. '/ /
1981 .CENSUS OF lNDIA •
Part·XD Series - 20
0 . TAMILNADU . I
i I I , " I I I '. HAND'I"RAFT . , \ \.
" \ ~URYEY I .J RE1PORT: . I
MUSICAL I STRUMENTS ! I tRqort by .: fJ·SUKUMAlt N;ANDAGOPAL
IEdited by: ANSfR AHAMfD
I !
\ srpe(ViSed by: M.THANGARAJU 315.482 , 1981 .
HSR DIRECTORATE OF CENSUS OPERATIONS . TAMIL NdDft\ FORE'\tVORD The Indian handicrafts are known the world over for their rich variety. grace, elegance and skilled craftsmanship. Nevertheless, a number of handicrafts because of their st:ff competition with fac tory made products, non-availahility of raw materials. cxhorbitant increase in the manufacturing cost. IRck of proper marketing facili ties for finished products or due to a variety of other reasons have either become extinct or have reached the n:0ribund staQ:e. After independence, however, a numher of schemes were introJucecl by different governll1ent agencies for their growth and de\'e1opment but still this sudden impetus have heiped only a few crafts to flou rish and thereby become ~~pinners of foreign exchange [,->, the coun try.
Despite the unique position being enjoyed by the handicrafts. especially in the rea1m of national economy. the general awareness among the people in the country about our crafts and craftsmen had been deplorably PO('f. Nothing was practically known about the commodities pf0duced. techniques employed for the lT1alll;f'~!cture of different objects, raw materials used. their availability, methods adopted for the sale of finished proclucts etc. An attempt was there fore made in connection with the ] 961 Census to study about 150 crafts from different parts of the country with a view to provide basic informdtion on those crafts ')vhich were selected for the study.
At the 1971 Census, the study on handicrafts was not taken up but t]lis was again revived in connection with the 1981 Census. There has been, however, some difference behveen the studies taken up in connection with the Censuses of 1961 and 1981. While the 1961 studies have covered both rural and urban crafts, the 1981 studies have focussed their attention only on traditional rural based crafts. That aparL the 1981 studie..:; besides touching upon those as pects which were covered under the 19(,1 series. have laid emphasis on matters that are vital for the revival of rural crafts and thereby for the rejuvenation of the economy of the region. particularly the villages. This i£ in consonance with the policy of the government to give due importance to the rural sector with focus on employment intensive strategy of development jn which next to agriculture, the small scale industries and handicrafts playa significant role.
The formats required for undertaking the study were formu Jated by Dr. K. P. Ittaman under the able guidance of Dr. N.G. Nag. the then Deputy Registrar GeneraL Social Studies Division. Dr. Ittaman who succeeded Dr. Nag as Deputy Registrar General, So cial Studies Division co-ordinated the study undertaken in different States / t_; nion Territories by the Directorates of Census Operations. The reports received from the Directorates were examined by Shri M. K. J:lin. Senior Research 01Ilc.;~· \vith the help of SrtH, SumJn PI'ash,lL Assi~tant Director c'~' CcJ1:-lIS Operations and Shri ~;udesh Mad(i,]1. Tnvesti!2ator. ! dm g:rd:t:~·~tl to all of them for organising this studv. ,_ ~ ~ .
(i) 1-17 RGI/NDjS8 (ii) The present report is the outcome of a study undertaken on Musical Instruments by the DireGtorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu. I have immense pleasure in acknowledging the ser vices rendered bv Shri M. Thangaraiu, Deputy Director and his colleagues in rhe Census Directorate -for bringing out this publi cation.
New Delhi, V. S. VERMA the 1st June. ] 988. !?egisl.'l'ar General India PREFACE Crafts study is one of the inter-censaI projects of ]981 Census. til Tam.il Nadu. IV1usiC:.ll hstrul;'::_:nts hclVe b~:cn :;;clec::ted for this pro ject. Music ]s inter,-twined with Imrmmity. The mun from time immemorial lived with music in some form or other. As the music is varied in intonation and iteration, the instruments required for -:uch music are also several in kind. The making of such instru ments is a fine craft by itself. By studying the various types of musical instruments, one can understand the depth of development that the art attained. Tamil Nadu, which has all along been the domain of Carnatic music, developed its own types of musical instru ments. The making of musicai instruments depended mostly on the \-~lr)eties of music f;)r \vhich tf1c Rajahs, Maharajahs gave en couragement in their courts and later on the preferences that people had ;n general. 1\1m;ic is the only thing that can stand the test of time. Though as many as 12 musical instruments are manufactured, only some are studied for want of adequate information. The instru ments studied such as Veena, Nadaswaram, Mridangam, etc. are in use, from very ancient period and the people who involved in making them arc dcing so from generation to generation. This study not only gives an accOLmt of musical instruments but also and more imDortantly the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the craftsmen making rather creating these wonderful pieces which please YOll, me and everyone in the UEtVerse.
This publication is the result of team work and collective responsibility. S l Shri N. Sukumar Nandagopal and T. S. Rajaram. Investigators and Shri Anser Ahmed, Asst. Director assisted me in finalising the report. Shri A. V. Raman, Investigator, S/Shri M.R.V. Krishna Rao and S. Raghavan, Statistical Assistants attended to the field work and tabulation of data lmder the supervision of Shri M. Nagappan, Deputy Director. Shri E. S. Jayamohan, Artist prepared the sketches and cover design. I acknowledge the able services of all.
The Registrar General, India, Shri V. S. Verma has in his fore ",',lord elaborately dealt with the objectives of the study of rural bas ed traditional crafts and also indicated as to how from Census to Census, these crafts are studied. I am deeply grateful to Shri V. S. Verma for his timely guidance and advice in bringing out this publi cation. (iii) (iv) 1 thank Dr. lttaman. Deputy Registrar General, India, Social Studies Division for having extended all possible help in completing this study.
I also thank Shri M. K. Jain, Senior Research Officer and Smt. Suman Prashar, Assistant Director of Census Operations who have gone through this report and offered 'i7aluable suggestions.
Madras, M. THANGARAJU, December. 191)~. i)C'pliry Director of Census Operations. CONTENTS
Pages
Chapter [ ~-History of origin and developmenl or the craft . 1-5 Chapter 11 ---Craftsmen in their rural setting 7-16 Chapter III --~Proccss of learning 17-20 Chapter IV --Manufacturing processes 21--29 Chapter V ~-;\1a(k"l;ngi 31--34 Chapter VI -Craft and employment 35---3S Chapter Vi[ --Conclu,ioll 39
APPENDiX 40
ILLUSTRATIONS Facil1g Pagt N". PHOTOGRAPHS
1. Premises of the Thanjavur Musieallnstruments Workers' Co-operative Society 2. Secretary and other employees of the Co operative Society 3. Musical Instruments arc on display in tl'e show case of the Co-operative Society 4. Musical Instruments are stored in the godown of the Co-operative Society for onward transmissi'Jn to various sales emporia throughout the country and abroad 5. A master craftsman engaged in the making of Veena 6. Another craftsman at work in the manufacture of Veena in his own workshop 7. The Portable Veena 8. Shri P. Mahalingam, inventor of the portable Veena tuning the ii!.strument 9. A master craftsman attaching the parts of Nadaswaram in perfect alignment I I 10. Craftsmen at work in the making of Nadaswaram . I ~ 20 11. An engraving machine used for making the shells of percussion instruments I 12. A master craftsman is shaping the outer circumference of the block of wood inserted in the engraving machine J 13. Parts of Veen<1 21 14. The Kudam of Veena is being hollowed out of a single piece of Jack Wood J 15. Carving the Yali Diukha of Veena 23 16. The Bridai is being fixed to the stem of the Veena J 17. Achamaram is being cut to size for making the conical bore of the Naaaswaram -1 I 18. External trimming of the Conical bore I 19. Pieces of seasoned achamaram for making the hollow pipe of the Nadaswaram ~ I 26 20. External trimming of the hollow pipe I 21. Tools used in the making of Nadaswaram J 22. A master craftsman is giving finishing touch (0 the barrel shaped resonator of the Mridangam 23. Shells of the percussion instruments J 27 (v) (vi)
SKETCHES facing Page No.
1. Veena '\ : 22 2. Parts of VeeAa j 3. Tambura 4. Parts of Tambura 5. Nadaswaram 24 6. Mridangam 28 FOREWORD The Indian handicrafts are known the world over for their rich variety, grace, elegance and skilled craftsmanship. Nevertheless, a number of handicrafts because of their stiff competition with fac tory made products, non-availability of raw materials, exhorbitant increase in the manufacturing cost, lack of proper marketing facili ties for finished products or due to a variety of other reasons have· either become extinct or have reached the moribund stage. After independence, however, a number of schemes were introduced by different government agencies for their growth and development but still this sudden impetus have helped only a few crafts to flou rish and thereby become spinners of foreign exchange hr the coun try.
Despite the unique position being enjoyed by the handicrafts, especially in the realm of national economy, the general awareness among the people in the country about our crafts and craftsm~n had been deplorably poor. Nothing was practically known about the commodities produced, techniques employed for the m31Hlfacture of different objects, raw materials used, their availability; method~ adopted for the sale of finished products etc. An attempt was there~ fore made in connection with the 1961 Census to study about 150 crafts from different parts of the country with, a view to provide basic information on those crafts which were selected for the study.
At the 1971 Census, the study on handicrafts was not taken up but this was again revived in connection with the ] 981 Census. There has been, however, some difference between the studies taken up in connection with the Censuses of 1961 and 1981. While the 1961 studies have covered both rural and urban crafts, the 1981 studies have focussed their attention only on traditional rural based crafts. That apart, the 1981 studies besides touching upon those as pects which were covered under the 1961 series. have laid emphasis on matters that are vital for the revivaL of rural crafts and thereby for the rejuvenation of the economy of the region, particularly the villages. This is in consonance with the policy of the government to give due importance to the rural sector with focus on employment intensive strategy of development in which next to agriculture, the small scale industries and handicrafts play a significant role.
The formats required for undertaking the study were formu lated by Dr. K. P. Ittaman under the able guidance of Dr. N.G. Nag, the then Deputy Registrar General, Social Studies Division. Dr. Ittaman who succeeded Dr. Nag as Deputy Registrar General, So cial Studies Division co-ordinated the study undertaken in different States / Union Territories by the Directorates of Census Operations. The reports received from the Directorates were examined by Shii M. K. J;"1in, Senior Research OfTIC'2 r with the help of Srnt. Suman Prashc.1r. Assistant Director o~· Census Operations and Shri Sudesh Mad8.n. Investigator, I am grd!eHll to all of them for organising this study.
(i) 1-17 RGljNDj88 (ii) The present report is the outcome of a study undertaken on Musica I Instruments by the Direatorate of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu. I have immense pleasure in acknowledging the ser vices rendered by Shri M. Thangaraju, Deputy Director and his colleagues in [he Censlls Directorate for bringing out this publi cation.
New Delhi, V. S. VERMA the 1st June. 198~. !?egistmr General llidia CHAPTER I HISTORY OF ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRAFT
History of Odgin, figures like Gandharvas and ~ras who figure. in the le<>ends connected with the sCience and practice In India, music is given an important place in the of mu~ic. During this period, musical instrumen~ scheme of life of the nation. There is not a single were classified into 1. Tata (stringed instruments). festival or ceremony without some form of music or 2. Sushin (wind instruments), 3 .. Avanaddha (P~r other. India is one of the few countries in the World cussion instruments) and 4. Ghana (mstruments which presenting a rich variety of musical instruments. The are struckagainst each other). varieties that have been evolved in the course of her long history are thoroughly representative of the Varieties of Veena, drums. pipes, flutes and other stringed, wind and percussion groups. musical instruments are found in the ancient sculp tures of Bharhut, Mathura, Gandhava, Amaravathi. Music is termed tl~e finest of fine aTts. Since the Sanchi, Nagarjuna-konda. Konark, Frescoe~ and dawn of existence, music has prevailed in all parts paintings of Ajanta and temples of South India. of the world. It has developed differently in ac cordance with the vnrying standards of intellectual l'vlusical instruments are frequently mentioned in status, scientific consciousness, social awareness, phi· Vedas and also in the ancient Indian epics. Rama losophical pursuits, relJgious trends, culture and the vana and Mahabharata. The Sama Veda is a stand way of life. - ing monument to the wonderful skill and originali.ty of the ancient people in the scienc~ of Y\lcal mUSIC. In India, classical m'.1sic is a synthesis of our lnfact, the c;assical musk of IndIa ongmates from art, literature. science. mythology, religion and phi Vedic chants. The specially composed Rig Veda. losophy. There are two systems of classical music, consisting of invocations to the .P~ that. to be viz. the Camatie and the Hindustani, which are present at the sacrifice. refers to Slllgtng, dancmg and found in this country. Though both the systems have to the musical instruments that accompany them. the same fundamentals and sometimes the very There are hymns devoted to war drums even as early same principles, they have branched off along diffe as the Atharva Veda. rent paths mainly because of the scientific treatment given to the subje'::t and progressive evolution. In Valmiki's Ramayana. Lava and Kusa sing the Ramayana during the Asvamedha to the music. of From early times, Thaniavur has been the Chief Veena. Ravana is portrayed as a master of claSSical seat of music in South India and most of the best music and a great player of musical instruments. known Camatic musicians have either lived there Or have received their musical education from the musi In the Mahabharata, Krishna uses a conch called cians of the Thanjavur school. Little information Panchajanya on the battle field. Arjuna's conch is can be gathered as to what extent the art flourished called Devadatta. Krishna is constantly associated there but it is certain that several centuries ago a with the Venu (flute) whose music charmed the regular school of music was established and patro gop'ies of Brindavan. nised by the Maharajas. The native courts of Tra vancore and Mysore have also patronised music to Chronolo_gy a great extent and it is believed that the art was ori ginally brought to them from Thanjavur. Sanskrit treaties viz. Bharata's 'Natya Sashtra' and Sarangadeva's 'Sang ita Ratnakara' on music and lite The early beginni:ngs rature containing references of musical instruments begin from about thl! 3rd cen~ury B.C. ~amudr~ Gupta The modem Indian Musical Instruments afford a is represented on some of hIS old COIns plaYI.ng ~~ little idea as to how primative the instruments were seven-stringed bow shaped Veena called Panvadml. and from which they are descended. Among the commonly accepted main classes of instruments, References of musical instruments are found in namely the string, the wind and the percussion, the ancient Tamil literature viz. Silappadhikaram. The last mentioned has the earliest design. The drums \"aram and Divyaprabundham. Bow shaped Veena were called bhOomi dundubhi and it was used on is called Yazh. Early Tamil Kings, the Cheras. such occasions as the Mahavratha ceremony men Cholas and the Pandyas patronised musicians called tioned in the Samlitas and the Brahmanas. Panar, who, with Yazh on their shoulders, visited. the courts of the kings, singing songs describing the ad The vedic period ventures of the kings. Music and dance have been the chief forms of re Amir Khusrau was a great poet and musician at ligious expression in India. The origin of music is the court of Sultan Alauddin Khilii and he did much attributed to Gods and Goddesses and to mythologica1 in popularise the art of music in india. He invented 2 and introduced new styles of singing, new talas and (2) Where the wind is supplied by the breadth of new ragas which were an enrichment of the existing the performer (e.g.) Conch and musical pipes. system of music. The invention of the quawalli form of singing, numerous ragas and compositions as well Gaurikalam, Ekkalam, Tiruchinnam, Tarai, Tut as the invention of the Sitar and Tabla are attributed to him. tari, Bhuri, Kombu and Reed Dulcimer are instances of musical pipes withC?ut finger-holes .. Nad~swaram, In the north, Indian music reached the peak of Samai, Hute, Mukhavtna and Magudl are lnstances its splendour during the reign of Akbar (1542-1605) of musical pipes with finger-holes. who was a great patron of the arts and in whose II1strument~: of Pers,;:.. s<;ilm \vhieD are mostly time court, one of nine genius was the 'Sangeet Samrat' Tansen. keeping instrument, are of two kinds:- (1) Skin-covered instruments or the membrano- During the reign of Raghunatha Nayak of Than phones. They are called ~ana~dha ~adyas javur (1614-1632), a musicologist called Govinda in Sanskrit and T 01 Karuvlgal In TamIl. Dikshita fixed the frets of the South Indian Veeua so that all ragas could be played. This fixing of (2) Ghana Vadvas or au(nphones. They are so frets of the Veena is an important landmark in the lid and weighty instrurHents of metal or wood, deve-lopmeilt of the South Indian Veena. The ear Cymbals and castanets are examples. liest Veena was one with open strings which in volved elaborate process of tuning and retuning. The skin in the c.vanaddha vadyas may be stretch ed over an open circular frame of wood or metal ~s Archaeologists have discovered that Indian musi in Kanjira, Tambattam. Chakrav~dya. a~d . Surya~l cal instruments have migrated to Egypt and other rai; or over a hollow body enclosmg aIr lI1slde as III middle Eastern regions and to Central Asia during Damaram, Tabla, Baya, Nagara, Kinikittu, Karanai 4th and 7th centuries. This Veena became the pipa and Vira Malahari; or the skin may be stretched in China and was cha,lged into the biwa when it over the two faces of a hollow shell, at both ends as reached Japan in the 8th century. The Kacbcbapi in Udal. Tavil, Udukkai and Mridangam. Veena attributed to the Goddesses Saraswati still survives in Philippines where it is known as 'Kad japi'. Important craft centres In the sphere of Musical Instrumer;tts, India .po~ Oassification sesses an inestimable wealth and vanety. IndIa IS the one country in the world to manufacture a w~de Musical instruments are classified into:~ range of musical instruments. The manufacturlll~ (1) Stringed instruments centres of these instruments are spread from KashmIr in the North to Kanniyakumari in the South. (2) Wind instruments (3) Percussion instruments In Tamil Nadu, Tiruchchirappalli, Thanjavur, Vel lore, Polur, Salem, Coimbatore, Panagudi, Val1i .Stt:iiJged instruments or chordophones are known yoor, Thukkalay and Marthandam are intpo~tant as tata vadyas in Sanskrit and Narambu Karuvigal in manufacturing centres of this craft. The. best ple~es Tamil. They are of three kinds-(a) Bowed varieties: of musical instruments come from ThanJavur whtch A Violin. Sarangi, Dilruba and Balasaraswati (b) has been rightly called the cradle of crafts in South Plucked varieties, where the strings are plucked by the India. fingers or by a plectrum of wire or born; Veena, Gottuvadyam, Sitar, Swarapat, Tambura and Ektar. Outside Tamil Nadu, Quilon and Emakulam of (c) Those struck with a Hammer or a pair of sticks Kerala, Mysore and BangalOi"e of Karnataka, Bebuli either dirl"',ctly or mechanically: Gottuvadyam. Qanum of Andhra Pradesh are some of rhe wen known cen and Pianoforte. tres of this craft.
The bowed and the plucked varieties, where the Different Musical Instruments manufactured and their strings are stopped. admit of two varieties each:-- use (1) Those with a plain finger-board; Violin, Sa Tamil Nadu has a rich variety of musical instru rangi. Sarode and Gottuvadyam. ments each with a distinct name, shape. construc (2) Those with frets: Veena, Sitar, Dilruba and tion. tochnique and quality of tone .. The t~adition~l Balasaraswati. musical instruments which are now In use m TamIl Nadu are as follows' Wind iDs1l'omeftts or aerophones are known as Sushira Vadyas in Sanskrit and Kattru Vatti~tillgal 1. Veena or Tulat Karuvigal in Tamil. They are of two kmds-- 2. Got1uvady'am (I) Where the wind is supplied by a mechanical 3. Flute contrivance. commonly a belJows: (e.g.,) Or gan and the Harmonium. 4. Nadaswaram 3 5. Thavil chchirappalli is another centre ergaged in the manu facturing of Veena. Narasingampettai of Kumbako " ivlridangam nam taluk and Thiruvaduthurai of Mayuram taluk 7. Kanjira in Thanjavur district are the famous centres for the manufacturing of Nadaswaram and Mridangam res 8. Gatam pectively. Flute, the most distinctive of the wind instruments is manufactured in Kanniyakumari and 9. J\1oursing Tirunel ve:i districts. 10. Tambura From' the data col1e..:ted from the office of the Re~ ]1. Conch gional Deputy Director of All India Handicrafts Board. Madras and the Thanjavur Musical Instru ]2. Sruthi Box ments Workers' Co-operative Society. it appears that there are' 10 centres in Tamil Nadu, practising the Veena is the only instrument manufactured on a ..:raft engaging about 67 households und employing Jarge scale. The manufacturing units of this instru 121 craftsmen. The details are shown in the state ment are mostly concentrated in Thanjavur. Tiru- ment below:
Table f.l
Craft Centres in the State
"~a11le of Dis1 rict Craft Centre Name of musical No. of No. of Annual instruments manu house crafts produc factured holds men tion (in rupees)
2 3 4 5 6
I. Thanjavur Thanjavur Veena. 55 76 900,000 Narasingampettai Tambura, Thiruvaduthurai Nadaswaram, Mridangam 2. Tirllchchirappalli Tiruchch irappall i Vecna, 3 20,000 Taillbura 3. North Arcot Vellore Gatam, 2 10 100,000 Thabla 4. Salem Annadanallatti Mridangam, 2 10 100,000 Thabla 5. Tirllnelveli Panagudi, Flute, 4 12 60,000 Valliyoor H arm ani u m 6. Kanniyakumari Thukkalay Flute 3 10 37,000 Marthandam Harmonium
These instruments are mostly used to accompany Thondamanctala Satakem or Er Ezhupathu. Kamma concert music, temple music, martial i11usic, dance Ian refer to those who make articles pleasing to the music and folk music. Recently there is a growing eyes. tendency both among lndians and foreigners to teach their children instrumental music, particularly Veena. The Kammalans are made up of five occupational Naturally, there is a steady demand for the instru sections, namely, Thattan (Gold and silver smiths) ment allover the country and abroad. Kmman (Copper and brass smiths), Karuman (Black smith). Thatchan (Carpenters) and Kalthatchan Particulars of community associated with the craft (Stonesm iths). This craft has been developed and preserved by The Kammalans claim to be descended -from Vis the Viswakarma community known more popularly wakarma. the architect of the gods. They wear sac as Kammalan in South India. The word 'Kammalan' red thread like the Brahmins and followed Brahmi is perhaps derived from Sanskrit 'Karma' meaning nica1 ways of living and ceremonies. They called 'work' and may have later changed in popular usage themselves acharis and paWns which are the corrupt 'Kammalans'. Thurston.* however, is of the view ed forms of Brahminical titles, Acharya and Bhattar that Kammalan is a corrupted form of the Tamil and claimed knowledge of the Vedas. As the Brah. word Kannalan in support of which he cites the oc m in priests refused to officiate in their ceremonies, currence of these words in Tamil poems such as they created their own priests.
