PALANI SUBRAMANIA PILLAI : AN INNOVATIVE GENTLE GIANT

A PERSONAL HOMAGE BY V.K.Viswanathan, Los Alamos, N.M, USA

Swami Vivekananda correctly observed long ago that "It is out of the Past that the Future has to be moulded": it is the past that becomes the future. Those who had the privilege and good fortune of listening to Late Palani Subramania Pillai on the Mridangam and Kanjira will easily recognize the truth of the above observation of the Swamiji in the way Percussion playing in Carnatic Music has evolved in the past four decades. I personally consider having listened to Palani accompanying any of the Giants of my generation- whether it be the one and only Madurai Mani IYER, The absolutely meteoric GNB, The rhythmically authoritative Alathur Brothers or a young and precocious Veena Balachander just to name a few - as the Pinnacle of Artistic Creativity and Achievement of the highest order. Palani elevated the concerts to a new higher level with his co-operative accompaniment. This applied not only to the major pieces in the concert but also to the ones near the end of the concert generally classified as "Thukkadas"( lighter pieces). Professor Tiruchy Sankaran ( his Major Disciple) has pointed out not only Palani's Demonstration (with Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer) of the daunting Simhananda Tala but his playing for the tukkadas as "exquisitely delightful". His reference to Palani's playing for Kandan Karunai, Vellai Thamarai, Eppo varuvaro and the English note( ALL Madurai Mani Iyer Specialities!) brings back vividly the GLORIOUS Concerts in which his playing elevated the concerts to stratospheric levels which even after forty years generate goosebumps and ecstacy!

In terms of Percussion in Carnatic music it is generally agreed that the Major Schools of playing have been the Thanjavur style ( exemplified by Palghat Mani Iyer and T.K.Murthy) and the Pudukkottai style inherited and improved upon with several innovations by Palani. As a matter of fact the profound aspects of Layam introduced by Palani are discussed in a special article by one of his disciples Sri.K.S.Kalidas( available by clicking on his picture later on in this page). He will also periodically write and explain how to listen to a Solo as well as pointing out the subtelities. We also hope to provide several examples of Palani's accompaniment as well as his Solos with commentary by Sri.K.S.Kalidas.

I urge everyone to purchase and read the special issue of "SRUTI" ON palani for a more complete survey of one of the greatest Percussionists of our era.

PALANI M. SUBRAMANIA PILLAI
A GREAT MRIDANGAM AND KANJIRA VIDWAN
A PROFILE

by K.S.KALIDAS

It is said that each century throws up a handful of great artists in different fields who are path breakers and set new standards in their respective domains; they are the ones who become role models for others in their profession and whose achievements outlive their own life times and influence many generations that follow. One such artist who strode the horizon for more than three decades during the century gone by as a colossus in Mridangam and Kanjira was Palani Muttiah Subramania Pillai or simply Palani to all in the music world. It is difficult to come by a laya vidwan who was equally great whether in the technical aspect or aesthetic aspect or in sheer melodic appeal-but more of that later.

Palani, a small town in Tamil Nadu, is a sacred spot for South Indians where Lord Subramania, the favorite God of all Tamils is said to reside on the hilltop. Usually he has the form of a ascetic wearing nothing but a loin-cloth and holding a "Dandadaayutham". He is considered to be the epitome of all knowledge and wisdom and is said to have explained the "Pranava Mantra" to his own father, the Lord of the Universe, Lord Siva. Among the various ablutions performed on the idol of the Lord of Palani is "Panchamrita", a concoction of fruits, honey, jaggery, ghee, candy, et al. For those who have tasted it, there is nothing in the world that is sweeter or tastier. Palani's mridangam artistry used to be compared to "Panchamrita" by musicians who were fortunate enough to be accompanied by him in their concerts as well as by his vast audience.

