanskrit words mŗt (clay or earth) and anga (organ), as the early versions of the instrument were made of hardened clay.

Legend

• In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for many deities, including Ganesha and Nandi, the vehicle and disciple of Shiva.
• Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva’s original Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to reverberate across the sky. Thus the Mridangam is also known as “Deva Vadyam” or “Divine Instrument”.

History

• Over the years, the mridangam evolved and was made from different types of wood for durability, and today, its body is made from the wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla, the Hindustani musical equivalent of the mridangam, was first created by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the tala (rhythm) system.
• Mridangam plays a major role in Neva music. One of the oldest manuscripts on music in Nepali language is a treatise on this instrument called Mridanga Anusanam.
• The extent of its use has changed over the years. In the old days, percussionists were employed only to accompany the lead players, often singers. Its use is no longer restricted to accompaniment, and is used for solo performances.

Tamil Culture

• In Tamil culture, it is called Tanumai. The earliest mention of mridangam in Tamil literature is probably found in Sangam literature where the instrument is known as ‘tannumai’. In later works, like the Silappadikaram, we find detailed references to it in the form of Natyashastra.
• During the Sangam period, it was one of the major percussion instruments used to initiate battle, along with Murasu, Tudi and Parai, as it was believed that its sacred sound would deflect enemy arrows And will protect the king.
• During the post-Sangam period, as mentioned in the epic Silappadikaram, it became a part of the Antarkottu – a musical ensemble that performed at the beginning of theatrical performances, and which later evolved into Bharatanatyam. The player of this instrument assumed the title of Tanumai Aruntozhil Mutalvan.

Construction

• The mridangam is a two-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollow piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick.
• The two mouths or holes of the drum are covered with a goat skin and are connected to each other by leather strips along the length of the drum.
• These bars are kept in a state of high tension to stretch the circular membranes on either side of the hull, causing them to resonate when struck.
• These two membranes differ in diameter to allow the production of both bass and treble sounds from the same drum.
• The bass hole is known as Thoppi or Eda Bhaga and the small hole is known as Valantalai or Bala Bhaga. The small membrane, when struck, produces a high-pitched sound with a metallic timbre.
• Wider aperture produces a lower pitched sound. The goat skin covering the small hole in the center is anointed with a black disc made of rice flour, ferric oxide powder and starch. This black tuning paste is known as satham or karnai and gives the mridangam its distinctive metallic timbre.

Ways To Use

• Immediately before use in a performance, the leather covering the broad aperture is moistened and a spot of paste made of semolina (rava) and water is applied to the centre, which lowers the pitch of the broad membrane. And that makes it very powerful.
• Now-a-days rubber gum is also used to loosen the membrane which helps in producing bass sound and its advantage is that unlike semolina it will not stick to the hands.
• The performer tunes the instrument by varying the tension of the leather straps stretching the body of the instrument. This is achieved by striking the mridangam directly with its large side down, and then striking the tension-bearing bars located along the periphery of the smaller membrane with a heavy object (such as a stone).
• A wooden peg is sometimes placed between the stone and the mridangam during the tuning process to ensure that the force is applied exactly at the point where it is needed.
• Striking the periphery of the short membrane in the direction of the rudder raises the pitch, while striking the periphery in the opposite direction (away from the rudder) lowers the pitch. The pitch must be equal and balanced at all points along the circumference of the Valanthalai for the sound to resonate fully.
• The pitch can be balanced with the help of pitch pipe or tambura. Larger membranes can also be tuned in a similar way, although this is not done as frequently.

Mridangam player –

• Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Palghat Mani Iyer, Vellore G Rambhadran, Palani Subramaniam Pillai, Ramanathapuram CS Murugabhupathi, Palghat R. Raghu, Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair, Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair, Kumbakonam M Rajappa Iyer, Thirukokarnam Ranganayaki Ammal, T K Murthy, Trichy Sankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Karaikudi Maniella, Venkateswara Rao, Mannargudi Easwaran, Thiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam ,AV Anand ,Dandamudi Sumathi Rama Mohan Rao ,Srimushnam V. Raja Rao ,Erikavu N Sunil ,HS Sudhindra ,BC Manjunath ,DA Srinivas |

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