*E. Thurston--('oslc lind Trill!'\' or Southern India, Vo\unw TIl P:\!T,<' 106--125.--1lJ09--Gov('rnmelit Press, Madras. 2-17 RGIXD!88 4 This community which has zeaiously guarded the rers of the instruments and the orders are placed secrets of the craftsm_anship has. fortunately for us. direct with the manufacturers. :)reserved it from extinction. In spite of this useful function which Kammalans did for the society. their The society purchases articles from the members status was always low in that society dominated by and executes orders placed with them by the va priestly and martial classes. rious sales emporia throughout the country and abroad. Many legends and fictitious stories have gained currency in popular tradition about the origin of this The society despatched musical instruments worth caste. An unconscious attempt has been made to about Rs. 30,000 induding Veena, Tambura, .Mri elevate the status of this caste by associating it with dangam, Harmonium and Sruthi Box for the music legendary stories and mythical rishis and kings. These s\·hool attached to the Murugan temple ;'1 Minor stories were intended to give them a feeling of self Park, London, run by the Tamil Sathsangam. This importance. Thus, the story is toid recounting the has helped the society to register a record sale of original caste from rishi Viswakarma who with five instruments worth Rs. 2.5 lakhs and earn a profit faces. three eyes and ten arms was born out of the of Rs. 34,000 for the year 1985-86. third eye of Siva and was blessed by him to be the presiding deity of all the artisan who work on earth. According to the Secretary of the Society, though Five sons were born to him from his five faces. They Veenas are manufactured in other places like My were Silpi, Manu, Mayan, Dwasta and Pandava. Silpi sore and Bangalore in Karnataka and Quilon in was ordained to work in stone, Manu in iron, Mayan Kerala, thanks to the high quality of Veenas manufac in wood, Dwasta in precious metals and Pandava in tured by the members of the society, there is a steady brass and bronze. Thurston records a similar legend demand all over the country and abroad also. Veenas with minor variations. "Viswakanna" is said to have are being supplied to musicians in Singapore, Malasia, had five sons, viz., Manu, Maya, Silpi. Dwashtra etc. Sri Lanka also used to be an important centre of ar.d Daivagna. These five sons were the originators Carm.tic music until recently. Veenas worth about of the. five crafts which their descendants severally Rs. 50,000 were being sent to Sri Lanka every year follow:' Accordingly. some engage in sm\thy work. until the ethnic problems started. There is little and are called Manus and others in their turn de sale of Veenas to musicians and music students in vote their attention to carpentry. They are named Sri Lanka it) the past two years, and this has also Mayas. Others again who work on stone are known affected the society members. a'S Silois Those who do metal work are called Dwashtras and those who have engaged in the mak The main reason for the reputation enjoyed by ing of jewellery are known as Daivagnas. the instruments made in Thaniavur is the wood used namely, jackwood. The price of iackwood has Co-operative Society also gone up in the past few years. necessitating a slight increase in price or instruments. Though an There is only one co-operative society in the whole attempt was made to make Veenas in fiber glass etc., of Tamil Nadu associated with the craft. This society it has not been possible to get the tonal quality of narned as the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Wor jackwood instruments. kers' Co-operative Society was established in 1952 at Thanjavur. The object of the society is not only The society has, however. no sales and showroom, to improve the Musical Instruments Industry of Than which has been a handicap. Until 1983, the Tamil javur - but also to regenerate the economic conditions Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poom of the artisans employed in this hereditary industry. puhar) had been taking interest in the sale of musical The establishment of the society was the direct re instruments through its show rooms and sales centres sult of the initiative taken by Shri P. Chokkalingam. in various parts of Tamii Nadu and outside. How the Chief Promotor and Founder President of this ever, of late, there has nut been adequate support sodety. from Poompuhar, which if given will go ~ long way The society has at present 40 members on the roll. in improving the sales of the society. It was pointed To become a member of the society. a person must out that due to apprehensiL'ns of damage during tran be a practising craftsman of this industry, willing to sit, many were not prepared to buy the instruments. abide by the rules and regulations of the society If the Poomnuhar could stock the instruments, 'which and prepared to sell the articles at a price fixed by will be supplied to them in good condition by the the society. The society is providing financial as soder)" there would he further spurt in the business well as marketing assistance to the craftsmen. Dur of the society. ing the year 1983-84, the society advanced a loan of Rs. 4,000 to its members to buy raw materials. Though the starting of the society has to some ex tent stabilised the economy of this craft, it has not The main channel of marketing for the industry solved all its problems. Its working capital is limited is the Co-operative society. No other agency. par and whenever stocks accumulate. further purchases ticularly the middlemen who controls production and are suspended, The ,I Secretary and other employees of the Co-operative Society. 8 -17/RGI/ND/88 Musical Instruments are on display in the show case of the C0-operative Society. ! M ustcal I nstruments are stored In the god own of the C o-operative Society for onward transmission to various sales emporia throughout the country a nd abroad. 5 no~ improved tn CHAPTER II CRAlqS\lEi\ 1:,\ THUR RURAl, SI<;'}'TING ;;nlong.,t h()useh~)lds. The town has many of Selection of Craft Ceiltres :15,604 i he major amcnities iikc protected water supply, Three rurai ccntre'i ill tlte ~latc where lhe craft ,nmiern medical and good educatienal facilities. It is !~ heing a,lively practised ",ere to be selected and w~li connected by both rail 8nd bus services. ~!udied, hlr ~c1ecting these centre~. a list of ,craft centres in tlh: Slate was obtained from the Regional 2. F/liri/v(/dlll!zurai Deputy Director cf All If-diu Handicrafts Bc;arc!. Fidel investigation conducted in all these centres mdl It is situated at a distance of about 16 kms~ south cated that c~ccpt in Thanj,lvur city where nearly 60 west of Mayuram; Thiruvaduthurai is noted for its households are practising the craft. in all other centres. ancient Siva temple of Sri G0muktheo;:swarar or Masi only one or tw~) househoids are engJged in the craft. ial11~tl1i Eswarar. The place is also chiefly known for As'such selection of Thaniavur city. though an urban its ;cputed S~livitc Mutt called 'Thiruvaduthurai' area became inevitable. Apart from this. Narasingam Adheenam. pettai of Thiruvida imarudur taluk and Th iruvadu thurai of Mavmam taluk are the other two rural Legend has described it that it was here that centres selected for the stupy. Parvathi who was cursed by Lord Siva became a cow, performed a severe penance and attained Mukthi. Local cl1ljuirics indicate that this craft has mainly Hence the name of the Lord is Sri Gomuktheeswarar, flourished in Thanjavur city because of the easy avai.l meaning the Lord who gave Mukthi to a cow. ability of the: main raw-materials viz. jackwood 111 and around Thanjavur and more particularly the royal The village has a population of 5,806 in 1981 Census patronage extended tel the craft by the Kings of of which 2.774 are males and 3.032 are females. The Thanjavur. numbe::r of househo1ds are 1.285. The village has a A total number of 55 housc:holds have been selected prim,ny ;,nd two middle schools, a Post and TeJe graph Oflice. 1t has no medicai facility within the for conducting the study. Of these. 52 households village. The nearest centre with medicfd facility is hail from Thanjavur. two from the village ~ara about 5 kms. away from the village. This village is singampettai and the f1,?m. the r;~mainin¥ ('ne~ vllla~e served both by rail and bus services. Thiruvaduthural. Out of 52 ,lousdw!cls surveyed In Thanjavur, a11 the h,)usehc)lds are engaged in t~e manufacturing of Veena, while in 24 households 111 3. N arasingampettai additi(Jl1 to V~eena. Tambura is also being made. The Narasingampettai is a villa:;e, 8 kms. west ()f Thiru two households in Narasing;:lmpetwi arc producing vidaimarudur taluk of Thanjavur district. The village Nadaswaram. while the lone household in Thiruvadu has a populati()n of 3.719 in 1981 Census, comprising thurai is engaged in the manufacturing l1f Mridangam. of I,886 m,\lcs and 1.833 females. The number of households are 843. 1. T h(11ZjUVUf Thanjavur is a Municipality '1~1(1 is ,the ~eadquarters Narasingampettai is served by railway and bus of the District Collector. It 1S a J unctJon for jhe service~~. The village has a Post Office. a primary Nagappattinam branch of. the Southern Railway: A~ and a middle school. No medica! facility is available though not a rising ( are engaged in this craft in thf,; three centres of Th,wja M():'.t uf lhe craftsmen are not economically affluent vur, Narasingampettai and Thituvaduthurai. Of these, l',ccpl a L;w who are well establi:,;hed in the line. An 60 households belong to Thanjavur city. 1i) hail frum average worker engag'.cd in th(' craft earns about the village Narasjngamp~ttai 0f Thiruv;daimarudur Rs. 750 a month, while master craftsmen earns as taluk and the remaining one household belongs to ;~lUC~l as R.. 1,500 a month. Their income is just Thiruvaduthurai of Mayuram taJuk. The detai:s are sufl1cicnt tu maintain thc family as majority of the shown in the following table: households entirely depe:nd on the craft for their liveli hood. Table n.1 Number of' households enguge./ in the (rajt Some of the craftsmen are economically well off. They live in own houses and work in their own workshop Name of centre No. of Population engaging one or two skilled craftsmen on wages. house holds Persons Mo.les Females In former times, the craftsmen did not enjoy good 2 3 4 5 .------_._------_.. _----._ ,ocia: status, Their status 'Nas always low in the society dnminiltcd by priestly Jud martial classes. Thanjavur 60 220 120 lUO From the myths and :egends narrated about Kall1- Narasingampeltai ]0 60 35 25 rnalans and from a reading of the inscriptions of those Jays, we have to p,"esume that the social status of Thiruvaduthurai ]0 6 4 Kammalans was decide:lly low. ------,,-_._-- .. It is !lol ci;licult to account for the ['osition held The sample survey of the :55 househulds engaged in by the K:~nllnalans for it must be reIllem~ered that the craft revealed that 50 per cent of the craftsmen in these early times, the military castes in India, as households are original settkrs of the town. Of the elsewhere, looked down upon all engaged in labour; remaining 5D per cent who had migrated to the town, vvhetiler skilled or ot:1erwise. With the c!ecline of the 38 per cent had settled dcwn in the tcwn for over fVliiitary power, however, it wa" natural flat a use 21 years, 54 per cent betweel1 6 to 20 years and the fu: c~!ste like the KammaJans s;lOuld generally im remaining 8 per cent are recent settlers. prove its position and the reaction from their long oppi'essioll had led them to 'Ilake the exaggerated Most of the rcsidcmi,t; luu,,:5 of rrafbmen in claims which aw ridiculed bv every other caste, high Ihanjavur city c1;) net pr,;~ent a :,pacicus look. I ne and low·'.* main door:; of the houses open either on the roads or towards lanes. The h:,uses '.v1t11 compound wall, With the formation of the National Government, this open yard in front and back are very few. They have sl>cial hierarcl:y slowly vanished. The encouragement in many cases COillmon wall:, and closed attachments given to 1hes:c artisan community have undoubtedly with ihe neighbouring house!:>. The dwellings lack elevated their social status. Presently all these crafts proper ventilation and t>anitajoil. On the contrary, men are el1joying a good social status and no socia:' residej1tial houses in Thiruv,!c!utl'iurai a~ld Narasingam imtignitics are imposed 0;1 them. Information col pettai are mostly ti!ed hen lllg adequate venti:ation lected through field study shows that all the house facilities. hulds ar.: enjoying good so::ial status and no social re~trictions :lre imposed on these households. The crafi is practised as a household industry. The fhlnt verandah of the house serves as the workshop Demogmphk profile of craftsmen which is known locally as 'Pattarai·. 45 out of 55 surveyed how;ehoJds have ""orkslwp situated in the Age. Sex and Marital status dwelling place itself. while in the case of the remain ing 10 households, the workshop is separate from the The population as pcr the sample survey of 55 residence. All the three household::; practising the households comes to 288 persons, consisting of 159 craft in Thiruvaduthurai and Narasingampettai have males and 129 females. Among males, 66.04 per cent own workshop separate from the residence. are never married, 30.82 per cent are married and the ~------*Census of India, IS91, Vol. XlIf Madra;, The report on the Cemus by H .. \. Stuart. 9 r;~malOmg arc widowhood. The corresponding figures bli(~n of population by 'ex, ['ge and marital status are among females are 50.39, 41.09 respectively. Distri- given in the table belm'>: Population by agc, Sf?X (:nt! IJ:u)"ifO/ Sf-ff!!.',' -----_._---._-- - -_ ------_--- ._--._------_. ------.--.------~-~.------.------_. .!'ge group Totai rO;JL1]atiu!1 Married 'Vidmv.:J p M F p M F p M F p M F 5 6 "1 9 i() 11 12 13 ------~-.--~-~------.------_------~~------_... _------_-_- 1<) 0-4 32 III 14 32 .U j'- 5-9 30 .' i2 30 i8 ~2 10--14 37 17 20 37 17 20 15-19 32 16 16 29 16 13 3 3 20-24 44 1il l(i 30 ~4 6 14 4 ]0 25-29 28 17 ! 1 <) 9 19 8 11 30-34 16 8 II 15 7 8 35-44 26 :3 13 22 1. ,: II 3 2 d,5-54 21 10 Jl 19 10 9 2 2 5S 69 17 11 6 C) 8 7 2 5 70-;'- 5 3 2 4 2 2 ------~-----~~.-.- .------.--~- -- - -~~-- ._------_.. _------c Total 289, 159 129 170 105 6.5 :02 4') 53 16 J 11 ------_.__ ._------_._----"-_._-_._-_------__ .. _--.... ----_ .__ ._--_------Note: No person is returned ,,5 divorccdjseparated ill the surveyed h')uscholcls. It may be seen from the table that there are three There ,)re no r:livorced or separated among both the married 'females in the age group 15-19. Married men Sf·V;CS. The proportion of widowed is higher among are found to be from the age group 20-24. Unnnrried females. m81es arc found ;'1 all th'~ age groups except the age groups 45-54 and 70 -1-, but among females, none is :Uterary :mmarried in the age groups above 25. Cent per cent Uterate persons constitute as high as 84.72 per cent of women are living in marriage in the age gro11p cf the surveyed population. The percentage of lite 25-29 and 30-34. The corresponding age group among Tates in each age group is shown in the following men is 45-54. t:lble Tahle n. j Po_:,}[ilatio!1 h.v ,1?:!~ sex :l.'/d education -----_---_. Age group Total population Illiterate Literate Persons Males Persons Males Females Persons Males Females ---~--.------~--- .. -.-.------_------_.__ ._-_.------2 4 5 6 7 8 10 -----~----.-- --.---~---.-- - -.-.. ---_._ ------.-----.-~-.------.-.. --~- ... ------.------0-4 32 ! 8 14 32 18 14 (100 00) (100.0.) (i 00.00) 5-9 30 18 11 4 4 26 14 12 (13.3\) (2'1.. nl (86.67) (77.78) (l00.00) ]0-14 37 17 ~O I 1 36 16 20 12.70) (5.88) (97.30) (94.12) (100.00) J 5- ·19 32 16 16 1 31 16 15 (3.13) (6.25) (96.87) (100.00) (93.75) 20-24 ",4 28 "1 j I 43 28 15 (2.27) (t).25) (97.73) (100.00) (93.75) 25-34 4~i 2:' \9 ! 1 43 25 18 (2 27) 15.26) (97 73) (100.01) (91.74) 35+ (,9 37 12 4 4 65 :17 28 (5.80l (12.50) (94.21)) (100.00) (87.50) 1\ II ages :::~8 ..,- 159 f7° .fil -_.j 2! 244 136 108 (15.2R) (14.471 (16.2R) (84.72) (85.53) (83.72) ______T ___•• __ ~ _____ ,_ ••• ______10 Among the persons in the school going age of 5-14. In all age groups. there is no much disparity bet ween male and femall' literate rates. In the age group 86.67 per cent in the age group 5-9 and 97.30 per cent 5-14. all the females are literates whereas, among in the age group 10-1Ll. arl~ literares. In the age group males, the literates form only 77.78 per cent in the age group 5-9 and 94.12 per cent in the age group 10-14. 5-9, the percentage of literacy is lower than that in CC1l1trary to this. among mall's of above 15 years of the age group 10- 74. '{he pew:nt;' g-: of literacy rate age, cent per cent are literates. whereas among females, the literate percentag: is slightly less than that of among adult females, esrecially over 35 years of age, males Educa tional ie" e] by age and sex is shown is low as compared to the rna !es. in the table below: 'faille 11.4 i'opu/({lic)1l !Iv nee, lex ({wi e{illcatio/lu/ !C\'c! . --~~----.-.. --. Age group flI iterates TOlalliter- Literate Primarvor Middle Matricul~i- Nlln·tecilll i- Technical Gr;ldumc ates without edu- Junior -Ba,ic lion or Hig- cal dir'lo)lla d;ploma or and above cal ional ]c\el her Secon- or certificate certificate dary not equ;)l to not cql1~ll to degree degree --~--~------_---. _---_ ~------_------"-1 F M F M F 1\1 F 1\1 F M F Tv! F M F M F ------~~.-- ~----~ ~ ~ :l -1 5 6 7 8 9 10 ! ! 12 13 1"~ 15 I() 17 I~ 19 ------~------~------ 0--4 18 14 5-9 -1 14 12 13 12 ... 10- 14 16 20 2 'i 10 10 -1 '; , 15--19 16 15 S 4 -, 6 4 .:) 20-24 n i 5 3 3 7 (, 9 4 7 '2 2 25-34 _JJ" 18 4 7 4 :I 5 9 5 4 35 +- 4 37 28 11 12 16 13 8 All ages 23 21 136 108 30 37 49 37 27 23 21 11 3 (, .------~------ 22.06 per cent of the total literate men and 34.26 rslamic faith form 2.43 per cent of the population. per cent of the total literate women are without edu Distribution of households by religion and mother catiomll qualification. Among ruaie ,:nd female lite tongue is given in the following table: rates with educational qualification, larger number of persons have got only primary education. 36.03 per Table 11.5 cent among male literates and 34.26 per cent among female literates, come under this group. As regards /{{)l(seho/ds classified !)\' Religioll, lus{c'Tril)(! Religion and mother- tongue 2 -' 4 Hinduism. Christianity and Islam are the three reo Hindu (K,\lllln~I:\l1) ligions of whose households arc engaged in this craft 'du'lim of which Hinduism is the Dredominant religion as its followers constitute 90.28 per cent of the total popu ( 'hri~t iJIl 4 lation. Christianity is the seeo-nd lcrgest religion with '["tal S4 55 7.29 per cent of the total population. The persons of 11 Tamil is the mother-tongue of majority of the house Size of ho.sekold holds. As much as 98.18 per cent of the households Distribution of the sample households by number of in the sample, speak Tamil. There is only one house members and age of head of household is given in hold whose mother-tongue is Urdu. the table below: Table II.6 Households by are of head 0/ the household and number 0/ members Age of head "f house No. of Number of households having members hold house------~-,------~---- holds Single 2 3 4 5 6-7 8-9 10-12 13& above 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ------ Below 2(1 20-29 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 30-39 10 2 3 3 40-49 8 5 50-59 12 2 1 4 4 6tH 7 ] 1 2 2 1 Total 55 7 4 5 5 7 17 8 2 More than half of the 55 households. are having five 2 3 and more members and even among these, number of 3. Sub-nuclear 5 26 households having six and more members is almost Single person 7 7 half. Thus, the average size of the households is 4. higher among these craftsmen. 5. Lineal 7 6. Others 13 83 Total 55 288 Type of household Distribution of households by type of family is given A study of the family type in the village shows that in the table below: majority are nuclear families, followed by single per son household and sub-nuclear. The joint family system is slowly disintegrating. Table n.7 Households by type 0/ hOllsehold Migration and settlement of households Of the! 55 households covered by sampTe, as much as Type of household No. of No. of 50.91 per cent are non-migrants and the remaining house- members holds 49.69 per cent are migrants. Little more than 74 per cent of the migrants came from within the district. 2 3 Migrants from other districts of the State form only 25.93 per cent. There is no migrant either from other 1. Nuclear 26 148 states or from other countries. Majority of the house holds have migrated mainly to learn the making of 2. Supplemented nuclear 3 17 musical instruments. The table below shows the mig- 3-17 RGI/ND/88 12 ration status and place of birth of the head of the household. Table II.S Households by milJration status with referenre to plai'e of birth of head of the household and reason for migration Migration status with reference to pi act' of birth of head of the household No. of No. of households house- which have migrated holds due to Marriage To learn the craft of musical instrument ------_... 2 3 4 A. Non·migrant-Born in the place of enumeration 28 B. Migrant 27 4 23 I. Born elsewhere in the same district Rural 15 2 13 Urban 5 2 3 II. Born outside the district but within the state District 1 TiruchchirappaUi Rural 2 2 Urban 3 3 District 2 Ramanathapuram Rural Urban I 1 District 3 Pudukkottai Rural 1 1 Urban III. Born outside the State/Outside the country " Total 55 4 23 Most of the migrants are from rural areas. The Distribution of households by migration status and number of households who migrated from rural areas \ are 18 of which 15 households are from the same duration of stay in the town is shown in the following district. On the other hand only 9 households are table: inmigrant~ from urban areas. TaMe n.9 Households hy migration status and duration of stay in the l'illal!e with reference to head of the housf'hold M gl'ation status with reference No. of No. of homeholds where duration of stay in the to pLtce of birth of h~'ld house- vill~ge of head of the household is of the household holds Migrant Non------migrant Les~ 1-5 6-10 11-20 21+ than years years years years 1 year 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A. Non-migrant (Born in the place of enumeration) 28 2R B. Migrant 27 2 7 7 11 I. Barn elsewhere in the same district Rural 15 4 4 6 Urban 5 2 1 2 II. Born outside the riistrict bnt within the state District-l Tiruchchirappalli Rural 2 2 Urban 3 2 District·2 Ramanathapuram Rural Urban District-3 Pudukkottai Rural Urban III. Born outside the State/outside the Country Rural Urban Total 55 23 2 7 7 11 j '. \; .-.' 