PALAKKAD: Peruvembu, a hamlet on the outskirts of Palakkad, is home to a number of traditional percussion instrument-making units. There are around 15 families belonging to the Kadayan community who take this as a vow of life.
The instruments they churn out include the ‘chenda’ which is a blend of both ‘deva’ and ‘asura’ sounds and the mangalavadya instruments like the maddalam, mridangam, timila, edakka, udukku and the tabla. The thakil which is more of a Tamil instrument is also made here.
“We make all instruments for which orders are placed from within the state and outside. Though the younger generation have failed to take up this profession, still there are a large number of families who stick to this traditional profession”, says the 79-year-old Maruthalaparambu Krishnan. His children Ravichandran, Manikantan and his brothers’ children- Raghavan, Gangadharan and Babu have unfailingly followed him in this profession.
The instruments are made out of the skin of buffaloes. The skin is tanned in the sun and soaked in water and stuck on the instruments made out of the wood of jackfruit trees. Leather strings are used in mridangams and maddalams on the outer surface. For a soothing sound, the skin of cows are used on the head portion. After sticking the leather, the mixture of charcoal made from burning the dry palm leaves of arecanut trees and rice is rubbed on the middle portion of the instrument which forms a dark patch.
In the past, green arecanuts were pounded and used as gum. But now, fevicol substitutes it.
The Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) has proposed to organise a ‘kootayma’ of traditional of percussion instrument-makers of Peruvembu.
“We plan to organise this kootayma in order to see that this traditional profession practised by members of successive generations does not fade into oblivion over the years. The kootayma is intended to encourage them and to discuss on how to develop and market the products and formulate schemes in this direction”, said Nabard district development manager S Padmanabhan.District Collector M C Mohandas will inaugurate the kootayma. The representatives of financial institutions, Tourism Department, Sangeetha Nataka academy, Kerala Kalamandalam and various government agencies will participate.