Palani Subramaniam Pillai
Encyclopedia
Palani Subramaniam Pillai (1908–1962) was a well known Carnatic music
percussionist. He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira
. He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Malikkottai (Iluppur) Panchapakesa Pillai (popularly known as Thavil
Panchami).
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 because of Palani that the brothers shifted base from Trichy to Madras and they made a great team. Palani is credited with composing a larger number of major pallavi
s 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 camaraderie was gone.
(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 Sankeernam. 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 G. N. Balasubramaniam
, Madurai Mani Iyer
, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
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 Venkataswamy Naidu
( Violin Solo ) had him as accompanist in many concerts. In turn Palani encouraged a number of younger vocal and instrumental artists including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Ramnad Krishnan
, M. D. Ramanathan
, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Tiruvarur Namasivayam, Thanjavur Thyagarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman
and Palghat R. 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.
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 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 40's and 50's 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 partner in life was Rajammal (who along with her sister constituted a popular singing duo called 'Kolar Sisters' in her younger days). The pair had a daughter named Vimala. She married Srinivasan and they had five daughters named Banu, Malathi, Meera, Geetha and Vasanthi. They were brought up by Rajammal after the death of Srinivasan.
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, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy among others. Perhaps the most famous of his disciples is Trichy 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.Ragguprasad, 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 Khanjira 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 died 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 disciples took this over and also initiated the Gurupooja for Palani across different places in Tamil Nadu
(M.N.Kandaswamy in Chennai
, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy in Coimbatore
, etc.).
In Kerala
Palani ‘s disciples are Mavelikara Krishnan Kutty Nair and Mavelikara S. R. Raju. Palani always cared his deciples like his own children and had a special care for Krishnankutty Nair. Mavelikara Raju after retirement from All India Radio
lives in Trivandrum and teaches many students.
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
percussionist. He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira
Kanjira
The kanjira, khanjira or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music as a supporting instrument for the mridangam...
. He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Malikkottai (Iluppur) Panchapakesa Pillai (popularly known as Thavil
Thavil
The thavil or tavil is a barrel shaped drum from South India. It is used in temple, folk and Carnatic music, often accompanying the nadaswaram. The thavil and the nadaswaram are essential ingredients of traditional festivals and ceremonies in South India.The thavil consists of a cylindrical shell...
Panchami).
Early life
Subramaniam Pillai was born on April 20, 1908. He was born to his mother, Unnamalai Ammal, and his father, Muthaiah Pillai who was also a mridangist. He learned mridangam under the tutelage of his father and also had the friendship of ‘Thavil Panchami’ Malikkottai Panchapakesa Pillai. He was also influenced by a renowned mridangist at the time, Dakshinamurthy Pillai.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
Alathur Brothers
Alathur Brothers Srinivasa Iyer & Sivasubramania Iyer were Carnatic vocalists. The world of Carnatic music knows them as the star duo of the twentieth century....
whose Guru (father of Alathur Subbier), Alathur Venkatesa Iyer
Alathur Venkatesa Iyer
Alathur Venkatesa Iyer was a teacher of Carnatic music. Venkatesa Iyer practised Carnatic music in the style of the composer Tyagaraja. Venkatesa Iyer later developed a unique style that is known as the "Alathur style" of rendering kritis...
was a great admirer of Palani. It was because of Palani that the brothers shifted base from Trichy to Madras and they made a great team. Palani is credited with composing a larger number of major pallavi
Pallavi
In Carnatic music pallavi is the thematic line of a song. It is usually one cycle long and repeated twice in order to give the percussionist the idea of the chosen taalam...
s 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 camaraderie was gone.
Career
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 BhagavatharChembai
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad . Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1896, at Kottayi near Palakkad on Janmashtami day, with Bharani star in the month of Chingam...
(earlier responsible in advancing the careers of Mysore T.Chowdiah
Tirumakudalu Chowdiah
Tirumakudalu Chowdiah was a violin maestro from India in the Carnatic classical tradition.-Early Years:Chowdiah, was born in Tirumakudalu village on the banks of the river Kaveri near Mysore....
and Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music and the first mridangist to win the Sangeetha Kalanidhi andPadmabhushan awards....