13 It may be seen from the above table that 40.74 per More than 90 per cent of the sampled households cent of the migrant households had settled down in b210ng to the traditional craftsmen community. The non-traditional craftsmen which form little less than the town for over 21 years, and 25.93 per cent each 10 per cent of the sampled are drawn from Christian had migrated to the town between 6-10 years and and Muslim communities. These non-traditional crafts 11-20 years respectively. Migrant households settled :nen are mostly new entrants to the field. Distribu tion of households by traditional occupation, religion down in the town recently forms only a very small and caste of the head of the household is shown in the proportion. following table: Table II.lO Households classified by Traditional Occupation, Religion and Caste/Trihe/Community of head of the household Religion/CastcjTribe!Community No. of No. of households where traditional occupation of head of house- house- hold is holds ------Manu- Carpentry Gold Black Agricul- Agarba- facturing smithy smithy tural thimanu- of musi- labour facturing cal ins- and sel- trument ling 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hindu (Kammalan) 50 25 17 7 Muslim 1 .. Christian 4 2 i' Total 55 25 18 8 1 2 It may be seen from the table that out of 55 hous;! 1 holds studied on sample basis, heads of 50 households 2 belong to the traditional craftsmen community of Three occupations which the traditional occupation of 25 heads of house holds are musical instruments making, 17 are car Four occupations . pentry, 7 are goldsmithy and one is blacksmithy. Five and more occupations r. Head of the remaining five households belong to non Total 55 traditional craftsmen community of which one is a Muslim whose traditional occupation is agarbathi manufacturing and selling and the remaining four are Out of the total of 55 households, 42 households Christians of which the traditional occupation of one have no occupational diversity. Only 13 households each is carpentry and goldsmithy and two are agricul have reported different occupation for different mem tural labour. bers of the households, of which one household has two occupations, 7 households have four occupations Majority of the houscbolds have no occupational diversity (households having more than one occupa and 5 households have five occupations. tion). Households with different working members having different occupations are less. Table below Workers and non-workers gives the distribution of households by occupational Out of a total population of 288 persons, 93 are diversity. workers and the remaining 195 are non-workers. The Table 1I.ll participation rate for workers works out to 32.29 per Households by occupational dirersify cent of the total population. The male workers con Occupational diversity No. of stitute cent per cent of the total workers and the female house holds participation rate is nil. 2 The percentage of non-workers to total population Single occupation (No occupational diversity) 42 j" 67.71. The male non-workers and the female non Two occupations workers constitute 33.85 and 66.15 per cent respecti- 14 vely of the total non-workers. Distribution of workers and non-workers by broad age group IS given below: Table II .12 Workers and nOIl-II'orkers by broad age grOl!p Age-group Total Population Workers Non-workers ------_.------P M F P M F P M F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0-14 99 53 46 1 98 52 46 15-34 120 69 51 56 56 64 13 ~1". 35-59 55 29 26 29 29 26 26 60+ 14 8 6 7 7 7 v -----~------~------Total 288 159 129 93 93 195 66 129 The number of female workers in all the age groups group 15-34, followed by those in the age group 35-59. is nil and that of males in the age group 0.14 is negli Workers and non-workers by educational level are gible. The highest number of workers are in the age given in the following table: Table n.13 Workers and non-workers by educational level " Educational level Total population Workers Non-workers M F M F 'M F 2 3 6 7 Illiterate 23 21 23 21 Literate without educational level , 30 37 16 " ·r Primary or Junior Basic 49 37 ,"-' 37 Middle 27 23 6 23 Matriculation or Higher Secondary 21 11 ; 11 Non-technical diploma or certificate not equal to degree Teclulical diploma or certificate not equal to degree 3 Graduate and above 6 Total 159 129 66 129 Total persons 288 195 All the illiterates are non-workers. Non-workers Workers by traditional occupatioll alld presellf occupation are more upto primary level and less in Matriculation Traditionaloccu- Total Present occupation and above level of education. 18 out of 21 male pation workers ---~~_. ______Same as Different occupation matriculates, 2 out of 3 male technical diploma holders in Col. 1 --- - ____ Musica! Other and 5 out of 6 l11ale graduates are workers. instru- OC-CU!:-B." ments tion 2 3 4 " Majority of the workers covered by sample have Musical instruments 48 37 II Carpenter . 26 24 2 shed their traditional occupation and are found engag Goldsmith . 12 10 2 Blacksmith. , 1 1 ed in other occupations. Workers by traditional occu Agricultural labour 3 3 Agarbathi manufac- 3 1 2 pation and present occupation are shown in the follow turing and selling ing table: Total ---93-----yJ-~39----17 15 It may be seen from the table that out of 93 workers, words, all the workers are engaged In the occupa 56 have shed their traditional occupation while 37 tion on a full-time basis. workers, all engaged in musical instruments making still cling to their traditional occupation. It is interest The tabie given below shows the distribution of ing to note that. of the 56 workers who have shifted. work;:rs by broad age group, main activity and sub to other occupations, as many as 39 have taken ,up sidiary occupations. manufacture of musical instruments. In all, 76 cratts men are currently engaged in the craft of making Table U.I6 musical instruments. This craft, no doubt, has attract Wor!,crs by broad age group, Main activity alld subsidiary occupation ed workers from other occupations. Age·group Total No. No. of (Main Workers by present occupation and type of occupa of workers workers occupa- having tion) tion are shown in the [allowing table : subsidiary Manu- occu- facturing pat ion of musical Table II.I5 instru ments. Workers by present occupation alld type of occupatioll Carpen try (Sub Present occupation No. of Type of sidiary workers occupa- occu tion pation) (Peren- 2 3 4 nial) _--- 2 3 0-14 1 15-34 56 35-59 Manufacturing musical instruments 76 76 29 .., 60+ 7 Carpenter 2 Clerk Total 93 Assistant 3 3 Art plate 5 5 The table shows that only one worker aged above Mechanic 3 3 60 is engaged in carpentry as a subsidiary occupa Doctor tion in addition to his main occupation of musical Peon . instruments making. Station Master Non-workers Total 93 93 Entire female population is of non-workers, whereas among males, it is 41.51 per cent. It may be seen from the table that the occupations Distribution of non-workers by sex, age and type of followed by all the workers arc perennial. In other activity is given in the statement below : Table 11.17 Non-workers by sex, age and type of actil'ity Age Total No. of non-workers by type of activity group noo worker;; Infant Fulltime student Household duty Seeking employment Other; F M F M M F M F M F M F 2 4 5 3 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 52 18 13 0-14 46 29 31 5 2 10 16 15-19 6 2 6 4 8 3 16 20-24 13 2 3 25-29 11 11 30-39 13 12 40-49 14 9 5 7 50-59 5 2 60+ 6 1 ------_._------5 T0tal 66 18 36 33 57 4 16 The non-working population within the working age cOlogist. He fixed the frets of the South Indian Veena. group of 15-59 constitutes as much as 51.43 per cent so that all :agas (ould be played. The fixing of frets of the total population in the same age group. Sex or the Veena 15 an important land mark in the deve wise distribution shows that while cent per cent of lopment of the Southern Veena. The earliest Veena female total population in the working age group are was one with opel! strings which involved elaborate non-workers, the population is conSiderably low at process o[ tuning and re-tuning. 13.21 per cent among males. 98.99 per cent of the total population in the age group 0-14 and 81.25 p~r cent The origin of the present day Tambura may be in the age group 15-19 are non-workers. It IS pro traced trom the Ektar lEka Tantri Veena) used in the bably due to the fact that infants and students con ancient times, made of a bamboo stick with a gourd tribute more to these two age groups. or tin or wood resonator with a peg to tie the :>tring which later developed into Dotar (Nakuli with 2 Non-practising craftsmen strings) and finally into 4, 6 and 7 stringed Tamburas Field investigation ill all the three craft centres indI of the present day. The seven stringed Tambura was cate that none of til" craftsmen havc discontinucd the po pularised by Shatkala Govinda Marar (1718-1843). craft. As such the schedules relating to non-practis Thus, Thanjavur has been for .a long time famous ing carftsmcn could not be canvassed. for the ll1anuraeturing of Veenas and other lIlusical instruments. It is said that about 75 years ago, Veena History of growth and development of the craU in from thIS tOWll were sent even to England. This the town craft flourished under the royal patronage. When the The making of musical instruments is one of the British administration was established in Thanjavur, oldest surviving handicrafts of Thanjavur. The near this industry declined like other handicrafts. With ness of raw materials and the encouragement given the establishment of the National Government, a de to the industry during the time of the former rulers finite encouragement was given to such crafts. The of Thanjavuf have probably given rise to this indus display of musical instruments 1ll various sales emporia opcneci by the Government in ditlerent parts of the try in the locality. "The fine. arts. of Thanj~v;,).r m~y country 11..;-, made them known to the gt;neral public be said to have attained theIr hIghest perfectlOn III the musical instruments which are manufactured there. alld has stul1ulatcd the demand for such articles. The This industry has been in existence in the town from establishment of a Co-operative Marketing Society in time immemori::!1 and it flourished during the time 1952 has st'lbilised the industry al'd more artisans are of the Raja of Thanjavur some 70 years ago when cngctged in it. The bulk of these articles are now sent all the workers who were then 20 in number were to tbe sales emporia, located in Madras, Bombay, CaI employed in the pabce itself. Like the other fine CLilta and DeLi and a large number of these articles arts, this industry also lost its patronage and at pre are being sent to foreign countries. sent there are only four male members who are pursu This craft was dt:veloped and preserved as a here ing it being ~ngaged whole time in it. Th~se four ditary occup3tion by the craftsmen of Thanjavur called trace their origin to the S:lme ancestor. The mdustry may therefore ~bc said to be confined to a single family Kammalails who have played a very significant part in Thanjavur'·". in the development of the craft ill South india. These craftsmen have handed down the techniques of this craft to the members of their family who intum Weare, therefore, inclined to the view that the pcssed on the knowledge from father to son. Thus craft was evolved by the artisans of Thanjavur, under this craft was practised as a [amiiy occupation. the encouragement of the early Hind u rulers of Thanjavur. For a long time, this craft was the sole monopoly at Kamli1alall community. The establishment of the The town in the long (Gurse of its history has Thanjavut Musical Instruments Workers' Co-operative evolved a variety of musical instruments. Prominent Society in 1952 and the setting lip of the Develop among them are the Veena, Tambura, Nadaswaram, ment Centre for musical instruments in 1956 have Mridangam etc. Most of these have been developed undoubtedly changed the narrow outlook of this from instruments used in the ancient times. Though industry. The c:'c;)uragcment given to this industry Veena is ancient in origin. it acquired its recent shape by the Government has motivated j)Crsons not belonging only during 17th century B.C. History records that the to the hereditary craftsmen community to take to this present day Veena called the Saraswathi Veena was craft. Of these, Christians and Muslims are predo developed during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak of minant who have acquired the skill of this cr *Sri D. Narayana Rao-The survey of Cottage Industrie~, 1929. (;.0. No. 2211 dal\'d J3-12-J929. CHAPTER III PROCESS OF LEARNING Manufacture of Musical Instruments, like most of the learned the craft from unrelated s.killed craftsmen. rural crafts, is practised as a hereditary craft. This Distribution of persons engag(.'d in the craft classified craft, confined to t1~ few families belonging to the by relationship with the head of the households and Kammalan community, has been throughout the cen source of acquirement of the skill is shown in the turies considered and treated as the monopoly of the following table: members of the commvnity. It was their policy to see that the knowledge and technique of this craft was not Table III.1 imparted to the members of other communities. In earlier {jays, even other members of the community PerSOllS eJlgaged ill the cmft classificd hy relatiollship Wilh the head were not given the facility to learn this art. This unusual and SOl/feeS of acquirement of the skiff attitude \vas preserved by the community until the starting of the Co-operative Society and the development Relationship 'Aith No. of No. of persons reported having centre for musical instruments. Due to the initiative the head persons acquired the skill from taken by these agencies, this community has now pur engaged ----.-- ..... - .. _.. _""_.------:---:--- in the Family Unrelated Trammg suaded the artiS:ll1s to share their kno'.vlcde:e with other craft member~ master school members of the commllnity in its larger interest. Now and re- craftsmen the craft is not the mon.:)poly of a few h'~reclitary crafts latives by men who have pnctisect the craft as a family occupa heredi- tion. tarily 2 3 4 5 The experience and skHl required for the work is acquired by patient learning by working as an appren tice under some skilled craftsmen as there is no reco Self 55 41 13 gnised training school for imparting training to artisans of this craft. New entrant hailing from hereditary Son 17 17 craftsmen community begins to help his father or family members and as he helps he learns. He learns the Brother 2 2 theory of his work unconsciously and the knowledge and experience of his elders would be transmitted to Brother's son 2 2 him without any deliberate attempt to learn. Actually, ------.~------it is during this unpaid apprenticeship that the boys Total 76 62 13 of the community get acquainted with the intricacies of the art under the guidance and supervision of their elders. It is how the craft technique and skill have The table shows that 62 out of 76 persons engaged been handed down from generation to generation and in the craft have acquired the skill from family generalIy preserved as a family secret. members and relatives while 14 persons from unrelat ed skilled cra ftsmen of which one person has learnt the craft from the training course organised by the Persons from among those non-hereditary craftsmen Government of Tamil Nadu at Thanjavur Palace for communities who have taken to this craft. get employ three years from 1978 to 1980 with the assistance of ed under skilled craftsmen, learn the art gradually and a local skilled craftsman. take to manufacturing on their own after acquiring the necessary skill. But in some cases_ it is noticed During the field study, it was noticed that heads that they work under independent craftsmen on daily of five households forming 9.09 per cent of the sampled wages. households comprising 20 per cent of the persons en gaged in the craft did not belong to the hereditary craftsmen community. These households drawn from The sample surv~y of 55 households conducted at Than;avur and in the villages of Narasingampettai of lVfuslims and Christ{ans have taken up this profession Kumbakonam taluk and Thiruvaduthurai of Mavuram during the last decade. Little more than fifty per taluk has thrown some light on different aspe"cts of cent of the sampled households comprising 36.84 per the process of learning of the craft. cent of the persons engaged in the craft reported practising the craft for more than 20 years. Majority of the persons engaged in the craft report Distribution of persons engaged in the craft by ed to have acquired the skill from family members and period. relationship with the head of the household relatives hereditarily, while a few who have taken to and persons imparted training are shown in the the craft from non-herfditary craftsmen community following table: 17 18 Table JIl.2 FI'!'soIlS cl1j!aged ill the" raft by period, relationship ll'ith th.~ head and perS()I1~ i'llparled tn'ining . Period Nc. of Relation to head De;'sons . S.:?lf who received training Son who rccl"ived training Brother who n:ceived Brother's son who receiv from from training from ed training from Father Uncle Others Father Uncle Other, Father Uncle Others Father Uncle Others 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Less than 5 years 17 2 I 2 10 5 -9 years 22 3 4 8 6 10-19 vears 9 2 2 3 1 20+ year.;; 28 6 5 17 -.------~------.--.------_._ Total 76 13 12 30 ]7 2 It may be s(;en from the table that majodty of craftsmen. In the initial stages of training. no stipend heads of the household engaged in the cruft received is paid to the apprentice. A remuneration is nor training from close relativ~s -and unrelated practising mally paid when the trainee gets acquainted with the craftsmen. while the technique of the craft, in the case craft and helps the skilled craftsmen as he learns. of present generation. is passed on from father til Distribution of persons engaged in the craft classified son. by relationship with the head, the person imparted Since the craft is practised mostly on hereditary training. period of training and reml.!neration are basis. no terms and conditions are Jaid for training the shown in the subjoined statement: Table III.3 Persons enga({ed ill the craft dassi{ied hy relationship ... ith the head, the persoll imparted trailli/1(~, period of training alld reJIIUneraf;"1I Relationship with N(I. of No. of persons engaged in the craft who received training from the head rersons engaf!cd Father Uncle li1 the For the Period For the Period :r 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Head 55 13 9 3 Son . 17 2 15 Brother . 2 1 Brother's 'lOn 2 2 Total 76 2 29 11 3 No. of persons engaged in the ('raft who recei\'ed training from Relatibnship with the head Others For the Period Bela'\' 2 years and paid remuneration 2+ years and paid remuneration ------._------,------\ Obligatory Upto Rs.200 Obligatory Upto Rs.200 Rs.199 & abc\ie Rs.199 & above 15 16 17 18 lQ 20 10 15 4 Head Son Brother Brother's son 2 10 15 4 Total The Portable Veena. / Shri P. Maha1ingam, inventor of the portable Veena, tuning the instrument. 5 not improved to any extent, because the role pLayed {4) fo initiate research by conducting experimer.~ by the society is nece$sarily limited. Oil the existing instruments with a view to! uevelop and design- new instruments without DeveloJlment Centre for Musirallustnlments detrtment to their old grandeur and function~. The Development Centre for Musical Instruments is (5) To conduct research on.!he utility of various an ancillary organ of the All Lndia Handicrafts indigenous types of wc,od and other kinds of Board, now fun~uoning under the Ministry of Com raw materials for the manufacturing of musical merce. Government j-Jf India. It is the only ngency ins tr umen is ; engaged in the development of the craft. The centre. (6) To set up an up-to-date comprehensive library which had its birth in 1956. was the first of its kind on the theory '.>f music ,and musical instru: and perhaps' the only one for the entire country. It ments;'and was originally situated In Ann:wmlai Manram at the (7) 1'0- produce literature on musiCal instruments 'time- of its start and -:ontinued to function there till collection and publish tnem' in the form of 1965. later at No.5, Manollmani Ammal Road, Kil· brochures, periodically. pauk. Madras-lG till Fe_~ruary •. 1982 and now it has been shifted to a centrally located place. easily acces . ·TO' achieve at least some; if not all' of the above sible to the pubiic, at No. ,86. Mundahakallni Amman aims. the centre had organised, periodical training Kon Street, MylapQre, 1\ladras-6GO 004. courses in addition to the manufacture of musical in struments~ Some of the products so manufactured The gallery of musical in')truments. the main wing were being sold_. to the publk at reasonably low prices. of the - centre was declared open by Hen'ble Thi~ activity -had been discontinued for' some' time -Shri M. Bhaktavatsalam, the then Minister. Gqvern past. With the result the Research Unit was the only ment of Madras, on 1st January; 1956:, The training wing that continlied to function. section initiated its function on 23rd Jal1uary, 1956. Sangita Vadyalaya was inau~urated by His Exce~ Howev'er. a mention m"ust .be made of some of the lency Shri Prakasa. Governor of Madras on 16th achievements of the Centre. The musical instru February, 1956. ments that were developed during the previous re-;. gimes were Narayana Veena. Splinters Veena with Professor P. Sambamllortny; Head '--of- the Depart Redcedar wood, Reucedar Violin, Snake Nadaswa ment of Indian music, University of Madras, had the ram. Boat Yazh, Dvi Damii Tamhura, &lvya Sachi privilege of being its first. HOl:orary Director. With Veena etc. numbering 45. his expert knowledge of sci~ncc and an of the Orient The gallery has at present a collection of nearh and the O::cident in borh thenrj and practice, a's wen 200 instruments belonging to both Eastern and Wes as his indefatigable industry. Shri Sambamoorthy tern music. pioneered the multifari()u~. 2.ctivitics of the Centre t.iIl 1964, when ShTi B. l{,_ ivhsra took over charge as Its The latest improvised instruments are V ASMEE Director. Shd Misra loo had earned the distinction SRUTHI (17-8-1979), SRUTlll DANDI (15-11-1979) of preserving the well established traditions of his and VASMEE SRUTHI DANDI (24-3-1980). These predecessor in the administration of the Centre till three instruments are th~ improvised designs of tht' 1976, ,and when he retired from service, Shri T. Loka existing ,drone-Tainbura, used in the concerts of In nadha Sarma, M. Mus, is It~ present Daector since dian Music, designed and developed by the Develop 31st July 1979, _ment Centre for Musical Instruments, Madras. The materials used for these instruments are bamboo ana Aims an!