Jalatarangam exponent Anayampatti Ganesan looks back on his journey

One-and-a-half dozen porcelain bowls of varying sizes, filled with water, are neatly arranged in a semi-circle in front of him. Anayampatti S. Ganesan taps each with two small wooden sticks to produce the right sound at his jalatarangam concerts. He plays compositions complete with swara phrases and gamakas. The correct measure of water in each cup ensures the music is pitch-perfect. Not an easy exercise at all. Well-known critic Subbudu once in a lighter vein described jalatarangam concerts as “fishing in troubled waters”.

As Ganesan turns 90 on May 22, he can look back with pride at a musical life that celebrates creativity and family legacy. Apart from learning to play a kutcheri on this unique instrument, Ganesan came up with special techniques to capture the nuances of Carnatic music.

Playing gamakas

Anayampatti Ganesan performing on the occasion of Kedaram 3rd Anniversary celebrations at Raaga Sudha Hall, Mylapore on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu/The Hindu Archives

Along the passages, where the instrument generates microtones integral to Carnatic music, Ganesan would partly immerse the bamboo stick on his left hand into the right bowls. “Timing is crucial here,” says Ganesan, one of the foremost Jalatarangam exponents. “Though the instrument cannot reproduce long-drawn notes as played on the veena or the violin, with sustained practice, you can also play those gamakas.”

The bowls are arranged according to size in descending order from left to right, the larger among them are slotted for lower octaves and vice versa.

As much as its complexity, the virtuoso knows well the historicity of the jalatarangam. Though researchers say the instrument finds mention in the Kamasutra, Ganesan is more keen to share his family’s tryst with the instrument. “We got 25 bowls in 1890, when my father Anayampatti Subbayar was a musician at the Mysuru Palace. His guru Kunnakudi Krishna Iyer gifted it after long use, which means the China-clay set is much older.” Iyer and Ganesan’s grandfather, Anayampatti Kuppuswami, were colleagues at the court around the mid-19th century.

Anayampatti, 325 km southeast of Mysuru, is in present-day Salem district of Tamil Nadu. The village is part of the erstwhile Kongu Nadu, which groomed its few original jalatarangam players. There, Subbayar’s elder son, S. Dandapani, began to excel in the instrument in the early 20th century. Ganesan used to accompany him on the violin.

Training in vocal music

In 1982, Dandapani passed away at the age of 55. The unexpected end to the collaboration prompted Ganesan to reinvent himself as a full-fledged jalatarangam artiste. Aged 50 then, he used to sing well too and won the appreciation of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, who encouraged him to pursue jalatarangam to take his family’s legacy forward.

“The journey has seldom been easy. You need to know not just the density and width of the bowls, but even their circumference — ranging from nine inches to just two,” points out Ganesan, a recipient of the Kalaimamani award, among other recognitions. “The water behaves differently if the performance is in an air-conditioned hall. The chillness gives it a different timbre. You have to take care of every little thing to get the perfect sound,” says the veteran, who has been training young enthusiasts.

Though he performs vocal concerts too, Ganesan sees himself as a unique instrumentalist, who makes the bowls sing.

The Kerala-based writer is a keen follower of performing arts.