In the later part of the 19th century and earlier part of the 20th century, there existed two distinctive schools of percussion art-the Thanjavur and the Pudukkottai schools. The former was descended from the Marathi traditions of Bhajans and Harikatha. When successors of Shivaji came south they settled and established their rule in Thanjavur. It was the more ancient of the two schools and although various forms of percussion instruments have been in vogue in the Tamil country from the Sangam Ages the precursor of the mridangam as we know it today owes its origin to those early Maratha days. The other school, that of Pudukkottai owes its origins to the indigenous Thavil. Thavil playing had attained great proficiency and widespread popularity for more than ten centuries. It was the inseparable accompaniment to Nadaswaram. This music graced all temples in Tamil Nadu. On auspicious occasions like marriages and even on secular occasions Nadaswaran and Thavil concerts used to be held for many centuries. The Pudukkottai school of laya was founded by one Manpoondia Pillai (colloquially Mamundia Pillai) whose teacher was the palace Thavil vidwan at the then princely state of Pudukkottai named Marimuthu Pillai. Due to the Thavil influence, the content of the Pudukkottai of percussion was of a very high order. Actually Mamundia Pillai is credited with the invention and use of the Kanjira (a one sided instrument unlike the mridigam) in concerts but his disciples took to playing various percussion instruments like Mridangam, Ghatam, Kajira, and Thavil with equal proficiency.

One of the most talented disciples of Mamundia Pillai was Palani Muthiah Pillai, father of our Palani. Along with many of his contemporaries he was from the Isai Vellala community which was the repository of music in those days. He had two wives. He had three children with the older one and not very much is known about her. Palani's mother Unnamalai Ammal was the younger of the two wives. She was from a place called Chennimalai near Erode in Tamil Nadu. Curiously all her male relatives toouse the caste surname as Mudaliars and not Pillais. They were mainly agriculturalists and business men and do not seem to have had anything to do with music.

Palani was born on 20th April 1908. Young Palani took to mridangam as a duck takes to water. Yet Muthiah Pillai would not teach him mridangam as his son was a south paw-left handed- which in those days was considered inauspicious! It took all the persuasion of Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, a friend and co-disciple with Muthiah Pillai (under Mamundia Pillai) to finally make his father to relent.

His father was hard task master. His punishments even for minor lapses were extremely harsh, but such rigorous training stood Palani in good stead. Even in his teens he had the good fortune to be a friend and collaborator of Malikkottai (also called Iluppur) Panchapakesa Pillai also known as Thavil Panchami a wizard on Thavil. Although he was older than Palani, he found in the latter and emerging star in the world of percussion. Besides his father and Panchapakesa Pillai, Palani was also greatly influenced by Dakshinamurthy Pillai who was the uncrowned monarch in the field. Pillai in return showered great love and affection on young Palani whom he looked upon as his own son.
Before he turned twenty, Palani had the good fortune to accompany stalwarts like Kanchipuram Nayana Pillai, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Mudicondon Venkatarama Iyer. In the next decade others who preferred his accompaniment were Chittoor Subramanya Pillai and importantly Alathur Brothers whose Guru (father of Alathur Subbier), Alathur Venkatesa Iyer was a great admirer of Palani. It was becase of Palani that the brothers shifted base from Tiruchy to Madras and they made a great team. Palani is credited with composing a larger number of major pallavis for the brothers including their tempo and nadai variations. Later the team broke up ( due to personal misunderstandings) much to the grief of a large number of listeners and especially Venkatesa Iyer. Iyer managed to effect a reconciliation after a decade of extensive effort and Palani did team up with the brothers but the old comraderie was gone.

