 Haridwaramangalam A K Palanivel
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Click here to download his musical pieces
 It is a privilege to live at the same time as he does, a thavil wizard of the century who strides the musical world like a colossus. Guess the name of the person? He is the one and only A K
Palanivel.
The Thanjavur delta reverberated with his electrifying playing when he was young. Hailing from Haridwaramangalam, in Thanjavur district, his father Kumaravel Pillai was his first guru.
As gurukula vasam was in vogue those days, he learnt the subtleties of the art from maestro T G Muthu Kumaraswamy Pillai. The ethereal nadam which emanated from his thavil made him accompany senior nagaswara vidwans at a very young age. His adept handling of the 'raja vaadiyam' - thavil - has made him traverse the realm of rhythm with great élan. He became a crow- puller as he is gifted with nimble fingers, and 'vallinam' and 'mellinam' in playing.
 He has accompanied players of varied instruments, wind and stringed ones. Palanivel is gifted with a keen mathematical acumen which is manifest in his commendable playing. The whole area resonates with the sound of thavil once he ascends the stage.
A good teacher, he is a visiting faculty in many universities in India and abroad. He has the rare honour of being the only thavil vidwan on whose musical career a dissertation was prepared by a student which fetched the author M.Phil. degree from Barathidasan University.
Not content with thavil, his brainwave is the Nada Laya Natyam. He makes several dancers dance to his tunes in this tough musical workout. He has incorporated rhythmic phrases which have raised many appreciative eyebrows. His troupe performs to the music of vocal, nagaswaram, violin, mridangam, and, of course,
thavil.
A widely travelled person, he feels that to attract the audience one has to give the best. He has hyptonised foreigners with his commendable style.
 Palanivel is worried about the decadence of nagaswaram and thavil. There are no takers in this field, quips Palanivel sadly. He feels that the government should nuture the art and encourage the artiste by providing suitable employment.
Honoured with innumerable awards, the Padmashree is the icing on the cake. Palanivel is the secretary of the Tyagaraja Sabha, Tiruvaiyaru, for many years.
He is keen on preserving music and advises youngsters from going against the prescribed format. Creativity and innovation are two aspects which should be followed by musicians, declares the thavil virtuoso.
He is hopeful of bringing the Kaveri tradition alive where people would willingly start learning the nagaswaram and thavil as it captures the quintessence of the Indian heritage and culture. Almighty’s grace and 'guru kataksham' have made me climb the ladder of success, says a beaming
Palanivel. Click
here to download his musical pieces
Please visit
Palanivel's website http://www.akp.co.in/
Mira
mira60@rediff.com
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