} Objecth'e<; wood and the machine heads are used for tuning In the Plst. the manufacture of musical instruments purpose. had its own distinct place in the field of music. ~u~ic An. experimental pitch selector caned COMPOSITE along with musical ~nstrunien1S use~ to. play a slgl11fi PIT~H PIPE is designed -and developed by the Deve· cant role in the varIOUS w:llks of hfe 10 our country. lopment C>!ntrc for Musical lnstruments, Madras In spite of having a rich wealth of musical instruments, wherein six different Sruthi reeds are fixed. no efforts were made to organise them into a gallery. It is to fill in such a void, this centre was originally Ambitious programme of activities are afoot to conceived and set up. make the Centre a real centre of musical culture: Here are some of the v~ry important aims and 0) Acquiring many kinds of musical instruments objectives of the centre, from different parts of our country and from other parts of the world to make th~ Centre an (1) To revive the art of man~facture o~ }TIusical International Art Gallery of MUSICal IDstr~· instruments-an art that was fast declimng and ments; to impart" training 'in the scientific t:"am~~acture (ii) To open a testing laboratory with technicaHy of musical instruments as per speclficatton~ qualified staff: (2) To organise a gallery of !Uusical instruments (iii) To revive the production and manufacture 0i: ancient and modem; musical instruments on a large scale to make (3) To reconstruct some of the obsolete instru them available to the public at the lower rate; ments and to make them fit for dcmonstra~on (iv) To revive the training programme etc. and playing upon at short notice; CliAPTL:R II CJ{A:FTS';IE~ F\ THEIR RURAL SETTING Selection of emu Ccntrcs :,HlOllg'( 35,604 il()LL<;eh~dd~. The town has many of ille major amenities like prctccted water supply, Three rurai centre') in tile SlalG wllelc tile cr Number of hOllse!wtds engoge.l in ffle [rajf Some of the craftsmen are economically well off. They live in own houses and work in their own workshop Name of centre No. of Population F.:llgagll1g onc or two skilled craftsmen on wages. house· holds Persons MoJcs Fcmaks In former times, the craftsmen did not enjoy good 2 3 4 5 ._-_. --,._------_. - "ocial status. Their status was always low in the society dominated by priestly :md martial classes. Thanjavur 60 220 120 l!jU From the myths and legends narrated about Kam· Narasingampeltai 10 60 35 25 malans and from a reading of. the inscriptions of those days, we have to presume that the social status of Thiruvaduthurai 10 6 ·1 Kammalans was decidedly low. ------.. ------~------.. It is not ,iiilicult to account for the rosition held The sample survey of the '-i5 ;lOvseholds engaged in by the Kummalans for it must be rememhered that the craft revealed that 50 per cent of the craftsmen in these early times, the miliLuy castes in India, as households are original settlexs of the town. Of the elsewhere, looked down upon all engaged in labour; remaining 50 per cent who had migrated to the town, wh·,:tlier skilled or otherwise. With the; decline of the ~8 per cent had settled down in the town for over illJ.ilitary power, however, it was natural flat a use 21 years, 54 per cent between 6 to 20 years and the iu; Cistc like the Kammalans stlOuld generally im remaining 8 per cent are recent settlers. prove its position and the reaction from their long oppi'ession had led them to make the e:xaggerated Most of the residentia; h'JLL ,'S of craftsmen in claims which are ridiculed bv every other caste. high Thanjavur city (1;) net pr.;~efl( a :,pacicll5 louk. The and low".* main doors of the houses o!x~n either on the roads or towards lanes. The }1:".mlS ''lith compound wall, With the formation of the National Government, this open yard in front and bad" ::re very few. They have social hierarchy slowly vanished. The encouragement in many cases common walL; and closed attachments gI\'cn to thesc artisan community have undoubtedly with 'che neighbouring houseB. .fhe dwellings lack elevated their social status. Presently all these crafts proper ventilation and "anita:ioll. On the contrary, men are enjoying a good social status and no socia~ residential houses in Thinlv dc:utLurai and Narasingam· illltignities are imposed on them. Information col pettai are mostly tiled h:1\ mg aciec}lute ventilation lected through field study shows that all the house facilities. hulds arc enjoying good sodal status and no social restrictions are imposed on these households. The craft is practised as a hous~hold industry. The front verandah of the house serves as the workshop Dem1)graphil: profiie of craftsmen which is known locally as 'Pattarai'. 45 out of 55 surveyed households have ",orkshl'p situated in the Age. Sex and Marital status dwelling place itself, while in the case of the remain ing 10 households, the workshop is separate from the The population as per the sample survey of 55 residence. All the three households practising the households comes to 288 persons, consisting of 159 craft in Thiruvaduthurai and Narasingampettai have males and 129 females. Among males, 66.04 per cent own workshop separate from the residence. :lre never married, 30.82 per cent are married and the *Census of India, 1891, Vol. XTlf Madra;, The repon 011 ltv? Cemus by H. ;'1.. Stuart. Premises of the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers' Co-operative '\, Society. ,I Secretary and other employees of the Co-operative Society. 8 -17/RGI/ND/88 Musical Instruments are on display in the show case of the C0-operative Society. / Muslcal Instruments are stored In the godown of the Co-operative Society for onward transmission to various sales emporia throughout the country and abroad. r~maining are widowhood. The corresponding figures bl(('~n of population by sex, age and marital status are among females are 50.39, 41.09 respectivelY. Distri- given jn t]Je table belmv; TalJle n.2 Populatioll by agE, sex (ind muri!a! sr'/(us .---.----~------,------,_------_._------_._------.-~-- ,t.,ge group Total rO;lL11al Ion ;-..ievcr Married Married 'Vido\Vcd -_-_ ... _-----_- .. __ . ... _ ~--~~----.. -~~-.- - - .. _---_---_._- ____ ------_.----. P M F P :M F p M F P M F -_------_._------2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 ------_-- 0-4 32 18 14 32 18 14 5-9 30 18 12 30 18 12 10--14 37 17 20 37 17 20 15-19 32 16 16 29 16 13 3 3 20-24 44 28 16 30 24 6 14 4 10 25-29 28 17 ! ! 9 9 19 8 J I 30-34 16 8 :-; 15 7 8 35-44 26 ~3 13 22 11 1l 3 2 45-54 21 10 !1 19 10 9 2 2 55 69 17 11 6 Q 8 7 2 5 70+- 5 3 2 4 2 2 ------Total 283 159 129 170 105 65 102 4') 53 16 5 1 t Note: No person is returned as divorced/separated if! the surveyed households. It may be seen from the table that there are three There are no divorced or seoarated among both the married females in the age group 15- t 9. Married men sr.v;cs. The proportion of widowed is higher among are found to be from the age group 20-24. Unmarried females. males are found it} all the age groups except the age groups 45-54 and 70+, but among females, none is Literacy unmarried in the age groups above 25. Cent per cent Literate persons constitute as high as 84.72 per cent of women are living in marriage in the age group of the surveyed population. The percentage of lite 25-29 and 30-34. The corresponding age group among rates in each age group is shown in the following men is 45-54. table: Tahle n.3 PaDula/ion hy [J!{e, sex :md education Age group Total population Illiterate Literate ------_----_------~------.------Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females ---.~-.-.~- 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ------"---_._------"------0-4 32 18 14 32 18 14 (100_00) (100.00) (100.00) 5-9 30 18 11 4 4 26 14 12 (13.33) (22.22) (86.67) (77.78) (100.00) 10-14 37 17 :--0 I I 36 16 20 (2.70) (5.88) (97.30) (94,12) (100.00) ] 5--19 32 :6 16 I 1 31 16 15 (3.13) (6.25) (96.87) (100.00) (93.75) 20-24 ,14 2R 1(, J J 43 28 15 (2.27) (6.25) (97.73) (100.00) (93.75) 25-34 44 25 19 1 1 43 25 18 (2,27) (5.26) (97.73) (100.00) (94.74) 35+ 69 37 1,2 4 4 65 37 28 (5.80) (]2.50) (94.20) (100.00) (87.50) All ages ::R8 159 12 0 44 23 21 244 136 108 (15.28) (14.47) 116.28) (84.72) (85.53) (83.72) .. _------10 Among the persons in the school going age of S· J 4. In all age groups, there is no much disparity bet 86.67 per cent in the age group 5-9 and 97.30 per cent ween male and female literate rates. In the age group 5-14. all the females are literates whereas, among in the age group 10-14 an: literates. In the age group males, the literates form only 77.78 per cent in the age 5-9. the percentage of literacy is lower than that in group 5-9 and 94.12 per cent in the age group 10-14. Contrary to this. among males of above 15 years of the age group 10-] 4. The percentage of literacy rate age, cent per cent are literates, whereas among females, among adult females, especially over 35 years of age. the literate perccntag~ is slightly less than that of males. Educational level by age and sex is shown is low as compared to the males. in the table below: Table II.4 Populatioil by age, sex and etillcotinl1al lel'e{ Age group Illiterates Total liter· Literate Primary or Middle Matricula- Non-techni· Technical Gr:lduate ates without edu- Junior Basic tion or Hig- cal diploma diploma or and above cal ionalle\el her Secon- al' certificat -~---~---- _----_------" ---.------~------_------M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F 1\1 F ------.."I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 0-4 18 14 5-9 4 14 12 13 12 10-14 16 20 2 5 10 10 4 5 15-19 16 15 8 4 3 6 4 4 20-24 28 i5 3 3 7 (1 9 4 7 2 2 25-34 25 18 4 7 4 3 5 9 5 4 35+ 4 37 28 II 12 16 13 8 3 All ages 23 21 136 108 30 37 49 37 27 23 21 11 3 6 22.06 per cent of the total literate men and 34.26 Islamic faith form 2.43 per cent of the population. per cent of the total literate women are without edu Distribution of households by religion and mother cati{)nal qualification. Among male and female lite tongue is given in the following table: ' rates with educational qualification, larger number of persons have got only primary education. 36.03 per Table II.5 cent among male literates and 34.26 per cent among female literates, come under this group. As regards If(}lIseho{d~ cfassified hI' Religioll, Castel Trii>e./ ('onullllllit,\' {flli{ persons with higher education, men out number lI1otf1er-tOlI!.;ue of' head or the hOlls(>hold women. Men with matriculation level account for nearly two times lar,ger than that of women with such Religion/Caste !Tribe! Number of !louscholds where qualification. However, it is noticed that while the Community mOl her-tongue of head of house proportion of highly qualitioo persons among females hold is is nil, it is very low among males. Tamil Total Religion and mother- tongue 3 4 Hinduism. Christianity and Islam are the three reo Hindu (Kammalan) :;0 ligions of whose households are engaged in this craft Muslim of which Hinduism is the predominant religion as its .( fol~owers constitute 90.28 per cent of the total popu Christian 4 lation. Christianity is the second largest religion with Total 5.+ 55 7.29 per cent of the total population. The persons of 11 Tamil is the mother-tongue of majority of the house- Size of heuellold holds. As much as 98.18 per cent of the households Distribution of the sample households by number of in the sample, speak Tamil. There is only one hoose- members and age of head of household is given in hold whose mother-tongue is Urdu. the table below: Table D.6 Households by a'le 0/ head 0/ the household and number 0/ members Age of head of house. No. of Number of households having members hold house- ~- holds Single 2 3 4 5 6-7 8-9 10-12 13& above 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Below 20 20--29 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 30-3Q 10 2 3 3 40--49 8 5 50-59 12 ,2 4 4 6&+ 7 2 2 Total 55 7 4 5 5 7 17 8 2 More than half of the 55 households are having five 2 3 and more members and even among these, number of 3. Sub-nuclear 5 26 households having six and more members is almost 7 half. Thus, the average size of the households. is 4. Single person . 7 higher among these craftsmen. 5. Lineal 7 6. Others 13 83 Total 55 288 Type of household. Distribution of households by type of family is given A study of the family type in the village shows that in the table below: majority are nuclear families, followed by single per son household and sub-nuclear. The joint family system is slowly disintegrating. Table D.7 Households by type of household Migration and settlement of househol& Of the 55 households covered by sample, as much as Type of household No. of No. of 50.91 per cent are non-migrants and the remaining house- members holds 49.09 per cent are migrants. Little more than 74 per cent of the migrants came from within the district. 2 3 Migrants from other districts of the State form only 25.93 per cent. There is no migrant either from other 1. Nuclear 26 148 states or from other countries. Majority of the house holds have migrated mainly to learn the making of 2. Supplemented nucleaw 3 17 musical instruments. The table below shows the mig- 3-17 RGI/ND/88 12 ration status and place of birth of the head of the household. Table 11.8 Households by milJration status with reference to place of birth of head of the household and reason for migration Migration status with reference to plact' of birth of head of the household No. of No. of households house- which have migrated holds due to Marriage To learn the craft of musical instrument 2 3 4 A. Non-migrant-Bom in the place of enumeration 28 B. Migrant 27 4 23 J. Born elsewhere in the same district Rural 15 2 13 Urban 5 2 3 11. Born outside the district but within the state District 1 TiruchchirappaUi Rural 2 2 Urban 3 3 District 2 Ramanathaouram Rural Urban District 3 Pudukkottai Rural Urban III. Born outside the State/Outside the country Total 55 4 23 Most of the migrants are from rural areas. The Distribution of households by migration status and number of households who migrated from rural areas are 18 of which 15 households are from the same duration of stay in the town is shown in the following district. On the other hand only 9 households are table: inmigranh from urban areas. Table n.9 Households by migration status and duration 0/ stay in the I,illa:re with reference to head of tke kousl'kold M gration status with reference No. of No. of households where duration of stay in the to pLlce of birth of h~ld house village of head of tbe household is of the household holds Migrant Non- migrant Less 1-5 6-10 11-20 21+ than years years years years 1 year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A. Non-migrant (Born in the place of enumeration) 28 28 B. Migrant 27 2 7 7 11 I. Born elsewhere in the same district Rural 15 4 4 6 Urban 5 2 1 2 II. Born outside the district bat within the state District-l Tiruchchirappalli Rural 2 2 Urban 3 1 2 District-2 Ramanathapuram Rural Urban District-3 Pudukkottai Rural 1 Urban m. Born outside the State/outside the Country Rural Urban Total 55 28 2 1 7 11 13 It may be seen from the above table that 40.74 per More than 90 per cent of the sampled households cent of the migrant households had settled down in b:;:long to the traditional craftsmen community. The non-traditional craftsmen which form little less than the town for over 21 years, and 25.93 per cent each 10 per cent of the sampled are drawn from Christian had migrated to the town between 6-10 years and and Muslim communities. These non-traditional crafts 11-20 years respectively. Migrant households settled men are mostly new entrants to the field. Distribu tion of households by traditional occupation, religion down in the town recently forms only a very small and caste of the, head of the household is shown in the proportion. following table: Table 11.10 Households classified by Traditional Occupation, Religion and Caste/Tribe/Community of head of the household Religion/CastejTribe/Community No. of No. of households where traditional occupation of head of hO:lSe house- hold is holds Manu- Carpentry Gold Black Agricul- Agarba· facturing smithy smithy tural thimanu- of musi- labour facturing cal ins- and sel- trument ling 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hindu (Kammalan) 50 25 17 7 Mll,'Ilim 1 Christian 4 2 Total 55 25 18 8 1 2 1 It may be seen from the table that out of 55 house 1 holds studied on sample basis, heads of 50 households 2 belong to the traditional craftsmen community of Three occupations which the traditional occupation of 25 heads of house - holds are musical instruments making, 17 are car Four occupations . , pentry, 7 are gold smithy and one is blacksmithy. Five and more occupations 5 Head of the remaining five households belong to non Total 55 traditional craftsmen community of which one is a Jvfuslim whose traditional occupation is agarbathi manufacturing and selling and the remaining four are Out of the total of 55 households, 42 households Christians of which the traditional occupation of one have no occupational diversity. Only 13 households each is carpentry and goldsmithy and two are agricul have reported different occupation for different mem tural labour. bers of the households, of which one household has two occupations, 7 households have four occupations Majority of the households have no occupational diversity (households having more than one occupa and 5 households have five occupations. tion). Households with different working members having different occupations are less. Table below Workers and non-workers gives the distribution of households by occupational Out of a total population of 288 persons, 93 are diversity, workers and the remaining 195 are non-workers. The Table 11.11 participation rate for workers works out to 32.29 per Households by occupational diversity cent of the total population. The male workers con Occupational diversity No. of stitute cent per cent of the total workers and the female house participation rate is nil. holds 2 The percentage of non-workers to total population Single Occup:ltion (No occupational diversity) 42 is 67.71. The male non-workers and the female non Two occupations . 1 workers constitute 33.85 and 66.15 per cent respecti- 14 vely of the total non-workers. Distribution of workers and non-workers by broad age group is given below: Table n.I2 Workers and nOll-workers by broad age group Age-.group Total Population Workers Non-workers P M F P M F p M F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0-14 99 53 46 1 ] 98 52 46 15-34 120 69 51 56 56 64 13 "Jl 35-59 55 29 26 29 29 26 21l 60+ 14 8 6 7 7 7 u Total 288 159 129 93 93 195 66 129 The number of female workers in all the age groups group 15-34, followed by those in the age group 35-59. is nil and that of males in the age group 0.14 is negli Workers and non-workers by educational level are gible. The highest number of workers are in the age given in the following table: TableR.I3 Workers and HOn-workers by educ:ational level Educational level Total population Workers Non-workers M F M F I M F 2 3 4 5 6 7 Illiterate 23 21 23 21 Literate without educational level . 30 37 14 16 31' Primary or Junior Basic 49 37 33 _,,_I• c 37 Middle 27 23 21 6 23 Matriculation or Higher Secondary 21 11 18 -' ] 1 Non-technical diploma or certificate not equal to degree T«duiicaI diploma or certificate not equal to degree 3 2 Graduate and above . 6 5 Total 1)9 129 93 66 129 Total persons 288 93 195 All the illiterates are non-workers. Non-workers Table n.14 Workers by traditional occupation and present occupation are more upto primary level and less in Matriculation Traditional occu- Total Present occupation and above level of education. 18 out of 21 male pation workers Same as Different occupation matriculates, 2 out of 3 male technical diploma holders in Col. 1 --- - ____ Musical Other and 5 out of 6 male graduates are workers. instru- OCCUrB.·· ments tion 2 3 4 5 Maj{)fity of the workers covered by sample have Musical instruments 48 37 11 Carpenter 26 24 2 shed their traditional occupation and are found engag Goldsmith 12 10 2 Blacksmith 1 1 ed jn otber occupations. Workers by traditional occu Agricultural labour 3 3 Agarbathi manufac- 3 1 2 pation and present occupation are shown in the follow turing an(l selling ing table: Total 93 37 39 17 15 It may be seen f~m the table that -out of 93 w~rkers, words, all the workers are engaged in the occupa 56 have shed their traditional occupation whIle 37 tion on a full-time basis. workers, an engaged in musical instruments making still cling to their traditional occupation. It is inte~est The tabie given below shows the distribution of ing to note that. of the 56 workers who have shtfted workers by broad age group, main activity and sub to other occupations, as many as 39 have taken up sidiary occupations. manufacture of musical instruments. In all, 76 crafts men are currentlv engaged in the craft of making Table U.16 musical instruments. This craft, no doubt, has attract Wor!wl's by broad age group, Main activity alld subsidiary occupation ed workers from otber occupations. Age-group Total No. No. of (Main Workers by present occupation and type of occupa of workers workers occupa- tiOll are shown in the following table : having tion) subsidiary Manu- occu- facturing Table I1.1S pation of musical instru Workers by present occupation cmd type of occupation ments. Carpen try (Sub Present occupation No. of Type of sidiary workers occupa OCcu tion pation) (Peren nial) 2 3 4 2 3 0-14 15-34 56 \ Manufacturing musical instruments 76 76 35-59 29 Carpenter 2 60+ 7 Oerk 1 Total 93 Assistant 3 3 Art plate 5 5 The table shows that only one w-orker aged above Mechanic 3 3 60 is engaged in carpentry as a subsidiary occupa Doctor tion in addition to his main occupation of musical Peon . 1 instruments making. Station Master 1 Non-workers Total 93 93 Entire female population is of non-workers. Whereas am-ong males, it is 41.51 per cent. It may be seen from the table that the occupations Distribution of non-workers by sex, age and type of followed by all the workers are perennial. In other activity is given in the statement below : Table 11.17 Non-workers by sex, age and type of activity Age Total No. of non-workers by type of activity group noo- ---.- workers Infant Fulltime student Household duty Seeking employment ------Other> M F M F M ------F M F M F M F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 {)-14 52 46 18 13 29 31 5 2 15-19 10 16 6 2 6 4 8 20-24 3 16 13 2 3 25-29 11 11 30-39 13 12 40--49 14 9 5 SO-59 7 5 2 60+ 6 ----._-----_ -- 5 TNaI 66 129 18 13 36 33 57 ------_ 4 R ';0 16 The non-working population within the working age cologist. He fixed the frets of the South Indian Veena. group of 15-59 constitutes as much as 51.43 per cent so that all :-agas could be played. The fixing of frets of the total population in the same age group. Sex 01 the Veena is an important land mark in the deve wise distribution shows that while cent per cent of lopment of the Southern Veena. The earliest Veena female total population in the working age group are was vIle with open strings which involved elaborate non-workers. the population is considerably low at process of tuning and re-tuning. 13.21 per cent among males. 