As Palani's playing in the early part of his career was robust and laya-oriented with extensive calculations, many vocalists of the time did not feel comfortable with him except for the few mentioned earlier. It was one of the most popular among the Doyens of yesteryears, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar (earlier responsible in advancing the careers of Mysore T.Chowdiah and Palghat Mani Iyer) who took to promoting Palani. There were numerous concerts in which he gave Palani opportunities to play three of four "Thanis" or solos in a concert. It is said that in a concert in Shanmukhananda Sabha in Bombay he asked Palani to play in each of the five nadais, Chatusram, Tisram, Misram, Kandam and Sankeeram. It was he who also persuaded Palani to tone down on the laya intricacies and increased the "sowkya" or aesthetic content in his playing. Palani, probably with considerable regret in having to shed his specialization and scholarship abided by his mentor's suggestion, not only because of the practicality but also because of his great respect for Chembai who was his elder by several years. Bhavagathar's advice stood Palani in good stead. Eminently popular vidwans GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer, and Semmangudi clamored to have him accompany him in their concerts. Of course senior vidwans of that era like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer , Chembai and Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu ( Violin Solo ) had him as accompanist in many concerts. In turn Palani encouraged a number of younger vocal and instrumental artists including Balamuralikrishna, Ramnd Krishnan, M.D.Ramanathan, K.V.Narayanaswamy, Tiruvarur Namasivayam, Thanjavur Thyagarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palghat Raghu. While playing for younger artists he was never condescending but was always supportive and never tried to show off or intimidate. In fact although he possessed talents of gigantic proportions, he never indulged in exhibitionism and his only aim was to enhance the total appeal of the concert. Madurai Mani Iyer used to call him "THYAGI"- one who would efface himself so that the overall effect was sparkling rather focus on himself.

The Mridangam has two sides, the right side( left for southpaws) being the one tuned to the basic Tonic and the left( right for southpaws) for free Sruti and provides the four bass strokes. The right and left sides are called "Valantharai" and "Thoppi". While Palani's strokes on the Valantharai- the "meetu" and "chapu" would be as sweet as plucking the strings of a well tuned "Thambura", his strokes on the Thoppi especially the Gumkis or drawn out sounds were so exquisite that neither his contemporaries nor anyone who followed him later could reach anywhere near the aesthetic beauty of those strokes.
While Palani would highlight the different parts of the song such as "Eduppus" of Pallavi, Anupallavi, and Charanam with sufficient emphasis, he would rather follow the mood and trend of the song rather play the "Prayogas" of the songs themselves. This mode of playing gave a wholesomeness to the song renderings rather than the "Starts and stops" that would otherwise have arisen. His Sarvalaghu was the spontaneous flow of "Nadais", "Sollus", and "Sollukkatus" rather than any patternised formats. The Sarvalaghu used to be "Amorphous" rather than "Crystalline". Occasionally when certain arithmetic combinations arose they too were spontaneous and blended seamlessly into the scheme of things. He specialized in "Vallinam" and "Mellinam" strokes in even the smallest passages. In layman's language these are Hard and Soft Strokes. His playing gave the effect of his indulging in a musical conversation with the main artist throughout the tenure of the concert. In his Solo interludes-"Thani Avarthanams"- he displayed both intellectual and aesthetic aspects in equal measure which pleased all sections of the audience but he never ever played to the gallery. The vocalist had to remain very alert during the "Thanis" to ensure that he did not miss out on the "Thala"; such were the complex patterns he played!

When Palani was present in a gathering there was no levity or frivolousness exhibited. According to Vidwans who shared the platform with him in concerts both his demeanor and playing was the epitome of "Gauravam"(Dignity).

His lifestyle in the Forties and Fifties was the envy of other musicians. Always dressed in white muslin shirts and snow white Khadi Dhoti - carefully and painstakingly groomed - he was among the handsomest among musicians (others being GNB and Mayavaram Govindaraja Pillai ). Unlike many other musicians he lived in a spacious Bungalow and owned the latest model in cars (he changed them every two years ). He himself drove the car and did not allow anyone else to drive his car.

Palani's parner in life was Rajammal (who along with her sister constituted a popular singing Duo called Kolar Sisters in her younger days). They did not have children of their own but the children of her sister grew up in Palani's household.

