A Day with KARAIKUDI R. MANI
by Alex Pertout
In October I had the good fortune of connecting once again with the celebrated mridangam master Shri Karaikudi R. Mani before his Australian tour. Shri Mani is a highly revered performer and exponent of Carnatic music as well as being a respected composer, ensemble leader, educator, author and artistic collaborator. Mani Sir is the musical director of Sruthi Laya, an internationally acclaimed ensemble from Chennai that has released an array of outstanding albums that showcase his supreme mastery of the mridangam and the astonishing density of South Indian rhythms. An innovator in the realms of the traditional role of percussion performance, his concepts, interpretations and popularisation of the percussion ensemble feature or ‘Thani Avartanam’, his wide-ranging collaborative projects with ensembles of diverse traditions, as well as his innovative developments of mridangam techniques and performance, have arrived at the development of a personal style that has influenced generations of percussionists in India as well as around the world.
Guru Mani has conducted countless masterclasses internationally and founded the Sruthi Laya Seva School, a premier institution based in Chennai dedicated to the art of South Indian percussion. The school now enjoys centres in various cities in India as well as in the USA, Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. He is also the founder and chief editor of Layamani Layam, a bi monthly music and dance magazine, which boasts an international circulation. An award winning artist, Shri Mani is the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi National Award for his outstanding contribution to Carnatic music, a presentation made to him by the then president of India, Kocheril Raman Narayanan. Shri Mani has collaborated with an array of international artists including the Australian Art Orchestra led by Paul Grabowsky, in which time that I had the honour of performing alongside and learning from Mani Sir for a few decades, Finnish composer and music director of the Finland Philharmonic Orchestra, Eero Olavi Hämeenniemi, as well as with the highly acclaimed American singer songwriter Paul Simon. Here is the result of our conversation:
An honour to meet again Mani Sir, I wanted to start by delving into your background, where you were born?
I was born in the town of Karaikudi, which is situated in Tamil Nadu, in Southern India.
Did your home environment enjoy a strong musical background?
My father was a mathematician, an English teacher, as well as a music teacher. My mother was a homemaker. My father was extremely encouraging and wanted me to pursue studies in music. My neighbours in Karaikudi were all stalwarts of that period in time: one of them was the highly acclaimed Carnatic vocalist Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
At what age did you commence your musical studies?
I started learning music at 3 years of age from my father. My musical journey commenced by learning to sing pancharatna kritis, these are Carnatic classical songs by composer Tyagaraja.
What was your first instrument?
From a young age I was more into rhythmical aspects. I used to play on any object that I would come across. My father, realising that I was more into rhythm, organised for me to pursue appropriate training on the mridangam. The mridangam is the most important percussion instrument in South India - it’s the king of percussion. If you are a good mridangamist, you can develop skills on other drums in a very short time. People all over the world acknowledge this fact, the mridangam, it’s the king of percussion instruments.
As you developed skills on the mridangam, was the art of konnakol an integral part of your rhythmic development?
As the mridangam training formally progresses, the development of konnakol becomes a part of the syllabus, as the mathematical calculations that you perform on mridangam are articulated vocally and that is the actual konnakol connection.
What were some of your early music performance experiences?
My first musical ensemble experience was actually performing alongside veena and violin. This concert was quite an experience for me as an 8 year old child. At that age I possibly did not understand fully the extent of this rather remarkable experience I was involved in. My approach was such that I gave it my all, delving from what I had developed on the instrument and the potential that I had at that point in time. From there on my career continued to develop by the way of performances with diverse instrumental ensembles, with the rhythmic repertoire incorporating a wide range of time signatures such as 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8 and 9/8. During my career I’ve also had opportunities to perform with many acclaimed Indian artists, including vocalists such as Semmangudi Srinivasda Iyer, K. V. Narayanaswamy, T. M. Thiagarajan, Maharajapuram Santhanam and D. K. Jayaraman.
When did you start to lead and develop your personal ensembles?
Around 1983 I started to develop my own ensemble Sruthi Laya, an ensemble that combines melody and percussion. My vision was to bring the mridangam to the fore, as a leading featured instrument of the ensemble, rather than just as an accompanying rhythmic instrument, so that was the direction that I took. In a way reversing the usual ensemble structure, in this case using melody to accompany rhythm.
Your ensembles also showcase your compositional skills, what are your personal processes in terms of composition development?
Since I have studied Carnatic music, I first develop a structure for the melody, while keeping the rhythmic essence in my mind. I develop and notate the melodic frame and thereafter the rhythmic part is notated. The composition is aesthetically explored in my mind; in time this becomes the piece, which is then ready for concert performance. This takes place after multiple layers of embellishment are explored during practice and rehearsal sessions. And this is an ongoing journey for me. I devise certain pieces for recordings that I produce and continue developing new compositions.
Would you mind elaborating on the development of your beautiful piece ‘Vasantha Pravaham’ which we performed and recorded with the Australian Art Orchestra on the ‘Into The Fire’ album?
I composed 'Vasantha Pravaham' by incorporating the ragam bahudari and ranjani. One of the things I realised after finalising the piece was that the composition was also well suited for a contemporary ensemble performance. Although initially I did not compose the piece for that particularly setting, I felt that it could suit that framework well. And with that piece my collaborative work with the Australian Art Orchestra commenced.
What have been some of your most special performance or recording experiences?
I would say that some of the works my ensemble Sruthi Laya has recorded are extremely special, as we have developed this material to a very high level and we have recorded the material live, without edits or retakes. One of these pieces, a 40 minute long composition of mine, was recorded in one take in the studio. After 30 years have passed since the recording, it still sounds unique and fresh for the listener.
I know you have enjoyed many international experiences as well; what have been some of your favourites?
My collaboration with the Australian Art Orchestra with decades of international tours, performances and recordings, was very special both musically and emotionally.
You also recorded with Paul Simon recently, how did that come about?
It was a fantastic experience. Paul had collaborated with only one Indian artist prior to my association, the acclaimed sitar player Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and so I became the only other Indian artist to have performed with him. I recorded various rhythmical combinations in a studio in New York that he ended using on the track ‘Dazzling Blues’ from his 'So Beautiful or So What' album.
What other international experiences have developed for you recently?
I have recently collaborated on an album titled ‘Steps In Time’ with shakuhachi virtuoso John Kaizan Neptune. I have also recorded and performed with the Finnish composer and artistic director of the Finland Philharmonic Orchestra, Eero Olavi Hämeenniemi. I directed the rhythm section of the 130-member Sai Symphony and performed alongside Senegalese djembe player, Pape Samory Seck.
How are things developing for the celebrated yearly Chennai concert season this coming December?
Well, indeed. I will perform for the main sabhas that promote music during the concert season. I engaged in this for some of the organisations that I choose to perform for and with musicians of my choice. These will be classical music concerts as well as, of course, fusion style concerts featuring the mridangam, including some special performances for the popular television program Margashi Utsavam of Jaya TV.
What are some of your future goals?
My mission is to increase the awareness of rhythm, to continue to promote an understanding of the significance of rhythm, for rhythm to be appreciated and enjoyed as much as melody is known.
© 2017 Alex Pertout. Published by Drumscene Magazine.