) 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 Sankeernam. 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 G. N. Balasubramaniam
G. N. Balasubramaniam
G. N. Balasubramaniam , popularly known as GNB, was a legendary vocalist in the Carnatic tradition. He became the first superstar of Carnatic music, innovating the art through emphasis on laya control & reducing the gamakas which eventually made Carnatic music appeal to the lay and the learned...
, Madurai Mani Iyer
Madurai Mani Iyer
Madurai Mani Iyer was a Carnatic music singer, who was famous for his unique style. He was one of the most highly celebrated carnatic vocalists during the first half of the 20th century. He was renowned for his adept skills at singing kalpana swarams, neraval, and raga alapana...
, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer is considered to be one of the greatest Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century...
clamored to have him accompany him in their concerts. Of course senior vidwans of that era like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar or more popularly simply called as Ariyakudi was born in Ariyakudi a town in the Karaikudi district of Tamil Nadu, South India in the year 1890. Ariyakudi was a Carnatic Music vocalist and is known for his unique style. He made his debut at Tyagaraja Aradhana in 1918...
, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer was one of the great Indian Carnatic vocalists. He won several awards including Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeetha Bhupathy.-Early life and background:Viswanatha Iyer was born in Chennai to Rama Iyer, a singer....
, Chembai and Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carnatic violinists of the 20th century.-Early life and background:...
( Violin Solo ) had him as accompanist in many concerts. In turn Palani encouraged a number of younger vocal and instrumental artists including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Ramnad Krishnan
Ramnad Krishnan
Ramnad Krishnan was a vocalist in the Carnatic tradition. He did his schooling in Ramnad in Madras Presidency.He learned music from Ramnad C S Sankarasivam. He served on the faculty of Government College of Carnatic Music in Madras.He was also a visiting Professor at Wesleyan University...
, M. D. Ramanathan
M. D. Ramanathan
Manjapara Devesa Ramanathan affectionately called MDR was a Carnatic music composer and vocalist.-Early life:...
, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Tiruvarur Namasivayam, Thanjavur Thyagarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman
Lalgudi Jayaraman
Lalgudi Jayarama Iyer is a well-known Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer.-Early life and background:...
and Palghat R. Raghu
Palghat R. Raghu
Palghat R. Raghu was a famous Carnatic musician and percussionist.- Early life :Palghat R. Raghu was born on January 9, 1928 in Rangoon, Burma . He died of cardiac arrest on June 2, 2009. As a child, he was immensely talented and inducted into mridangam lessons very early in his life...
. 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.
While Palani would highlight the different parts of the song such as "Eduppus" of Pallavi
Pallavi
In Carnatic music pallavi is the thematic line of a song. It is usually one cycle long and repeated twice in order to give the percussionist the idea of the chosen taalam...
, Anupallavi
Anupallavi
In Carnatic music, the anupallavi comes after the pallavi and is usually the second section of any composition. It is then followed by one or more charanams. The anupallavi is optional. In such compositions pallavi is followed by one or more charanams....
, and Charanam
Charanam
Charanam in Carnatic music is usually the end section of a composition which is sung after the anupallavi....
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 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
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
"; 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 40's and 50's 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 partner in life was Rajammal (who along with her sister constituted a popular singing duo called 'Kolar Sisters' in her younger days). The pair had a daughter named Vimala. She married Srinivasan and they had five daughters named Banu, Malathi, Meera, Geetha and Vasanthi. They were brought up by Rajammal after the death of Srinivasan.
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, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy among others. Perhaps the most famous of his disciples is Trichy Sankaran
Trichy Sankaran
Trichy Sankaran is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost virtuosos of the mridangam and also plays the kanjira on occasion. Since the early 1970s, he has performed and recorded in a number of cross-cultural projects.Sankaran has lived...
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.Ragguprasad, 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
Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music and the first mridangist to win the Sangeetha Kalanidhi andPadmabhushan awards....
and Ramanathapuram C.S.Murugabhoopathy. His Khanjira 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 died 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 disciples took this over and also initiated the Gurupooja for Palani across different places in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
(M.N.Kandaswamy in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy in Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, etc.).
In Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
Palani ‘s disciples are Mavelikara Krishnan Kutty Nair and Mavelikara S. R. Raju. Palani always cared his deciples like his own children and had a special care for Krishnankutty Nair. Mavelikara Raju after retirement from All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
lives in Trivandrum and teaches many students.