PUDUKKOTTAI: As you travel through the lanes of Varappur in Pudukkottai, music invites you into a particular street. You needn’t ask for directions to the house of noted thavil player and teacher G Nagaraj.
Enter the house, and in the backyard you’ll see four students playing the thavil. The small waterbody nearby seems to make their music all the more enchanting.
Among the students, the youngest — nine-year-old Nishandini — is sure to catch your eye. She plays with such ease and panache that you’d probably never guess she’s a novice. She only picked up the instrument in September, and has already started playing at kutcheris. Perhaps it’s in her genes. Her dad’s side consists of nadaswaram players, and her mum’s, thavil players. Her guru is her maternal uncle.
Nishandini was drawn to music at a young age, and started learning the violin. But during the lockdown, she was increasingly drawn to the thavil. She’d seen her uncle and cousin play it on several occasions, but now, she decided it would be her instrument too. She told her parents, and they encouraged her to put aside the violin and pick up the thavil. They also asked her uncle to train her.
“She’s a natural,” remarks her guru and uncle Nagaraj. “I’ve taught a lot of students, but Nishandini is special. To succeed in music, you need knowledge, determination and purpose. I see all that in her. Within just two months, she performed her arangetram at a temple.” Nishandini has done multiple kutcheris since, and people specifically ask for her now. “She has been booked for several events,” Nagaraj exclaims in pride. He hopes to train his niece to be the best in the business, and adds a word of caution, that one must not strive to excel for money, but for the love of the instrument.
Though the thavil is predominantly played by males, many women and girls have now taken up the instrument, says Nagaraj. He concedes that he first asked Nishandini to learn the violin, but adds that she’s now much better at the thavil. However, it’s not all raw, natural talent. Nishandini puts in several hours of practise every day. She goes to her uncle’s house at 7 am to begin her practice, and stays there till 7 pm, taking only a few breaks in between.
“I have a lot of time since school is shut. I hope to become a thavil maestro like AK Palanivel and MR Vasudevan,” she says. Her father, Narayanan, says his heart swells with pride when looking at his daughter. “I just hope she succeeds in whatever she does. She is extremely sincere and has made us proud. Several people, including big thavil vidyans, have called up to congratulate my daughter,” says the beaming dad.