98.99 per cent of the total population in the age group 0-14 and 81.25 p~r cent The origin of the present day T ambura may be in the age group 15-19 are non-workers. It IS pro traced from the Ektar (Eka Tantri Veena) used in the bably due to the fact that infants and students con ancient times, made of a bamboo stick with a gourd tribute more to these two age groups. or tin or wood resonator with a peg to tic the string which later developed into Dotar (Nakuli with 2 Non-pnu:tising craftsmen, strings) and finally into 4, 6 and 7 stringed Tamburas of the present day. The seven stringed Tambura was Field investigation in all the three craft centres indI popularised by Shatkala Govinda Marar (1718-1843). cate that none of tll..: craftsmen have discontinued the craft. As such the schedules relating to non-practis Thus, Thanjavur has been for a. long time famous ing carftsmen could not be canvassed. for the manufacturing of Veenas and other musical instruments. It is said that about 75 years ago, Veena History of growth and development of the craft in from this town were sent even to England. This the town craft flourished under the rpya! patronage. When the British administration was established in Thanjavur, The making of musical instruments is one of the this industry declined like other handicrafts. With oldest surviving handicrafts of Thanjavur. The near the establishment of the National Government. a de ness of raw materials and the encouragement given finite encouragement was given to such' crafts. The to the industry during the time of the former rulers display of musical instruments in various sales emporia of Thanjavur have probably given rise to this indus opened by the Government in di~erent parts of the try in the locality. "The fine: arts of Thanjavur may country h<:;) made them known to the general public be said to have attained their highest perfection in and has stl111Ulated tbe demand for such articles. The the musical instruments which are manufactured there. establishment of a Co-operative Marketing Society in This industry has been in existence in the town from 1952 has stabilised the industry and more 'artisans are time immemorial and it flourished during the time engaged in it. The bulk of these articles are now sent of the Raja of Thanjavur some 70 years ago when to the sales emporia, located in Madras, Bombay, Cal all the workers who were then 20 in number were cutta and Delhi and a large number of these articles employed in the palace itself. Like the other fine are being sent to foreign countries. arts, this industry also lost its patronage and at pre sent there are only four male members who are pursu This craft was developed and preserved as a here ing it being engaged whole time in it. Th~se four ditary occupation by the craftsmen of Thanjavur called trace their origin to the Same ancestor. The mdustry Kammalans who have played a very significant part may therefore be said to be confined to a single family in the development of the craft in South India. These in Thanjavur"*. craftsmen have handed down the techniques of this craft to the members oj' their family who inturn We are, therefore, inclined to the view that the passed on the knowledge from father to son. Thus craft was evolved by the artisans of Thanjavur, under this craft was practised as a famiiy occupation. the encouragement of the early Hindu rulers of Thanjavur. For a long time, this craft was the sole monopoly of Kammalan community. The establishment of the T4e town in the long course of its history has Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers' Co-operative evolved a variety of musical instruments. Prominent Society in 1952 and the setting up of the Develop among them are the Veena, Tambura, Nadaswaram, ment Centre for musical instruments in 1956 have Mridangam etc. Most of these have been developed undoubtedly changed the narrow outlook of this from instruments used in the ancient times. Though industry. The encourag~ment given to this industry Veena is ancient in origin, it acquired its recent shape by the Government has motivated persons not belonging only during 17th century B.C. History rec.ords that the to the hereditary craftsmen community to take to this present day Veena called the Saraswathl Veena was craft. Of these, Christians and Muslims are predo developed during the reign of. Raghu.nat~a Nayak ~f minant who have acquired the skill of this craft by Thanjavur (1614-1632) by Govmda Dikshltar, a mUSl- constant application and practice. ------*Sri D. Narayana Rao-The survey of Cottage Industries, 1929. G,O. No. 2211 datrd 13-12-1929. CHAPTER III PROCESS OF LEARNING Manufacture of Musical Instruments, like most of the learned the craft from unrelated skilled craftsmen. rural crafts, is practised as a hereditary trait. This Distribution of persons engaged in the craft classified craft, confined to the few families belonging to the by relationship with the head of .the. househol~s and Kammalan community, has been throughout the cen source of acquirement of the skIll IS shown In the turies considered and treated as the monopoly of the following table: members of the community. It was their policy to see that the knowledge and technique of this craft was not Table III.l imparted to the members· of other communities. In earHer days, even other members of the community Persons engaged in the craft classified by relationship with the head were not given the facility to 'learn tlIis art. This unusual and SOl/rees of acquirement of the skill attitude was preserved by t,he community until the starting of the Co-operative Sodety and the development Relationship \\ ith No. of No. of persons reported having centre· for musical instruments. Due to the initiative the head persons acquired the skill from taken by these agencies, this community has now pur engaged ------.-:-- suaded the artisans to share their knowledge with other in the Family Unrelated Trammg craft members master school members of the community in it~ larger interest. Now and re- craftsmen the craft is not the monopoly of a few hereditary crafts latives by men who have practised the craft as a family occupa heredi- tion., tarily 2 4 5 The experience and skill required for the work is 3 acquired by patient learning by working as an appren tice under some skilled craftsmen as there is no reco Self 55 41 gnised training school for imparting training to artisans of this craft. New entrant hailing from hereditary Son 17 17 cra£tsmen community begins to help his father or family members and as he helps he learns. He learns the Brother theory of his work unconsciously and the knowledge 2 2 and experience of his elders would be transmitted to him without any deliberate attempt to learn. Actually, Brother's son 2 2 it is· during this unpaid apprenticeship that the boys Total 76 62 13 of the community get acquainted with the intricacies of the art under the guidance and supervision of their elders. It is how the craft technique and skill have The table shows that 62 out of 76 persons engaged been handed down from generation to generation and in the craft have acquired the skill from family generally preserved as a family secret. members and relatives while 14 persons from unrelat ed skilled craftsmen of which one person has learnt th e craft from the training course organised by the Persons from among those non-hereditary craftsmen Government. of Tamil Nadu at Thanjavur Palace for communities who have taken to this craft, get employ three years from 1978 to 1980 with the assistance of ed under skilled craftsmen, learn the art gradually and a local skilled craftsman. take to manufacturing on their own after acquiring the necessary skill. But in some cases, it is noticed During the field study, it was noticed that heads that they work under independent craftsmen on dai1y of five households forming 9.09 per cent of the sampled wages. households comprising 20 per cent of the persons en gaged in the craft did not belong to the hereditary The sample survey of 55 households conducted at craftsmen community. These households drawn from Thaniavur and in the villages of Narasingampettai of Muslims and Christians have taken up this profession Kumbakonam taluk and Thiruvaduthurai of Mayuram during the last decade. Little more than fifty per taluk has thrown SOl1le light on different aspects of cent of the sampled households compriSing 36.84 per the process of learning of the craft. cent of the persons engaged in the craft reported practising the craft for more than 20 years. Majority of the persons engaged in the craft report Distribution of persons engaged in the craft by ed to have acquired the skill from family members and period, relationship with the head of the household relatives hereditarily. while a few who have taken to and persons imparted training are shown in the the craft from non-hereditary craftsmen community following table: 17 18 Table III.2 Persons engaged in the rraft by period, relationship with tlw head and persollS hlparfed truining Period Nc. of Relation to head p'C!i"sons Self who received training Son who received training Brother who received Brother's son who receiv- from from training from ed training from ------~------Father Uncle Others Father Uncle Others Father Uncle Others Father Uncle Others 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Less than 5 years 17 2 1 2 10 5 -9 years 22 3 4 8 6 1 10-19 vears 9 2 2 3 1 1 20+ yeiir~ 28 6 5 17 Tota! 76 13 12 30 17 2 It may be seen from the table that majority of craftsmen. In the initial stages of training. no stipend heads of the household engaged in the craft received is paid to the apprentice. . A remuneration is nor· training from close relatives and unrelated practising mally paid when the trainee gets ~uainted with the craftsmen, while the technique of the craft, in the case craft and helps the skilled craft&men as he learns. of present generation, is passed on from father to Distribution of persons engaged iri the draft classified son. by relationship with the head, the person imparted Since the craft is practised mostly on hereditary training, period of training and ,rempneration are basis, no terms and conditions are laid for training' the shown in the subjoined statement: Table III. 3 \ Persons engafJed itt tke craft classified by relatioftslt~u ",ifk tke fread, tire person itJtparted training, period 0/ tl'ainilt,i! mid remuneratioll Relationship with No. of No. of persons engaged in the craft who received training from the head ~ersons ~ngaged Father Uncle in the For the Period For the Period ':iaf~ ------Below 2+ years and paid rer>lU- Below 2 years and paid 2+ years and paid remu- 2 years and paid neration re'lmneration neration remuneration Obliga· Upto Rs. 200 Obli Upto Rs.200 ObH· Upto Rs.200 Obli· Uoto Rs.200 tory Rs. 199 & above gatory Rs. 199 & above gatory Rs. 199 & above gatory Rs. 199 & above ~ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13' 14 Head 55 13 9 3 Son 17 2 15 BrClthet' 2 1 Brotoo's son 2 2 Total 76 2 29 11 3 No. of persons engaged in the craft who received training from JlelalloDShip' with the head Others For the Period _------'-- Belo'", 2 years and paid remuneration 2+ years and paid remuneration ObligatoRY Upto Rs.2oo Obligatory Upto Rs_ 200 Rs. 199 & above Rs. 199 & above 15 16 17 18 20 10 15 4 Head Son :Blother Brother's son 2 10 15 4 Total 19 - It may be seen from the table that persons who He invented this Veena after the Handicrafts Board received training from family members and also those at the centre came forward to help and encourage who received training for less than two years have craftsmen researching the making of traditional musi not been paid any remuneration during training period. cal instruments. Nearly, 95 per cent of the persons engaged in the craft received training for more than two years which clearly indicates that the craft has to be learnt only by stages. Am Gouz, a perfumery businessman, encouraged Mahalingam in his research. Mahalingam's traditional All the households covered by survey reported that Veenas have been sent to Malaysia, Singapore, USA, no restriction is being imposed for imparting training England and other countries. He is applying for a tOi the craftsmen. On the question of facility available patent for this new Veena. for training, more than 85 per cent of the craftsmen covered by survey reported that the training received was adequate, while little less than 15 per cent consi This craftsman is of opinion that the Government dered the facility of training inadequate. The main should take concrete steps to develop this craft by problem faced by the new entrants is that there is no providing financial as well as marketing support. recognised training school for imparting systematic training to craftsmen. The craft has to be learnt only by stages from a skilled craftsman and that the mas 2. Sri Mobemmed Ali of Thanjavur is a fiIll-time ter craftsman shows no interest to share his know worker in the manufacture of Veena in his workshop ledge with other members. cum-residence. He belongs to ,the Muslim community and his traditional occupation is manllfacture and sale of agarbathis. " Biographical sketches of some of the craftsmen enp ged in the craft 1. Sri P. Mahalingam, residing at Javuli Chetty He has taken to the craft of manufacture-pf musical Street, Thanjavur is a master craftsman specialising instruments out of motivation. Learning the craft from m the manufacture of stringed instruments viz. Veena, Shri Balakrishnan, an unrelated craftsman, by working Tambura and Gottuvadyam. He works in his own as an apprentice for a period of six years, he has been workshop which is separate from his household. His engaged in this occupation since 1981. \ son Shri M. Rajagopal assists him in the craft. He be longs to the Viswakarma community. This craftsman gets an income of rupees 500/- per month and is entirely depending on the craft for live The forefathers. of this craftsman have been engaged lihood. According to him raising funds for the purchase in this craft for two generations. He learnt this art of raw materials is the major problem ~aced by him. from Shri Ponnuswamy Achari, his uncle and has been He insists that loan at reasonable rate shpuld be made actively engaged in the craft for more than 45 years. available to improve this craft. He is one of the great artisans of the craft. A por table Veena has been invented by him, which accor According to him the younger generation belonging ding to Veena players here, produced more naadham to Muslim community are not showing interest in than the usual traditional Veena. learning this craft. Shri Mahalingam, 5. SJ,d Sundal"l8jaa of Narasingampettai is a full According :to him, acquiring of raw materials parti time wOrker in the manufacture of Nadaswaram in his cularly seaso~ed jackwood at reasonable prices poses workshop which is separate from his bousehold. He a major prob~em. He wants the Co-operative Society beldngs to the Kammalan community. to take up the supply of raw materials. \ The forefathers of this craftsman have been enga ged in this craft for three generations. He learnt this 7. Sbri.S. ~I of Thanjavur, a Christian, art from Shri Arunachalam, his uncle, as the craftsman is another fult-time worker engaged in the manufacture lost his father at an young age. of Mridangam in his workshop which is the same as his household, He learnt this hereditary art from As a master craftsman in the manufacture of Nada Shri Fernandaz:, his uncle, an expert in the field.. His swaram, he has been engaged in this craft since 1970. househ~ld has been. traditionally associated with the Shri Bagavathi, his brother's son, assists him in the craft fdr 'four generations. craft. Even though he is taking keen interest in the craft he has not encouraged both his sons to take up He is engaged in the craft since 1940 and has been his occupation. The first of the two sons is a science taking keen interest in the art. He encouraged both graduate working in railways and the second son .is his sons to tau up the craft who after acquiring the an under graduate attending college. necessary skin assist him in his work. He expressed difficulty in getting the raw materials, particularly achamaram (old rosewood) which is mainly . He expressed difficulty' in raising funds for purchas use / Craftsmen at work In the making of Nadaswaram. An engraving machine used for making the shells of p~rCUSSlOn instruments. A master craftsman IS sh apin g the outer circumferen ce of t h e block of wood inserted in the e n graving machin e. Parts of Veena. The Kudam of Veena IS being hollowed out of a single piece of jack wood. 20 4. Shri N.G.N. Ranganatha Achari of Narasingam 6. Shri Cboekalinga· Amari of Thiruya~~thur~i, pettai is a full-time worker specialising in the manu Mayuram taluk is a full-time worker speclahsmg m facture of Nadaswaram. He learnt this hereditary craft the manufacture of Mridangam, Thavil and Kanjira. from his father, Shri Narayanaswamy Achari and has He belongs to the Kammalan community and his been engaged in the craft since 1940. He works in his traditional occupation is carpentry. He has taken to own workshop which is separate from his household. the making of Mridangam out of his own interest and He is one of the great artisans of the craft and has he learnt the art without anybody's help. His work received several honours. The title 'Akila India Nadas shop is different from his household and he is assis wara Silpi' was conferred on him by the great Nadas ted in his work by Shri Swamynathan, his brother's wara Vidwan Shri T. N. Rajarathinampillai in 1955 son. and he was also the recipient of a gold medal and a certificate of merit awarded by the Madurai Nadas He is engaged in this craft since ] 941 and is an wara Isai Sangam in appreciation of his work. expert in the field of making and maintaining the Mri dangam that his services are being sought by other He belongs to the Kammalan community and his manufacturers for tuning the instrument. In apprecia household is traditionallv associated with the craft since tion of his services, he was awarded the best crafts three generations. According to him all his sons are man certificate by Shri Valayapatti Subramaniam an taking interest in learning the craft. Though this great eminent Thavil Vidwan. He is aged above 80 years craftsman expressed full satisfaction in fonowing this and still actively engaged in the craft. occupation, he is of the opinion that the major prOblem facing this industry is the non-availability of raw Recently he has acquired an engraving machine at materials. particularly the rosewood which is mainly a cost of rupees 15,000 for making the shells of the used in the manufacture of Nadaswaram. instrument. 5. Shri Sumblrmjan of Narasingampettai is a full According to him, acquiring of raw .materials parti time worker in the manufacture of Nadaswaram in his cularly seasoned jackwood at reasonable prices poses workshop which is separate from his household. He a major problem. He wants the Co-operative Society belongs to the Kammalan community. to take up the supply of raw materials. The forefathers of this craftsman have been enga ged in this craft for three generations. He learnt this 7. Shri S. Gll3DaprakaSO:JD.1 of Thanjavur, a Christian, art from Shri Arunachalam. his uncle, as the craftsman is another full-time worker engaged in the manufacture lost his father at an young age. of Mridangam in his workshop which is the same as his household. He learnt this hereditary art from As a master craftsman in the manufacture of Nada Shri Fernandaz, his uncle. an expert in the field. His swaram, he has been engaged in this craft since 1970. household has been traditionany associated with the Shri Bagavathi, his brother's son, assists him in the craft for four generations. craft. Even though he is taking keen interest in the craft he has not encouraged both his sons to take up He is engaged in the craft since 1940 and has been his occupation. The first of the two sons is a science taking keen interest in the art. He encouraged both graduate working in railways and the second son is his sons to take up the craft who after acquiring the an under graduate attending college. necessary skill assist him in his work. He expressed difficulty in getting the raw materials, particularlyachamaram (old rosewood) which is mainly He expressed difficulty in raising funds for purchas used in the manufacture of Nadaswaram. He wants ing raw materials. This craft, according to him could the Government to take more interest to improve this be made to prosper- by devising short-term loans at ctaft. preferential rates. CHAPTER IV MANUFACTURING PROCESSES In the previous chapters, the history of origin and in diameter, and have a round piece cut out of the development of the musical instruments, the crafts. ~ottom, about 12.5 ems. in diameter. The finger board men engaged and the process of learning of these musi· IS about 5 ems. wide. Thc wires are seven in number cal instruments have been dealt with in detail. The and ~onsis~ of two steel ones. Very close together in present chapter deals with the most important aspect the nght sKk are four brass ones on the finger board relating to the manufacturing processes and other use· and one brass one on the left side. ful details of these musical instruments. The great singularity of this instrument is the height Among the four important musical instruments of the frets nearest to the nut is 2.8 ems. and that at taken up for detailed study viz. Veena, Tambura, the other extremity about 2.2 ems. and the decrease Mridangam and Nadaswaram, Vcena, the classical is pretty gradual. By this means, the finger never instrument rightly occupies the first and foremost touches the fingerboard itself. The frets are fixed on honourable place amongst the Indian musical instru· with wax by the performer himself, which he does ments. It is the instrument associated with Shri Saras entirely by ear. Any little difference is easily Corrected wati. the Goddess of learning and music, whereas the by the pressure of the finger. The fingers of the right instrument Tambura is associated with Sage Narada, hand are used to strike the strings of this hand; the the Divine Musician. Mridangam is the classical drum third finger never used. The two first fingers strike tbe of India. commonly used in all South Indian music wires on the fingerboard and the little finger strike the parties and Nadaswaram is the divine musical ins· two wires. Modern Veena has as many as twenty·foW" trument, which is in great demand at wedding cere· frets and some of the linest instruments are made in monies, processions and festivals. Thanjavur and Mysore. The Veena is played with the finger nails or with a pieeterum and is a popular Tamil Nadu has sllch a rich variety of musical ins mstrument with ladies in the south, whereas in the truments manufactured, each with a distinct name, north it is used almost exclusively by professional shape, construction, technique and quality. And Than musicians. javur in particular is noteworthy for carnatic music, forming the chief source of manufacturing such famous The southern Veena consists of a large body hollow musical instruments. Among the stringed musical ins· ed out of a block of wood, generally jackwood. The truments manufactured on a large scale, Veena and stem of the instrument is also made of the same kind Tambura are the famous ones. The manufacturing of wood and the bridge is placed on the flat top of units of these instruments are mostly concentrated in the body. The neck is attached to the stem and is Thanjavur and as many as 52 families ronsisting of usually carved into some weird figures like the head 68 craftsmen are engaged in this traditional rural of a dragon. based craft. Among the wind type of musical instru· ments, "Nadaswaram" is the only instrument manu· Another gourd. sma Her in size than the rounded factured in Narasingampettai village in Thiruvidai part of the body, is lixed underneath the neck and marudur tlluk. Two families liVIng here consisting of forms it kind of rest or support for the instrument. 