At any given time at least three to four students resided in Palani's house undergoing Gurukula system; with passage of time there were Day scholars also. Among the earliest disciple of Palani were T.Ranganathan( brother of T.Balasarswathi ) along with Ramanathapuram M.N.Kandaswami, Poovalur Venkataraman, Dandamudi Rammohan Rao, Pallathur C.T.Lakshmanan, V.Mayilswamy among others. Perhaps the most famous of his disciples is Tiruchy Sankaran who lives in Toronto, Canada and teaches in York University as a Professor in the Music Department. Palani took him under his wings when he was a child; Even at the tender of twelve Palani enabled him to play with him (Double Mridangam ) in concerts of Ariyakudi, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer and others. Among his later disciples were Erode Gururajan, Madirimangalam Swaminathan, K.S.Kalidas, Cuddapah Krishnamoorthy, A.V.Raghuprasad, T.V.Gurumoorthy and many others. In turn, his disciples have trained many others and the Palani School is now well represented in India and abroad.

The founder of the Pudukkottai School of Percussion Mamundia Pillai introduced Kanjira as an instrument in concerts; His disciples Dakshinamoorthy Pillai and Muthiah Pillai could play a large number of instruments like Mridangam, Kanjira, Thavil, and Ghatam. In their steps, Palani was also a GREAT Kanjira vidwan besides being a master of Mridangam. He has played with vidwans like Palghat Mani Iyer and Ramanathapuram C.S.Murugabhoopathy. His Kanjira performances were fewer(compared to Mridangam) and listeners thronged to these concerts whenever they occurred. Compared to the double headed Mridangam with its rich tonal quality, the single headed Kanjira with its limited tonal quality is more difficult to handle but Palani equaled or even excelled in duets with the best mridangists. Some of Palani's disciples have emerged as vidwans proficient with both instruments ( among them M.N.Kandaswamy and Palattur Lakshmanan).

At the behest of his father Palani erected a shrine on the Samathi of Mamundia Pillai at Pudukkottai in 1945.Till he passed away in 1962 Palani performed Gurupooja each year at this Samadhi on Mamundia Pillai's death anniversary. This is the day preceding the Aradhana of Saint Thyagaraja(which falls on Bagulapanchami day). After Palani's death his disciple M.N.Kandaswamy took this over and also initiated the Gurupooja for Palani in Chennai. After Kandaswamy's unfortunate fatal road accident in 1995 a trust named Palani Sri M.Subramania Pillai was formed with K.S.Kalidas as the Managing Trustee and Madirimangalam Swaminathan and A.V.Raghuprasad as Trustees. Recently two younger Mridangam artists ( both disciples of M.N.Kandaswami ) - K.Arunprakash and J.Balaji- have been co-opted into this group. Besides the conduct of Gurupoojas in Chennai each year with the participation of many musicians , the trust also maintains the shrine at Pudukkottai ( this was recently repaired and renovated: Kumbabhishekam was also performed by the trust). The trust functions at 121 Karpagam Avenue, 4th Street, R.A.Puram, Chennai-600028,Tamil Nadu, India. The trust is in need of funds to maintain the shrine, conduct the activities like providing Scholarships and intensive coaching in the Palani Style for young promising artists in Mridangam and Kanjira. Donations are welcome for this purpose and are eligible for deduction of Income Tax in India under the section 80G of I.T.Act.

Palani passed away at the young age of fifty four while still in his peak form in 1962. No one of his caliber has unfortunately emerged yet to succeed him.

 

Sri.K.S.Kalidas is among the later disciples of Palani.He learnt Mridangam from Palani when he was an Engineering student in Madras( Chennai ). After his Engineering Degree he joined the Indian Railway Service of Engineers and served all over India. His Expertise and Knowledge are supplemented by a rare ability to explain the intricacies of Carnatic music (especially the subtelities of the Laya aspects) in a fair and unbiased fashion. He is also a performing artist and his expertise is eagerly sought after by current artists and knowledgeable fans of carnatic music.