THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Students of music should have an awareness on the technical intricacies of traditional percussion instruments,’’ said Mridangam maestro and Sangeetha Vidwan Dr. T V Gopalakrishnan. He was inaugurating the short-term programme on ‘Rhythmology’, organised by the Department of Mridangam of Sri Swathi Thirunal Government College of Music as part of ‘Sadhana’, the academic initiative of the State Government on Wednesday.
Dr. Gopalakrishnan began his lecture-demonstration by reciting a verse from the ‘Dhaitiriyo Upanishad’. The topic of presentation was ‘Research Focus on Sounds and Vibrations in Mridangam’. He elaborated the dynamics of music focusing on the percussion style ‘anavadha vadhya’. ‘’Mridangam, the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a musical ensemble, is derived from two Sanskrit terms ‘mrid’ (clay or earth) and ‘angam’ (body). The term first mentioned in ‘natyashastram’ was coined by Bharatamuni. Mridangam is the most indispensable part of the South Indian classical performance,” he added.
‘’Music students should be exposed to rhythmical study based on laya. They should be able to appreciate the masters so that their academic study would be genuine enough”, said Prof. M Balasubramaniam, head of the Department of Mridangam, Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music.
In the afternoon session, Dr. Gopalakrishnan gave a lecture-demonstration on “Musical Approach and Mridangam Accompaniment”. At 5.30 p.m, there was a special music concert of Prof. Mavelikara P Subramaniam, Dr. M N Moorthy and Dr. T V Gopalakrishnan.
On Thursday, B Harikumar, Trichy R Thayumanavan and Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan will deliver lecture-demonstrations. The Mridangam seminar will conclude on Friday with ‘Pancha Vadya Prapancham’ by the students of Peringode High School.
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