6 craftsmen are engaged in the manufacture of Nadas Twenty four metallic frets, one for each servitone of waram. Among the percussion instruments, Mridan two octaves, are fixed on the stem by means of a gam is manufactured by a single family with two crafts resinous substance. The frets are arcs, made of bell men in Thiruvaduthurai village of Mayuram taluk. metal or of steel. in VEENA The V cena has seven strings alL Four of them are main strings that pass over the frets and are attach The finest string instrument of India is the 'Veena'. ed to the pegs on the neck. The three side strings are It is very graceful in appearance. consisting of a large used for the drone and the rhythemic accompaniment. bowl hollowed out of a single piece of wood, upon These strings pass over an arched bridge made of which the bridge is placed and furnished with a num brass. They lie flat over the top of the body and are ber of sounding holes. In shape. Veena is supposed to secured to the main bridge. represent the body of Goddess Parvati by reason of the curved necks, the gourds or breasts and the frets Generally, the various parts of the Veena such as or bracelets. The finger board is 54.4 ems. long. A the neck, the stem and the main body are made sepa little beyond each end of the finger board are two rately and joined together later. But there is a type large gourds and beyond these are pegs and tail piece, of instrument called the ekadanda Veena where the which hold the wires. The whole length of the ins· whole length, comprising the neck, stem and bowl, is trument is 1 metrc 7.5 ems. The ttrst gourd is fixed carved Ollt of a single piece of wood. This type of at 25 ems. from the top, and the second is about Veena is greatly passed. Its tonal quality and volume 88.8 ems. The gourds are very large, about 35 ems. are rkher than in the case of the ordinary Veena. 21 22 The southern Veena brought into use by a ruler of be pointed out that Tumburu was a Gandharva, Tum Thanjavur called Raghunatha Naik and his Prime buru's Kalavati, as the name itself suggests (i.e. equip Minister, Govinda Dikshitar. who first constructed a ped or designed to give 'kala' or 'sruti') was only a Veena with twenty four fixed frets. Before this, the drone. Kalavati is just a derivative name like Guna Veena had less than twenty movable frets, which had vati. Tambura is just a popular name and the classi to be adjusted as in the northern Sitar. The fixing of cal name of this instrument was Kalavati. the frets (twelve for each octave) paved the way for the development of the famous scheme of seventy-two melakartas of the carnatic system. There is the legend about the ten-headed Ravana, that when he was pressed under Mount Kailas, he The making of a Veena is a slow and prolonged pro chopped off one of his hc.ads. cut a nerve from his cess and a month would be a minimum period for a body and tuned it to the pitch of his voice, by tying workman whole time every day. In addition. ornamen one of its ends to the chopped off head and held tation may take considerable additional time. It would the, other end by means of his hands. He then sang be quite reasonable for an elaborately ornamented 'Sama gana' and pleased Lord Siva. From this legend, Veena to take six months to come into proper shape. it is evident that the single-stringed drone is the ear Such Veenas of course are more costly. It is necessary liest to appear in Indian Music and that for Sama to get the wood properly seasoned before starting work Gana, such a drone was used. on it. For this purpose the log is cut into proper size and exposed to the weather for as long a time as The instrument Tambura is variously referred to as possible, in no case less than a few months. The bowl Tambura, Tamburu, Tamburi and Tambur. The cor is next cut into shape. The external trimming is com rect form of this word is Tambura or Tamburu. The paratively easy but the scooping out of the wood former word is met with in Thiyagaraja's two classical inside is a very delicate process requiring much skill. kritis in Todira~a '"Koluvamaregada" and "Kaddanu Specially curved chisels are employed for this purpose. variki". The latter form Tamburu is found in Chinni A slight carelessness may result in a crack in the wood Krishna Dasa's Kriti "Ento brahJnanandamu" in and might involve rejection of the whole piece, and Bilahari raga. so special care is taken in scooping out the wood. The seven-stringed Tambura was pppularised by In scooping out, it is important to have a certain Shatkala Govinda Marar (1718-1843). degree of uniformity of wall thickness, but what is important here is not geometrical accuracy but acous Tambura is the classical drone accompaniment of tical uniformity. Thl;! sound produced by tapping the the stringed group. In outer form, it resembles the bowl at different places will show whether the thick Veena minus the frets, gourd resonator and the head ness is uniform for acoustical purposes. When one piece (''Yali''). South Indian Tamburas are made of happens to see the interior of a bowl for the firstl time jack wood. In Miraj tamburas, the shell is of gourd. he might get the impression of crude workmanship, The body of the tambura is semi-globular in shape. but if the acoustical testing has been properly done, the The belly on the top is slightly convex. The body is instrument can nevertheless be of very high quality. connected to the stem by means of a ledge. The stem In an ekadandi instrument, the whole body with the leads on to the neck, into which are fixed four tuning exception of the face is scooped out of a single piece pegs-two at right angles to the head and two on the of wood. 111 an ordinary instrument, the dandi and sides. All the four strings are secured directly to the the bowl arc cut from separate piece'S, usually not the ledge fixed on to the bowl. In the place of the langar same piece of wood, though some persons incline to of the Veena, there are beads threaded upon the strings the view that this is desirable. 1t is usual for the head between the bridge and the attachment. These aid in piece to be made of rosewood, even if the dandi and accurate tuning. The bridge on the belly is of wood. bowl are made of jackwood. This serves the purpose In some Tamburas besides this bridge. there is a small of providing a harder wood for the tuning pegs to ivory bridge sliding over a portion of the stem from work in, the resulting wear would be much less. the neck. Over this bridge, the three strings with the exception of the mandaram pass. Once the instrument TAMBURA is set in tune, it is possible to easily alter the pitch Tambura is one of the most popular classical string of these three strings, by merely sliding the bridge up instruments, played all over India. It is a four-wired or down, in which case the mandaram string is tuned drone instrument with a big gourd at the bottom and separately. This is a great advantage from the musi a long narrow wooden neck above. Tn outer form, cal standpoint. It also saves time. The four strings pass Tambura resembles the 'Veena'. It provides excellent over the main bridge and then over the sliding bridge drone accompaniment to any music, vocal or instru and then through holes in a ledge at the junction of mental. This instrument was brought from the middle the stem and the neck and then entcr the pegs. The east countries in Mohammedan period and was called mandaram string however, as already mentioned does "tam bur" at that time. It is made both for the rich not pass ovcr the sliding bridge. The length of the and the poor alike It wHl be seen in the hands of a sliding bridge is less than three-fourths of the width beggar, as well as in the hands of an aristocrat. of the fingerboard, so that there is ample space left free for the mandaram string to pass. Tamburas of Narada and Tmuburu are two of the cele~tial musi Thanjavuf make are invariably provided with the slid· cians mentioned together in ancient literature. It may ing bridge in addition to the main bridge...... ~ (,J ._~ ~ t:::s ~ -~ - tI') E --.. ..0 ~ t::u ~ ~._ :...~ s: b1 -..... -... ._ ~ -----. ~ ~ .~ t::u ~ :.... l'.),) {?o_ <:,) ..t;;) ...... :;: - t.-:l 6' ~ {2._ :... ""l :::; ...... c I ~ ._ .... ~ t::::I ~ .....c "-I ""l I .::s ":l ,_ :... :.... ~ Ill"') ::::: ~ C ~ ~...,,_ -- "- I:.o:l ..:.;: :;::..~ ..... t::::I '- .._ --..._ '- ~ ...... ----- .S ~ V:I lr)~--- lo... "- 1':3 '- E ._ a t.-:l ~ ~ '::3 ~ t::::i ... ~ - t::: ~._ '- E ~ o- ~ bi) ;: ~ ~ ~ b.Q ~ \;l I ""t;t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ('r) . . C'r) I.r) ...... ~q ~ ~ t---.: co """'t ~ "4 ~ ~ ...... -..... -f-4 ~ ... '- '-._ ~l ~ :! c..? "_ ~ ::: ..... Z ~ ~ :...... - ;: ...... ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~. ~ ~ t--: co 0\ C ...... ~ (/) ...... -... -- -.... t::u --..._ (.J ~-+- ~ I:::S ;:s.... ~ t.o:l ~._ ~ -.... ~ ~ ~ C t::u ~ ~ ~ '- ..__~ =: ~.... ._ ~ :::s ~ C QI ~ ~ r..:;, e.o ~ ~ ~ "'- :;:... t::::I ~ ~~ ._ ~ ..t::,) E ~ ~ ~ :;;: {l E ~.... '-~ ~ :... ~ N..1 ~ ~ ~ ~ -...j t"i C't) ~ ar; '0 ~------~'--"------~ r KUDA}..[ ~:. :::::::.t1l . METTU KUDIRAI --'--~~~~~~~------~PARTS OF VEENA .' ) [',A·, \ \ !I~~rl .' . • I ...,:-{ / i,('j • . , I Bridge.J / Mettu --' Stem- -- Upper Part of Stem- - - Upper Part of Kudam-- Kudam-- Kudirai- - UPPER PART OF KUDAM STEM C:,=::::=-===::J STEM UPPER PART KUDIRAI PARTS OF TAMBURA 5- 17 RGIiND,88 Carving the Yalimukha of Veena. ,'_ The Bridai is being fixed to the stem of the Veena. 9- 17 RGIIND/88 23 The names of the four strings, their gauge numbers In the other variety of Eight-stringed Tambura the and the notes to which they are tuned are given fo~r strings below are o~f the same length as the top below :-~ strIngs, but are of a thIcker gauge. Some are coiled strings. They are tuned on octave lower down. When No. Name of the string The note to which Gauge the top strings are twanged, the four lower strings it is tuned No. vibrate in sympathy and the drone notes strengthened by the resounding lower octave notes are heard plea l. Panchumillll Mandra Sthayi Panchama or p 29 steel singly. 2. Sarani Madhya Sthayi Shadja or s 31 steel 3. Anusarani Do. 3 J steel . In the Svadita tambura, like the ordinary tambura, III the centre of the dandi, an electric motor is fixed. 4. Mandaram Mandra Sthayj Shadja or 5 26 brass There are three prongs which succesively pluck the strings. Mechanical plucking takes the place of man I t should be noted that when the instrument is held ual plucking in this instrument. in a horizontal position with its bowl to the right, the Panchamam string No. 1 is the string farthest away PROCESS OF MAKING from the performer. The gauge numbers given for the strings here are those commonly met with. There may The jackwood chosen for making a Tambura inclu be slight differences here and there in the thickness sive of the shell, dandi and neck should all belong to of the strings used. The gauge numbers will vary accor t~e same parent tree. This will ensure a good tone, ding to the pitch desired by the performer and also sl~lce the age of the wood chosen for the different parts according to the length of the dandi. wIll be the same. When the different parts are made of jackwood from different trees. the response will The tambura is usually held upright and played. The not be even, on account of the disparity in the age bowl is made to rest on the right thigh. The four of the wood used for the several parts. The wood strings which are never stopped are gently pulled one chosen for making the tambura should be properly after another, starting from the Panchama and ending seasoned. " with the Mandaram. This process is continually repea ted. The fore-finger of the right hand is used for this The bowl is the first part to be made in a Tambura. purpose. Plectrum are never used. The maximum ~ squaFc block of wood of the reqUisite dimensions effect is produced when the strings arc pluc~ed either IS cut. Parts bf outer surcade are chiselled off, until at the centre or at 2/3 length fro91 the bridge. the block attains the shape of a help-spherical bowl. The scooping inside is then begun. The part near the VARIETIES OF TAMBURA attachment is left a bit in order to sustain the tension of the strings. The top plank, the dandi and the neck In Tanjore Tambura, jackwood is used for the bowl, are next made and glued on. The bridge and the top-plank, the dandi or stem, and the neck. The top pegs are then made and inserted at the proper places. parts of the pegs are flat. The instrument is decorated The instrument is then stringed. After trials, it be with ivory work. comes fit for use in concerts. In Miraj Tambura, the bowl is of gourd. The stem and the neck are, however, made of teak wood. The In the gourd tambura, the gourd chosen for the pegs have round knobs at the top. The dandi is resonator is first cut on the top at !th of its height. broader than that of the Thanjavur Tambura. Then it is cut at !th length a t its side. This ~t1t gourd is kept immersed in water for some hours. The un In the seven stringed Tambura, the Panchama, required tissue-matter on the interior surface of the Sarani and Anusarani strings are doubled. The man gourd is removed. The thin sheets of skin on the outer daram string remains single. The seven strings may be side of the gourd are aiso removed with a penknife. plucked successively or the strings of each pair may The dandi of the needed dimension is made of Burma be twanged simultaneously, that is the Panchama pair teak. A neck of the same wood is made and joined may be plucked followed by the Sarani and Anusarani to the gourd. The dandi is joined to the neck of the pairs and lastly the Mandaram. The successive pluck gourd with sealing wax. Planks from thc same wood ing and the pair plucking may follow one another al to cover the top of the gourd and the top of the long ternatively. The seven-stringed tambura was first popu dandi and neck are made and joined. The top plank larised by Shatkala Govinda Marar. is fixed on to the gourd with glue and bamboo nails. Four pegs of rose·wood ,vith knobs on the top are In the eight-stringed Tambura, the four strings are made. The bridge is made of ivory. The instrument is on the top, tuned to the usual notes and four other then stringed. The strings are tied to the ivory end strings underneath are running parallel to· the tc'p pin, at the top side of the gourd and after passing over strings. The speaking length of the corresponding the bridge. they pass through holes in a ledge. They strings below is about half of the strings on the top, are then tied to the pegs. After trials, the instrument and every lower string is tuned to give the exact upper becomes fit for use. octave note of the string above. When the ~bove four strings are plucked. the four lower strings vibrate in Out of a total of 93 workers, only 76 workers are sympathy and the drone notes, strengthened by the engaged in the manufacture of Vccna, Tambura, Mri octave notes below are heard in an enriched manner. dangam and Nadaswaram. of which as many as 59 24 Me !'laving their plac~ of work in part of their dwcning of 21 workers are middle. 18 have pas~ed matricu houses. Eleven workers have their own workshops. lation or higher second"ry, 2 are having technical while 6 workers are working in th~ workshops owned diploma or certificate not eq ual to degree and the oy others. Besides the head of households. there are 21 educational level of 5 workers arc a degree and above. other workers also engaged in this craft Out of 76 workers, 28 workers are engaged in this craft, for ('ver 20 years, 9 wprkers between 10 to 19 years, 22 The following table furnishes in detail the average between 5 to 9 yea! sand 17 workers (or less than l110nthiy consumption of raw materials by seasonal 5 years. Among the 21 workers other than head of variations for manufacturing different items of Handj· the household, two are doing this job for over 10-19 :rafts cl,m;ifted by educational 1cvc] of households. All the household~ engaged in this >:raft procure the differ years, 7 other~ for 5·9 years and ihc rcm,aining 12 per:,ons fur less t11<111 5 years. As most of the hOllse enl raw materials [urlli~hcd in the table from tlle local holds arc practising this <.:raft in part of their dv,clling market of Panruti and sometimes from Dharmapuri houses except 12 in places at a distance of less than and transported by lorry service. They, therefore, not 2 kl1)s., they do not find much difficulties by way of only feel the cost of transport charges is rather high transport ill reaching their place of work. The area but also find it difficult in satisfying the commercial of the place of work which is part of their dwelling lax officials during the transportation time, as they houses vary from iess than 3 to 25 sq. mtts. and most demand several formalities to be fulfilled fOr transpor of these households are of the opinion that the cccu ting this raw material. Handsaw, carpenter plane, hammer, tong. screw driver, square slope blade, half pied area of their place of work is inadequate. round blade, perimeter. haekSha w 'bJade, carpenter Out of a total of 93 workers engaged in the manu rukr. glovular body, cutting player, chisd, hand bor facture of Veena, Tambura, Mridangam and Nudas ing tool, drilling tong. wooden' pieee, compass and waram and in other occupations. the educational level drilling m~asures ~rc th·: most common tooJs and of as many as 33 are primary or junior basic, 14 equipments used by the craftsmen in the manufacture workers are literates without educational level. those of different kinds of Veena and Tam~ura. Table IV.1 Average t'v/onthly consumptio!l of Raw Afaleria/s by Seasonal Variations for Manufacturing different ltems 4 HU/i{licra/r Clmsilied I>y Educa tiol1al Lerel of rhe HOllsehold Educational level of head of Number of Number Average monthly consumption of each raw-materials the household handicraft items of house------~------manufactured holds Jackwood Rosewood Shelaid Rcd wa:-; Fevicul Screws Brass manufac- (in feet) (in feet) sheet (in gram) (in gram) (in gram) articles turing (in feet) (in gram) handicraft items 2 3 4 5 6 7 1\ 9 10 Uteratc with Jut educational Ve;:na 14 4~x 1l 2;<;2 2,~ t ~ 500 250 100 1,500 level. Tambura 8 4J x 11 2)' 2_ 2 < q ~()() 250 50 500 Primary or Junior Ba~i<: Vccnu 21 4~xll 2:2 1 : I} 500 250 100 1,500 Tambul'a [0 4~ All 2<2 1 >, J ~ 500 250 50 500 Mridangam I 25x 10 Nadaswaram Middl~ Vccna 10 4~ x 11 2 2 2x q 500 250 100 1,500 Tambura 1 4}x I r 2;d 2.< I ~ 500 2S0 50 500 ., Nactaswaram Matriculation or Higher Veena 4 4~ x Ii 2x2 2xl} 500 250 100 1,500 Secoodary Tambura 2 4~ >: 1~ 2x2 2/1} SeQ 250 50 500 Technical diplOlna or ccrti- Vecna 2 4i x q 2:<2 2>1} 500 250 100 .1,500 fkate not equal to degree Tambura 4i:< IJ 2x2 2x!} 50(} 250 50 500 Graduate and abovc Veena 41> 1~ 2,2 2> II- 500 250 100 1,500 Tambura 4lx IJ 2 >< 2 2 x It 50(} 250 50 50(} NADASWARAM (WIND INSTRUMENT) REED ~ ,=='=::::[1011117- . WOOD Part I \ L------w.~ r_.- ...... ~ I I : Part 11 I LI __ _ 25 Table IV. l-Concld. ------Educarional level of head of Number of han- Average monthly consumption of each raw-materials the household dicra"t items __,------~~. .----~__._...... -~------.---~ ~-- manufactured Honey Ivory Steel Brass Colour Pumpkin Salt Acha- Polish Reed wax sheet wire wIre powder white paper maram (in (in (in (in (in (in (in (in (in (in litre) feet) gram) feet) feet) feet) gram) unit) sheet) feet) 2 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Literate without educational Veena 500 2x2 20 ·9 500 5 1e~eI. Tambura 500 2x2 12 4! 500 5 Primary or Junior Basic Veena 500 2x2 20 9 500 5 Tambura 500 2x2 12 4! 500 5 Mridangam .Nadaswaram ., 20x40 4 Middle Veena 500 2x2 20 9 500 5 Tambura 500 2)< 2 12 4~ 500 5 Nadaswaram 8x 16 Matriculation or Higher Veena 500 2x2 20 9 500 5 1 Secondary. Tanibura 500 2x2 12 4! 500 5 1 Technical diploma or certi- Veena 500 2x2 20 9 500 5 f\cate not equal to degree. Tambura 500 2x2 12 4! 500 5 Graduate and above . Veena 500 2 ~< 2 20 9 500 5 Tarn"b\lra 500 2x2 12 4t 500 5 Of the 55 households, as many as 26 households will not be in good shape and will be wanting in per have reported that they use only traditional design fection. for less than 10 years, 2 households for the past 10-19 years and the remaining 27 households for more than NADASWARAM 20 years in the manufacturing processes of this craft. All the 50 Hindu households, a Muslim household Among the wind type of musical instruments, and 4 Christian households are of the view that they "Nadaswaram", popularly called as "Nayanam" in are quite unaware of any myth and legend noteworthy, Tamil Nadu is a noted auspicious musical instrument associated with the traditional design and no house CMangalavathiyam'} It is used in all South Indian hold has got any inclination to adopt any new design marriages and wedding processions, besides in tem in this craft. All the 23 households belonging to the ples and other religious institutions, which maintain age group of 15-34, 25 households of the age group musical assemblies or various types, vocal and instru of 35-59 and 7 households above 60 are only continu mental. The loud and melodious tone of Nadas ing with the traditional design in their manufacturing waram, which can be heard even at long distances processes. About 1,004 Veenas, 220 Tamburas, 100 attract all, both the young and the aged alike. Mridangams and 148 Nadaswarams are manufactured on an ave.rage per annum. Of the 55 households, Nadaswaram is generally a two and a half feet reed as many as 24 households are manufacturing Tambura instrument of conical shape, made of wood, with too, in addition to Veena. The Veenas and Tambu twelve holes, six for fingering and six for regulating ras manufactured' are mostly sold out through Co the pitch. The Nadaswaram of South can be com operative Society, at a margin of profit of Rs. l,05()/ pared 'to the "Shehnai" of the North. as both are of per Veena and Rs. 870/- per Tambura respectively. the same family and in general appearance and also look very much alike. As regards purity associated with this craft very much sanctity is attached to the manufacture of these In Tamil Nadu, there are two households residing divine musical instruments. Such polluted persons in Narasingampettai village in Thiruvidaimarudur as females during menstruation period and period taluk of Thanjavur district engaged in the manufac of delivery and persons during the period of death ture of this ancient and popular musical instrument ceremonies, as well as members of other households since 1900. These two families in particular are who have participated in it are strictly forbidden into manufacturing Nadaswarams since 1954 and 1970 the campus of work, till the period of pollution is respectively, both having their own workshops as fully over. They are unanimously firm in their view their place of work, very near to their residences. and strongly believe that in this divine craft, if proper There are. ~ix males. of which 2 are master craftsmen purity is not followed. the manufactured instruments qua the otht7}our are ordinary craftsmen working in 26 this traditional hereditary occupation, which they have shape, make it to appear like a hollow pipe through learnt from their forefathers. These households are which wind can pass from ()ne side to the other. The Tamil speaking Kammalans {)f Thanjavur district. scooping out of the wood inside is a very delicate Most of them have passed eighth standard and above process requiring much skill. Specially carved chisels and had sufficient training and skill in the manufac an: employed for this purpose. A slight carelessness ture of Nadaswaram. Though the area of their on their part may result in a crack in the wood and workspot is adequate, still they live only in Katcha may even result in the rejection of the whole Nadas house~ and their standard {)f living has yet to he im waram. Then they make as many as 12 holes in the proved considerably. hollow pipe made already neatly, as shown in figure 1. Proper and due care is taken while making these The process of making a Nadaswaram is very inte holes, so that the pipe does not crack. Any crack resting. Nadaswaram is a double reeded instrument in th<:> hollow pip~ will be a waste since Sound will with a conical bore that flares out towards the bottom escape through the crack, thereby making the instru end. It usually consists of 12 holes, the upper six ment unplayable. M{)reover, as this 'Achamaram' of which alone are used for playing and the other is rather a costly and rare variety. easily not available. six .::alled 'brahmaswaram' are plugged with wax, at their technical skill in making holes without damag the discretion of the performer. in order to regulate ing actually lies in this stage only and they are experts the pitch. The reed is fixed on a metal staple, in this operation. In the second stage, they make an mounted {)n the top. The reed used in the Nadas attractive mouth piece by cutting, shaping and smoo w~ram is found on the banks of the river 'Kaveri' in thening in the 'Achamaram' or sometimes in ordinary South India. wood of local inferior (cheap) quality, as shown in figure 2, ,in view of the cost of production. The third The length of the Nadaswaram is usually 60 to 75 and final important stage of operation is the attach ems. and also extends to 90. 