Sarva vadyam at Tiruvarur: No longer a male bastion

Sumathy Mathiazhagan’s lecture at The Music Academy on the sarva vadyam tradition in Tiruvarur temple evoked images of Tyagaraja’s divine dance and the rituals of the temple. Sumathy said that Parasaivas, the community to which she belongs, have three duties in Tiruvarur — performing puja for Pidari Amman, and playing the shuddha maddalam and the panchamukha vadyam. Her family has the title of Muttukaarar. Once, when the Tyagaraja idol slipped and was about to fall, an ancestor of Sumathy’s prevented it by supporting it with his shoulder. Hence, he acquired the honorific of Muttukaarar (muttu: prop).

Muttukaarars play the kudamuzha, so called because the bottom is shaped like a pot (kudam). The pot is made of a special alloy called mani vengalam. Kudamuzha is also known as panchamukha vadyam. It has five faces, each representing one of the five faces of Siva — Isana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Satyojata. Deer hide is used as the drumhead, because it produces a gentle sound — strident beats will not awaken the kundalini, the dormant energy. So, the shuddha maddalam is played to awaken the kundalini, which will help men focus on the task at hand.

Sumathi Mathiyazhagan.
| Photo Credit:
K. Pichumani

There are nine processions of Thyagaraja, and shuddha maddalam is played for every one of them.

Sumathy’s great-grandfather was Thambiyappa Muttukaarar. His grandfather also went by the same name, and he was a disciple of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Once, when Thambiyappa was unwell and could not do his daily duty at the temple, Dikshitar composed the kriti ‘Brihaspate’ (raga Atana), and Thambiyappa was miraculously cured.

While the family tradition of playing shuddha maddalam and panchamukha vadyam continued for generations, there came a time when the family had no male heir, and it seemed as if they would lose their right to play in the temple. However, despite objections from some quarters, Sumathy, who is the headmistress of a school, stepped in. She became the first woman to play shuddha maddalam and panchamukha vadyam in the temple. Her daughter, who studied engineering, decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps. “My grandson Dhruv will also play for Tyagaraja one day,” says Sumathy.