THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The packed auditorium of Christ Nagar English Higher Secondary School throbbed with energy as Korambu Vikraman Namboothiri and his 30 disciples created magic with the mridangam.As perfect synchronisation met artistic spirit, the ‘Aadi Thaalam’ repertoire attained greater heights. Hailing from Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, the Korambu entourage had 28 boys and two girls- from seven-year-old Sreedar to 17-year-old Renjith. The performance was staged as part of the ‘School Kalotsavam.’ What makes Vikraman Namboothiri’s stage show significant is the amalgamation of Mridanga Mela and Mridanga Kalari, a meeting of teaching and learning. Through this people are taught how to learn percussion after witnessing the performance for an hour starting from the basic ‘Tha Thi Thom Na.’He said: ‘’after closely observing a one-hour performance, the viewer can perform for 15 minutes with a mridangam. Ours is the only performance that involves kids and one type of instrument throughout the show.’’ Mridanga Mela carves a new identity for itself with a rare blend of Hindustani and the Kerala style ‘melams.’Vikraman Namboothiri became a percussionist at the very young age of three under the tutelage of his father Korambu Subramanian Namboothiri, an ace maestro accustomed to the intricacies of the instrument. At the age of 26 the son became a full-fledged master by taking charge of the Korambu Mridanga Kalari, the mridangam school. The school has around 200 students at present.So far, he has performed in Dubai, Sharjah and various other states in India. Fifty of his students have appeared on silver screen in the Prithviraj starrer ‘Puthiyamukham’. He also led a simultaneous performance by 150 disciples at the Thiruvambadi Temple in Thrissur. Vikraman Namboodiri thanked the students of Christ Nagar School for giving such a huge reception to their performance. ‘’They really rocked, it was excellent,’’ Gouri Kalyani, Archana and Tracy, Plus-One students of the school said in unison. Everyone in the team was distributed a memento after the performance. The Korambu Mridanga Kalari is now preparing to despatch a team of 77 to Kancheepuram, where they will perform before Kanchi seer Swami Jayendra Saraswathy on the occasion of his 77th birthday.
Comments
0 comment