105 and 120 ems. also. ment of this attractive mouth piece, in the broad part Its booy is normally made of wood. The accessories of the hollow pipe with 12 holes made already, in of Nadaswaram viz. spare reeds and ivory needle, perfect alignment and finally they give a finishing touch with "which the reeds are cleaned and adjusted are b)'l polishing and smo{)thening it, as shown in figure 3. attached to the mouthpiece. But occasionally one Then, they insert the whistle, made of reed in the comes across Nadaswarams covered with silver {)r narrow part, at the other end of the musical pipe, as even gold. shown in figure 4. A Nadaswaram is thus beauti fully and skillfully made ready by them, the sale There are two varieties of Nadaswaram. one is divine technical skill, which they have inherited from called the 'barr type and the other, the 'timiri' type. their ancestors. On an average, it is said that a The former is a slightly bigger one and experts as a Nadaswatam consumes roughly about 750 gms. of rule use it, more in preference to 'timiri' type. The A.chamaram. Saw, Hammer, Cutting knife, 120 ems. usual accompanying instruments with Nadaswaram Cutting rod, Cutting chisel, 3 metres of twine, "Brahmas are the 'Tavil' and 'Talam' which are symbols of bell waram", an instrument for making holes and rope metal. for polishing the instrument are the various kinds of tools and equipments used by them at different stages Epigraphical and literary evidence suggests that in making a Nadaswaram. They are n{)t aware of Nadaswaram was well known even in the 15th, 16th any new and latest technique and they follow only the and 17th centuries. There is every reason to believe orthodox and old technique, which they have learnt that the Nadaswaram has been evolved frOm the snake from their forefathers in manufacturing Nadaswaram. charmers 'Pungi' or'Magudi'. Nadaswaram are made of different sizes of Smti In Narasingampettai, there are only six male mem varieties viz. 60 cms., 75 cms., 90 ems., 105 cms., 120 bers engaged in the manufacture {)f Nadaswarams. ems., 135 cms., and even 150 cms. They are made They manufacture about 14 Nadaswarams in a month only in the most traditional designs known to them, on an average. There is no seasonal variation in the the age of which they do not know. N{) myths and production of Nadaswaram here. "Achamara'l1!" legends are associated with this design of Nadaswaram (old wood) and ''Nanal Thattai" (Reed) are the basic and they a re totally unaware of any new design and raw materials used for the manufacture of Nadas naturally they are hesitant in learning or introducing Warams. To make a Nadaswararn, they use a piece any new design of 120.6 ems. of 'Achamaram', This works out to a consumpti{)ll of about 75 ems. of 'Achamaram' per Approximately, as many as ]68 Nadaswarams are month with no seasonal variation. These raw mate produced here per annum and they are sold mostly rials ate procured mainly from Vellore, Pondicherry, for interested customers, who place their orders for Cuddalore ~ and Tirukkoyilur and they are m{)stly brou cash advance and the remaining products are sold ght to the site by train or service buses. Their main through Thanjavur Co-operative Society. It is problem in the procurement of the raw materials is seen. out of 168 Nadaswarams produced as many as the non-availability of this particular type of old wood 144 are sold directly to the customers. While the ('Acharnaram') in and around the vicinity of Nara m'lster craftsman is able to sell all the J20 Nadas singampettai. To make a Nadaswaram, at first they warams produced by him in a year, at a margin of cut a piece of 126 ems. of properly seas·oned Achama profit ·af Rs. 75/-. the other ordinary craftsman is ram, carve it inside by drilling, cut it into proper ahle to sell only 24 pieces direct to the customers. f.r Achamaram is being cut to size: for u~'.. n.'''5 the· conical bore of the Nadaswaram. '.' "-, / / External trimming of the conical bore. 1O-17/RGI/ND/88 Pieces of seasoned achamaram for making the hollow pipe of the Nadaswaram. \ Exte}:nal trimming of the hollow plpe. Tools used in the making of Nadaswaram. I ,! A master craftsman is giving finishing touch to the barrel shapped '. reasonator of the Mridangam. Shells of the percussIOn j nstrumen ts. 27 a margin of profit of Rs. 65/- and sells !he remaining Usually. a mixture of flour and water is worked on 24 pieces rroduced, through the Than]a":lr Co-.ope to the l111ddle of the left side to lower the tone to the rative Society, where the margin of profit IS restncted desired pitch. This kind of plaster gives a full, to Rs. 50/- to 55]- only. Thus, the local demand for brass sound. The plaster is carefully scrapped off this divine musical instrument is more {)r less met by ~ach time after use. Generally the two heads are these craftsmen. tuned ,on active apart. In the south, the Mridangam is used as an instrument of accompaniment but in Before 1940, there were three households with 2 every recital of classical music, vocal or instrumental, master craftsmen and 2 ordinary craftsmen ]Xactising there is a short solo piece on the Mridangam.. Here this traditional craft and they were continuing this the Mridangam improvises on the Tala of the Pallavi occupation till 1960. In 1970, there w~re 4 house giving particular attention to the shape of the melody holds with 3 master craftsmen and 3 ordmary crafts that has preceded it. men, which later on had increased to 5 households Mridangam is the counterpart of the 'Tahla' in with 5 master craftsmen and 6 ordinary craftsmen engaged in this craft. Though at present only 2 carnatic music. The word comes from the Sanskrit households with 2 master craftsmen and 4 ordmary word 'Mritanga' meaning a clay body. It is the most craftsmen are pursuing with the manufacture of this ancient indig-enous drum of India, depicted on many divine musical instrument, they are hoping for a good Hindu temple walls in South. demand in the production of this ever-living musical instrument in the years ahead and this divine tradi Tt has a remarkably crisp well defined sound and tional craft will never perish. is indispensahle to a classical dance concert of Bharata Natvam, where the drum beat is essential to the dancers for maintaining acute precision and rhythm. Mridangam It is a two headed barrel shaped drum. Now-a-days, instead of being made of burnt clay, it is carved out Amon!S the percussion instruments, Mridangam i.s' a of a -single piece of jackwood. The right head is qnite pleasing and popular South Indian musical ms the larger and has to be very carefully prepared for trument. It is perhaps the most highly developed tuning purposes. This side is covered with three and the most ancient said to have been invented by layers and three kinds of hide. A permanent black Lord Brahma, to scrve as an accompapiment to the crust covets the heads, which is tuned to 'sa' - the dance of Lord SIVa. According to legend, Lord crust increases the pitch of this tunic note. Bare Vishnu played the Mridangam first and handed it parchment is left around it. The left hand side is over to Sage Narada. Sage Narada gave it to Nandi, the bass. It is covered with two layers of skin and who after playing it, gave to Indra. Indra in his treated with boiled raw rice and water and manganese turn handed it over to Banasura. who took the instru filings in the centre. It is played with dexterous ment to 'Kailasa' and played it before Lord Siva. movements of the whole hand, wrists and fingers. The instrument is said to have been brought to the earth by Nandi. at the errand of Lord Siva. A kind of pulverised iron paste is applied to the circular central strip of skin on the right side and it In South India, Mridangam is an indispensable is called the Black Paste (or 'Sadam' or 'Soru' accompaniment in concerts of both vocal and instru iHTjljW' or 'acHr!J)J') , The paste is formed by mental music performances. The name 'Mridanga', mixing iron powder (the powder of a kind of stone iiterally means body ()f clay. iIt is hollowed out of a called 'kittan' containing iron) and boiled raw rice block of wood. Mostly jackwood or red wood or lS applied to the middle of the right side, to form a the wood of the margosa tree is used for making the circular black layer. The surface is then rubbed by body and rarely the core of coconut and palm trees a soft stone to make it smooth and is allowed to dry. are also used for the purpose. The shape of the It is. this surface that is helpful for producing metallic body might be likened to two bottomless flower pots sound on this instrument. The paste is applied in joined at their rims. sufficient quantity to bring the instrument to the requir ed pitch. The tension on the right side is also effec Mridangam is cylindrical in shape and its length ted by tightening the leather belt around the body so varies from 52! ems. to 621 cms. It consists of the tha,L the pitches at the white ring and the black paste wooden hollow shell--the resonator-with a bul.ge in are made to be in perfect union. The work of apply the middle and two tapering drum heads--right and the ing this paste and tightening the belt is done by the left' The right side drum head (21.6 ems. to 22.8 Mridangam maker. ems.) has a slightly small diameter than the left (24.1 ems. to 25.3 cms.). As a rule, the diameter of the The tuning of the Mridangam is itself an art. It left-head is greater than that of the right-head by about is to be learnt by ex perience. The sound on the 1,25 ems. Skin covers, stretched tight over both the right side is brought to the required pitch within the openings are fastened to leather hoops held out by prescribed range of Sruthis for the instrument by interlaced leather braces. which pass along the length adjusting the tension at all points of the edges of the of the Mridangam, Tn between the braces and the right side suitably. This is done by striking at the wail of the instrument are wedged round blocks of edge points by using a small wooden rod and slone, wood, which can J1ter the pitch of the instrument. if By striking at the edge points upward and downward. pushed up or down. . the Sruthi is increased or decreased as the case may 6-17 RGI/ND!88 2& he. The Mridangam strokes are know!1 as _Jathis. The various stages in the manufacture of the Mri The term Jathi is used to denote the way In WhICh the dangam are:- stroke is recited vocally. 1. The block -of wood is cylindrically shaped and cut with a saw to the required size. The Mridanflam is one of the finest percussion ins truments used "'in the music concerts of South India. 2. This block of wood is then inserted in the It can be tuned to the required Sruthi, subject to its special clamp. A thick rope passes over a range of tuning. It is both, a Sruthi Vadya and a big wheel and also over the wheel attached to Tala Vadya. the clamp. By operating the wheel, the blo~k of wood is made to rotate and the outer C1r cumference is shaped toO that of a barrel by The following are the main parts of the Mridangam: special chisels. 1. Right side called the "Valantharai" ("Gll6IJ Pi 3. After the shell has been shaped to the required "fi rrlO6llj" ) dimensions externally, the block is removed from the clamp. The inside of. the wood is 2. Left side called the "Thoppi" ("G1."fi rTLJl51") scooped out and made into a hollow shell; 3. The right side comprises of two parts. They This- is done by means of a special long chisel; are then the shell is smoothened with sand paper and vanrished. (i) Black paste ("Gem ff)/' ) 4. Skinning the drum-head: On the right side ~ Tunable head) there are 3 layers of skin, (ii) White Ring called the "Mettu" "GlWL....(El" (a) The inner most hlyer is of cow skin and the next ring is also of cow skin and the outer The black circular layer on the right side is called most fino is of goat skin. First, the three skins the Black paste. It is formed by applying a kind are stretched 'over the righ_t head in a tight of pulverised iron paste. manner. The outer ski!ll is' sliced off in the middle, to make the inrter ring and the inner The barrel-shaped resonator of the Mridangam is most layer visible. The skin i~ stretched over mad:.: of any of the following types of wood viz. San the' sheel by piercing holes' all round and making dalwood, jackwood, blackwood, margosa wood and temporary cotton threads (Poi-Varu - "G1UrTfiJ 'mavilcmga' wood. In modern times, jac~wood. is GllIT(I!j "), literally false braces pass through mostly used for making this part. The fIght slde them. The threads pass over the main body of the Mridangam consists of three strips or plates of: and are tied at the other end. ,Then the skin skin called the (i) interior annular strip called "Ukkarai 1S dried in the sun. The skin of the left head Thatul" ("2_$8iI06l[J jEL...(£I") (ii) central circular strip is also prepared in the same manner. After called the "Kattu Thattu" (" Gl_'h TL....':El '1JL....':El") (iii) drying, both the heads are fixed tightly to the outer annular strip or "Mettu" (" G1WL(£I ') called shell by putting circular rings made of twisted the "Vettu Thattu" (" GlGllL....@ /fJL@ "). The leather straps on both the drum heads. These interior strip is made -of calf's skin; the central strip are held in position by long braces of buffalo is made of Goat's skin and the outer strip is made of slcin about' 0.6 cm. in breadth. This brace cow's skin'. The' skin on the left side is made of !"cplaces the 'Pbi varu' and it is taken through goats skin. The "Chattais" (leather chains) around 48 buIes (eyelets) on the right side ring head the sides are made of cow's skin. The leather belt and 32 holes (eyelets) on the left side ring joining the two sides with the barrel body is made of head and' the brace is wound all round the shell buffalo's skin. body. The diameter of the Mridangam are: -For "Jaggu 5. Applying black paste to the right head: Sruthi" (a) Length 60 ems. Breadth (Centre dia The black paste is prepared in small bead, like meter) 28.75 ems. The diameter of the left side balls and applied and rubbed on and on over {"Toppi") is 19.35 ems. and the diameter of the rigpt the drum surface'till the proper delightful tone side (tunable head) or "VaJ'antharai" is 16.~8 ems, is got. Afterwards, it .' is made round in tbe From the left head ("Toppi") to the ring (Aradah) centre and excess scrapped off. ( ~[J L_iT >in the centre, the length is 26.88 ems. and from this point to the right head, the length is 33.13 In the low pitched Mridangam, the area covered by ems. The thickness of the shell is 1.4 J ems. thick the paste will be larger than that of the high pitched on the right side and at the left side, it is 1.56 cms. variety. After allowing it to dry, the tone is made In the middle, it is about 1,88 ems. thick. For all round evenly adjusting outer rings. The note Hochchu Sruti: (b) Length is 55 cms. Diameter of should be exactly even on all sides. the centre is 25 cms. The diameter of the right head is 15.63 ems. and that of the left head is 18.13 ems. In Thiruvaduthurai village of Mayuram tal uk in From the- left side t(1 the central ring the length is 24.38 Thanjavur district, there is only a single household ems. and from the ring to, the right head 30.38 ems. with two master craftsmen engaged in this craft of The thickness of the <;hell at the right side is 1.23 ems. making Mridangams. They are engaged in the. and that at the left side 1.41 ems. manufacture of Mridangams since 1941 having their MRIDANGAM ( PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT) Leather Hoop --, / ..... Meeltullo/- ..... ./ Chaput/olll- ./ ./ ./ / ./ £ - Karana; & Choru I Leather Thongs _, L - Wooden Piece Inner part of the Sheil- Actual size of Jack woad- 7 7 (HoI/ow) / ./ 29 own workshop very near to their house. They have gin of profit of about Rs. 120(- per Mridangam. As aiso acquired a modern machine recently rUn by elec there is a continuous demand for MIidangams, they tricity at a cost of Rs. 15,000/- for manufacturing the do not have any disposal problems in its sale. Besides shells of Mridangam. These craftsmen are Tamil the master craftsmen, the other members of the speaking Kammalans of Thanjavur district and they family also assist them in the manufacturing process manufacture ahout 20 Mridangams in a month on an of Mridangam, which is almost a continuous process. average, with no seasonal variation in production. Jackw00d IS th~ basic raw material used for making The Christian family of Thanjavur, who possess Mridangams. To make a Mridangam, 75 to 90 ems. the technical proficiency of five generations old. are of jack wood worth Rs. 225/- is used, which works out knuwn for their expertise in the field of making and a mlJllthly consumption of 12 kilos of jackwocd, with maintaining Mridangams. It certainly requires tech no seasonal variation in consumption. This particular nical skill, as well as musical knowledge to tune of variety of jackwoad is specially brought here from this instrument and made the pitch sustain for one, Panruti by either lorry or bus service. They had to meet who have mastered the technique. The most impor several hurdles like transport, checkpost etc. in its tant attention to be paid in this Laya Vadya is the procurement. tightening of the braces and stiffening of the layers of animal skin, on either side of the shell. Sruti In making a Mridangam, no new techniques an.: tuning for varying pitches is also a vital' factor. The followed by them and it is made only in the traditional tuning depends on several aspects inclUding the climate way, the skill of which they have inherited from their and the player has to get the Vadya in trim condition, ancestors. With the assistance of such tools and after every four or five concerts. equipments normally used by a carpenter such as knife, screwdriver, hammer, chisel etc., they are able Before 1950, there was only a single household to make beautiful Mridangams in the traditional with one master craftsman assisted by other members designs known to them. No myths or 1egends are practising this craft. which subsequently increased associated with these designs and they have no faith to 2 households by 1960. At present, there are 2 in learning any other new design or have the necessary households with 2 master craftsmen and 3 other ordi facilities for it. nary craftsmen along with other members of families pursuing this traditional craft. This is not only the On an average, they manufacture about 240 to 250 ma!n s.ource of their livelihood, but also forms part of Mridangams in a year and these are mostly sold out theI~ life. an~l they st;ongly ~e.el that thi~ ever living for cash tu interested customers who place their orders mUSIcal Il1strument WIth suffiCIent finanCIal assistance and the remaining unsold pieces are sold through the and ot!lCr facilities will definitely make this craft, very Thanjavur Co-operative Society. They claim a mar- attractJve and a prOfitable one. CHAPTER V MARKETING Marketing is the most: important for the' development Musical Instruments more of artIstIc than of utili of any craft. The absence of marketing facilities have tarian value, naturally have a select clientele and restri. pesed severe problems for many industries and has pro cted demand. These articles are manufactured entirely ved the basic factor in the decline of many an important handicrafts. Fortunately, due to the inter-state and ex for sale to those persons and institutions engaged in the port potential of the craft, marketing channels are weJl field of music. Production is, therefore, mostly on established for musical instruments. But, even thoU!!h orders and seldom exceeds demand. Particulars of pro marketing channels are well established. the orctt~~ duction of musical instruments as furnished by the Co placed on them, though steady, are not bulk and. there operative Society which handles about 30 per cent of fore, it is nut' a very lucrative profession to follow ex cept by those weB established in the line for a number the production of its members are given in the table of years. below: Table V.I Particulars of production and sale of musical il1strUt11Pllts Name of the music"1 instruments Year and no. of articles manu- No. of articles sold within the No. of articles ~old to other factured Stste States within the Country ~~_-----~-~--~------_-_-_------~------81 82 83 84 85 81 82 83 84 85 81 82 83 84 85 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1. Veena 106 102 168 129 57 84 90 120 90 40 20 II 22 7 5 2. l'ambura 11 12 16 10 16 10 9 13 7 13 2 2 2 3. Nadaswaram 6 7 4 17 5 2 3 14 4. Mridangam 18 16 27 13 8 17 13 24 12 6 3 3 2 The data collected through field study shows that Demand for musical instruments cannot be created approximately 1,004 Veenas, 220 Tamburas, 100 Mri by exhibiting them in hats or fairs as is usually being dangams and 148 Nadaswarams were manufactured by done in some of the fancy craft articles like Palm leaf aIr the households engaged in the craft during the year products, glazed pottery etc. and articles of utilitarian 1984-85 and these items were manufactured entirely value like brass and bell metal wares and mat products. for the use of other communities and sold against cash. These articles have to be sold only at big emporia. Distribution of households according to handicraft items manufactured by them classified by religion, Finished products of this craft are disposed of either caste! tribe! community of the head of the household through the co-operative society or directly by the is shown in the following table: manufacturers. The society has, however, no sales and show-rooms which has been a handicap. Un Table V.2 til 1983, the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poompuhar) has been taking interest Houspholds manufacturing handicraft items classified by Religion. m the sale of musical instruments through its. C astejTribci C ollllntmity showrooms and sales centres in various parts of Tamil Nadu and outside. However, of late, there Religion Caste! Name of No. of has not been good support from Poompuhar and Tribe/ the handi- house- hence sale of these articles are effected Commu- craft holds nity items engaged through the' numerous private sales emporia located manu- throughout the country and abroad. These sales emporia factured obtains supply of articles by placing orders either with the Co-operative" Society or directly with the manu 2 3 <1 facturers. Apart from this, some of the final buyers wHo Hinduism Kammalan Veena 47 have direct contact with the manufacturers makes out Tambura 24 right purchase of these articles at the place of manu· Mridangarn 1 facture itself. Local enquiries indicate that some of the Nadaswaram 2 eminent musical maestro who teach the art to the leat Islam Vcena 1 Christianity Veena ners of the instrument are regular buyers from some 4 of the skilled craftsmen. 31 32 Bulk of the production is sold within the place of Direct sale of finished products to the linct! buyer manufaclurc itself. The table below shows the details of households manufacturing handicraft items classified constitute a ~ignificant proportion. As much as 75 per by place of saJe of articles. ~ cent of the Veenas, 55 per cent of the Tamburas and Table V.3 No. 0/ households Il,,,,/Ufc/(·turing halldicril/i items ckssffied by entire Nadaswar,]1ns and Mridangams manufactured place of" s(/le of" a/"tic!"s were sold directly to the consumer. The remaining Name of handicraft items No. of No. oi household, bouse reporte(l ha ving sold quantity were sold through the Co-operative Society. holds tbe article manu· No other intermediaries, particularly the exploitation of facturin':!. fnside Ollt&ide the items the village (he village middlemen is to be found in this craft. Details of house 2 3 4 holds classified by quantity of finished products sold Veena . 52 52 8 Tambura 24 24 1 and channe1s through. which it is disposed off by pro Mridangam 1 1 Nadaswaram 2 ') portion is shown in the following table: Table VA H(lll>f'ho!ds c1:/ssi/ied hy qUClllfify of finished pmr/licts sold awl channel;- thro/l[[h !t,hiclT it is disposed ofr hy p/'morth)// ._------_._--_------'b'11e of fbi;f>d pnluct; proju:~:1 (in rallp"e~) No. of Quantity sold by NJ: of IlJ:.I,ehol:l; dis!)Q;d 0'1 th~ t"ini;hed house. 11ouseholds in bro:ld rroduct~ th'f0Ugh hold~, ranges manufac-:-· -~~~------.------~---~------turing Broad No. of Directly to the <':00- fo-operatiyc society the ite:J1S ranges house- SLlmer in proportion In proportIOn holds ------_------Less than 50};; & Less than 50};; & 50/~ above 50% above 2 : 4 5 (\ 7 8 Veena Upto 9 9 Upto 9 9 9 9 10 19 12 10-19 12 10 2 10 20 29 26 20-29 26 9 17 10 30 & above 5 30 & above 5 :; 3 Mridangam 30 & above 30 & above Tambura Upto 9 II Up to 9 11 9 2 9 10-19 13 10~19 13 11 2 11 20-29 20-29 30 & above 30 & ahove Nadaswaram 30 & above 2 ~O & above 2 The Co-operative Society, no doubt, serves as an the two parties. This restricted activity of the society important agent in providing financial as wen as market is mainly due to its limited working capital. ing assistance to its cT2ftsmen, but the part played by it in production activities of the craft is limited. The The margin of profit accruing to craftsmen depend society does not advance raw materials to its member on various factors like demand, cost of raw materials, craftsmen and exercises no control over production which has been a major handicap. Whenever orders investment conditions, etc. However. there has been for supply of articles are placed with the society, it a steady margin of profit to the manufacturers. The approaches its cmftsmen for obtaining the supply of nature of the industry requires about 15 to 20 days required articles. Apart from this, there exists no to manufacture an ordinary Veena or Tambura. The specific contract for sale of finished products between sale price is normally fixed at 30 to 35 per cent above 33 the oost price. Particulars of cost price. sale price, and the years from 1981 to 1985, as obtained from the Co- margin of profit of different musical instruments for operative Society, are shown in the table below: Table V.5 Particulars 0/ cost price, sale price and margin 0/ profit 0/ different musical instruments Name of the musical instfilments Cost of production per item Sale price per item in Rs. Margin of profit in Rs. in Rs. ------_----_._-- 81 82 83 84 85 81 82 83 84 85 81 82 83 84 85 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1. Veena . 650 700 750 800 900 810 940 1,000 1,050 1,200 160 240 250 250 300 2. Tami;ura 420 520 550 620 710 550 658 700 870 900 130 138 150 250 190 3. Nadaswaram 100 100 130 170 140 150 185 230 40 50 55 60 4: Mridangam 200 230 250 320 360 280 330 360 440 480 80 100 110 120 120 According to craftsmen. the margin of profit is low The pattern of sales is that the local markets have when sales are effected through the Co-operative SOCi been the main source of demand for these articles, ety and private sales emporia. Though the margin of which account for nearly 70 per cent of the total sales. Due to growing interest among foreigners to learn profit is lower for sale through the Co-operative Socie music. there is a steady demand for these instruments ty and private sales emporia, compared to direct sale in foreign countries also. The present estimate is that to consumers, the craftsmen are compelled to accept nearly 30% of the production is exported to foreign the orders placed by these agencies owing to the com countries, particularly to Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia etc. Sri Lanka used to be an important purchaser of petition among themselves to pluck the orders just to these articles until the ethnic problem started a couple carryout continuous work. On the whole, the crafts of years ago. The following table shows the particu. men are fairly satisfied with what they get. lars of finished products sold locally / exoorted Table V.6 Particulars 0/ finished products sold locally Iexported Name of handicraft items No. of Quantity sold in No. of households reported having sold house- broad ran ges finished products holds manu- Broad No. of Locally Exported facturing range~ households --- the items Less 50%& Less 50% & than 50% above than 50% above 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Veena 52 Upto 9 9 9 10-19 12 12 20-29 26 3 23 3 3 30 & above 5 5 2 Mridangam 30 & above Tambura 24 Upto 9 11 11 10-19 13 12 20-29 30 & above Nadaswaram 2 30 & above 2 ") - 7-17 RGIiND/88 11_'T Production is just sufficient to meet demand for ported having faced problems to dispose off finished finished products both within and outside the country products: as the majority of goods are made to order. Most of Table V.7 the craftsmen when not executing direct orders, manu facture goods in anticipation of orders and stock it Details of households reported having faced problems to dispose off in their workshop-eum-dwelling. On receiving the finishpd prodllcts orders, they give finishing touch to the article and sup ply it to the concerned parties. Name of handicraft items No. of No. of households house- reported having faced holds problems to dispose manu- off finished products The main problem faced by the craftsmen relates facturing due to the items -_------ to the transportation of finished products, particularly High Difficulties Veena and Tambura. These articles are highly deli transport at the cate to handle and due to apprehension of damage and hands of during transit, high transport charges are to be paid handling tax both when booked through Railways and other public charges officials conveyance. 2 3 4 Veena . 52 52 29 Transportation of articles to the demanding centres Tambura 24 24 9 11so poses considerable difficulties to the craftsmen, rarticularly at the hands of Octroi and tax officials. Mridangam 1 1 'The following table shows details of households re- Nadaswaram 2 2 CHAPTER VI CRAFT AND EMPWYMENT The manufacture of musical instruments in Than Local enquiries indicate that this craft is survlvlllg in javur is an ancient industry. History records that this Thanjavur for more than 100 years. Distribution of craft has been in existence in the town even during households classified by period engaged in the craft the early 17th century when a few local craftsmen were pursuing it as a family occupation under the with reference to craft started in the town is shown encouragement of the early Hindu rulers of Thanjavur. in the table below: Table Vl.l Households classified by period engaged in the craft with reference 10 craft started in the village Period of household engaged in the craft No. of No. of households reported about starting of ..:raft in the house village since holds engaged Less 40-55 56-70 71-85 86-L in the than years years years years craft 40 years 2 3 4 5 6 7 L~ss than 5 years 5 5 5--;-9 years 15 15 10-19 years 7 6 ,zO+'years . 28 Total 55 2 ------_____ Making of musical instruments is a hereditary craft; craft skill inherited from forefathers added to the the knowledge and technique is a pass over from better prospects of the craft have. induced most of the father to son. The employment pattern of the industry persons hailing from hereditary craftsmen community is that more than 90 per cent of the practising crafts to stick to this craft. men belong to traditional craftsmen community. while little less than ten per cent have taken to the craft Finding the craft most lucrative occupation, per from other communities. sons from other communities viz. Christians and Mus lims have taken to this craft during the present gene ration .. These craftsmen might have inspired by the As for the hereditary craftsmen. it is a family occu encouragement given by the development agencies to pation. Majority of them cling to this age-old ocCu preserve this art and the training programme con pation for the reason that it is a well known craft ducted for three years from 1978-80 by the Tamil which they are handling from young age and it is a Nadu Government in Thanjavur Palace. By constant well established craft having a regular market and a application and practise under good artisans, these steady margin of profit. As the craft is being practis craftsmen are successfully competiting with the here ed on hereditary basis, they do not know any other ditary craftsmen. .craft nor they show interest to learn. other crafts. The following is the view recorded in the Report on Table VI.2 Households reported about younger generation aftheil' community taking/not taking illterest ill :he crajt with reasons thereo/classifted by religion, caste{tribe!conmmnity of the head of tlte housdlold Religion of the head of the household Castel No. of No. of households No. Of households No. of households trib;:/ house- reportej about the reported abou.t the reported about the commu- holds younger generation younger generation younger generation nity of the engaged ------taking interest in the not taking interest head of in the Taking Not craft due to in the craft due to the house- craft interest taking ------hold in the interest Tradi- Lucrative Uncert- Showing craft in the tional job ain about interest craft the in other future tields of work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hinduism Kammalan 50 47 3 47 47 3 3 Islam Christianity 4 4 4 Total 55 51 4 47 51 4 4 More than 92 per cent of the households engaged depend on the craft for their livelihdod and none have in the craft reported that the younger generation are discontinued the craft. taking interest in the craft for the following reasons. 1. It is a hereditary craft and the skill required is in Even though the number of craftsmen depending herited from family members. 2. There is no need for on the craft for their livelihood steadily increases, there finding market for the finished products as the exist ing market is steady. 3. The craft has provided means is, in general, a common hunger for more and better of subsistence to the practising households. education and a uniform glamour for white collared jobs and positions in public life. Survey of sample Little less than eight per cent of the households households reveals that while 73 per cent of tbe house reported that the younger generation are not showing holds expressed desire to engage their sons in the interest in the craft due to uncertainity about the future craft, as many as 27 per cent of the households are prospects of the craft and that most of them are unwilling to engage their sons in the craft. The follow. taking interest in other occupation. ing table shows distribution of households wanting! The important aspect in the occupational pattern not wanting, to have their sons engaged in the craft of the community is that all these workers entirely with reasons thereof. Table VI.3 Households wanting/not wanting to have their SOliS engaged in the craft with reasons thereof Wanting to have their sons/daughters engaged in the same No. of Not wanting to have their sons/daughters engaged in No. of craft due to the reason house- the same craft due to reason hause. holds holds 1 2 3 .. 1. Hereditarj llnd lucrative and provided means of sub 37 1. Not sure about the future prospects of the trade 9 sistence. 2. Lucrative and provides means of subsistence 3 2. To educate and put them in better jobs 6 Originally, this craft was confined to a few families in the craft. Local enquiries indicate that during the residing in Thanjavur. Due to the encouragement given year 1940. there were two households comprisin8 to this industry by the rulers of Thanjavur, there has equal number of craftsmen practISing this craft. The been an increase in the number of households engaged membership rose to twelve in 1950, 21 in 1960. 29 in 37 1970 and 55 in 1980. At present, there are 55 bouse maining 195 are non-workers. Among workers. 76 are holds, consisting of 76 persons, engaged in this craft. engaged in the craft and the remaining 17 are found From these figures, it is apparent that though the in other occupations. employment poteJltial of the craft has increased. the increase is gradual. This is mainly because of only ill 1M limited demand for these articles both in the il' The entire female population the sample are nOll-workers, they are 129 out of a total of 195 u('n ternal and international market. workers. The remaining 66 are male non-workers of Making of musical instruments is, no doubt, a pro which 13 are in the work.ing age group of 15-59. fitable occupation, but the craft has provided employ Seven of these persons are attending school, two ate ment to a limited number of persons. "These musical depltndcnts and only four persons have reported un· instruments are adopted only for Indian music and employed and seek.ing for employment. as the dc!mand for them, must of course. be limited, there cannot be appreciable expansion of the indus Distribution of unemployed persons seeking em try." ployment classified by period and reasons for unem ployment, age group. relationship with the head of The survey of sample households reveals that 93 the household and attempts made to be employed are persons out of a total of 288 are workers and the re- shown in the table below: Table VI.4 Unemployed persons seeking employment clMsi/ied by period and reasons for unemployment, age group, relationship with the head 0/ the household alld attempts /!lade to be employed Relationship of unemployed persons with the head Age group No. of No. of persons unemployed No. of Unemployed of un- un- since persons who have employed employed made attempts to be persons persons employed ----~------Less than 1-2 years 3-5 years Through Through 1 year and hav- and hav- employ- other and hav- ingno jng no ment agencies ing no previous previous exchange previous experi- experi- experi- ence/tech- enccl ence/ nicaJ technical technical skill skill skill 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Son 0-14 15-34 4 3 4 35-59 60-\- It may be seen from the table that all the f~lUr per table gives the particulars of unemployed persc 18 sons seeking employment are in the age group 15-34. seeking employment classified 'by period and reasons It appears that these persons are not taking interest for unemployment, educational level. relationship with in the craft. They are probably looking forward to the head of the hOllsehold and attempts made to be get employed in other occupations. The followi'1g employed. Table VI.5 Particulars of unemployed persons seeking' employment dssified by period and reasons for unemployment. edlrrationul level, relationship with the head of the household WId atten;pts l1iade to be employed Relationship of unemployed Educationallevel of unemployed No. of No. of persons unemployed No. of unemployed persons with the head persons nnemplo since persons who have yen per made attempts t(l be son~ Less than 1-2 years 3-5 years employed 1 year and ar. rl hav- and'hav- ._--- having no ing no ing ~o Through Through previous previous prevIOus employ other experience/;;;xperiencejexperiencej ment agencies technical technical technical exchange skill skill skill 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Son lIIiterate . . . . Literate without educational level .. Upto middle level 3 3 .. 3 Matriculation/higher secondary 1 I 1 38 The table reveals that three persons are in the effected only by promotiol~ of classical music· among primary level of education and one has attained people, more particularly, among youth. matriculation leveL All the four persons are unskHl ed having no experience. They are making attempts *In February 1985, a new programme ealled 'SPIC through employment exchange to get a ;.,'.Iitable em MACA Y' (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical ployment. Music and Culture Among Youth) was inaugurated in Madras and its_ sole purpose is to clraw youth inW the classical tradition of India. No doubt, making of musical instruments is a re 'SPIC MACA Y' is the brain child of Dr. Kiran warding craft, but it suffers from the limitation of Seth, a student and then a professor at Indian Ins restricted demand which adversely affects the em titute of Technology, Delhi. Today, SPIC MACAY ployl1}ent potential of the industry. Since the- deman1 has branches in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Ma,dras for these articles mainly depend on the artistic taste and is actively involved in presenting top class of the people and the interest to learn the-instruments, artists in concerts and lccture-cum-demonstrations in an increase in demand for these articles could be colleges. "'Source: 'THE HINDU'-Friday, September 6, 1985. CHAPTER VII CONCf~LSION Making of musical instruments is a hereditary has been rendering a good marketing support for the avocation and calls for innate and inborn skiH. This finished products of this industry. Of late. this public skill is handed down from generation to geno::ralion. emporia is not taking much interest in the sale of In many parts of India, musical instruments are being musical instruments, which has been a major handi manufactured. But in the south, Thanjavur is famed cap. Support from Poompuhar will go a long way in for its articles and possesses certain features whicll improving the sales of these products. distinguishes it from articles produced elsewhere. Th? raw materials used, particularly the jackwood, is of The suggestions for improvement of the craft are high quality and so th~. articles produced here com· apart from training facilities to impart knowledge of pete successfully with those produced in other parts improved technology in the craft, a scheme for ins of India. titutional credit from the Nationalised Banks in the form of short-term loans should be devised. Also. the According to the craftsmen, this craft has provided plan allocation for the development Agencies should means of subsistence to the practising craftsmen, since be increased, so as to enable it to bring all the crafts the demand for the products ':is steady. Majority of We men under the development programme. craf~men wants to engage their sons in the craft, mainly due to the fact that it is a her-:ditary craft Raw material should be arranged to be supplied at having a steady market. . a subsidised price through the Co-operatives. Co-ope rative Society should canvass and procure more orders for these items, instead of waiting for some one 10 ap In spite of the great importance of this craft. and proach to place orders. the Governmental assistance. the future of the indus try seems to be uncertain, mainly because of the in "Though the number of people employed in these fluence of western music. particularly among youth fine arts is very limited and their produ~tiC)n is very and the reluctancy Of the craftsmen to change to small, it can not be denied that they represent some of making modern instruments. the best specimens of their class anr! commemorate the interest evinced by the Hindu rulers and the de In spite of all opposition, this craft which has sm gree of proficiency that our forefatber.'i attained "in the vived the on·slaught of time and fashion for years several branches of human life. At least, to preserve , together should be fostered and made to prosper fur these relics of a glorious past and hand them over to ther by way of Governmental assistance. The Tamil our progeny, we must do all in our power. to en Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poompu courage these arts. Wide publicity would attract the har), an organisation of the Govt. of Tamil Nadu, lovers of art who will not hesitate to patronise them." 39 APPENDIX GLOSSARY OF LOCAL TERMS SLNo. Local terms English equivalents 2 3 l. Achamaram Old Rosewood 2. Bari Nadaswaram with a long pipe 3. Bharatanatyam Bharatha Muni's Natyasastra. 'Nat}a' is a term which denotes a dramatic perfOl'Inllce 4. Bhoomi Dundubhi Ancient form of drum. It was just a pit in the ground covered with animal hide 5. Brahmanas A literature of the Vedic age . 6. Chattais Leather chains 7. Dandi Stem of the instrument 8. Ekadanda Veena . The whole length of Veena is carved out of a single piece. of wood 9. Ekadandi Stem of the instrument scooped out of a single block of ~ood 10. Jathis ft is the name given to the rhythmical solfa syllables like 11. Kailasa Dwelling place of Lord Siva 12. Katcha House A house that is not long lasting 13. Kaveri Name of a river 14. Kittan A kind of stone 15. Kottu Thattu Central circular strip made of goat's skin on the right side of the Mridangam 16. Laya Vadya Musical instruments used for keeping time p. Magudi or Pungi A wind instrument used mostly by snake-chambers and jugglers. This instrument is called Magudi in South India and Pungi in North Irnlia. lit MangJa Vathiyam Instrument used in auspicious occasions 19. Mettn The white circular layer on the right side of the Mridangam 20. Naftal Thattai Reed 21. Nayanam Local name for Nadaswaram 22. Poivaru False braces of cotton thread 23. Rishi. Saint 24. Sadam or Soru Boiled rice 25. Shehnai A wind instrument similar to that of Nadaswaram 2'5' Tabla A, percussion instrument. This instrument tak.es the place of the Mridangam in Northern and Central India. 27. Tavil A percussion instrument mostly used in the Nadaswaram band 28. Thoppi Left ~ide of the Mridangam 29. Timiri Nadaswaram with a short pipe 30. Ukkarai Thattu Interior annular strip made of calf's skin on the right side of the Mridangam 31. Vadyam Instrument 32. Valantharai Right side of the Mridangam 33. Vettu ThaUu Outer annular strip made of cow's skin on the right side of the Mridangam 34. Yali MGlPCBE-S-3·-17 RGI/ND/88-24-8-89-300.