Today is the Birth Anniversary of Madurai Sripathy PONNUTHAI who captivated family members and friends alike through her expertise as a Nadaswaram Artiste and the First Woman Instrumentalist in what has traditionally been a male bastion. Here is Tribute to the life and personality of a stalwart in the Carnatic music tradition of south India. Born on July 5, 1929, MS Ponnuthai had a fast and intense ascent as a professional musician. Her mother Subbuthai and father Sripathy were very supportive, the former being a musician herself, a harmonist, and the latter constantly pushing her forward and insisting that she make a musical career. Further, she had an uncle, Velusamy Pillai, who was a flautist and whom she once described as her greatest inspiration. The first signs of her passion were seen at the age of eight, when she picked up a stick and pretended it was a flute, though her proper lessons with the famous master Mr Natesan Pillai began when she was nine years. During her musical tutelage, her regular schedule lasted up to eight hours a day of practising the nadaswaram: 9am-1pm, 3pm-4pm and 6pm-9pm. Her arangetram (first concert) was at the age of 13 years, a performance in the Alagar Kovil temple, just outside Madurai, with her own personal orchestra consisting of two nadaswarams, two thavils and a person who checked if she was playing in alignment with the tune with his shruthi box. This arrangement of people and instruments followed her for 32 years, till 1970. Among her many concerts, three are memorable for they are a perfect reflection of her professionalism and personality: the first was at the age of 14, when she was called to play in a temple in Madurai. Upon her arrival, the men and women there started to throw stones and torches at her, but she persisted and played, defying the will of the crowd. The second was when she was invited to be the first woman to play at the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Sabarimala in Kerala. Though as a woman she was not allowed to play there in keeping with the orthodox temple tradition, the head priest insisted that someone of her skill had to play there. In the end, she did three consecutive concerts there. Lastly, she was the musician who inaugurated the Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam musical academy in Madurai. In this school she is a local legend. Sadly, in 1972, her husband passed away. After this bitter event, her career encountered a few problems. A music critic wrote that a holy instrument was being played by an unholy woman, simply because she was a widow. But her career was in full swing, so even criticism on such a sensitive issue could not stop her. The amount of energy that she derived from her passion, as she grew older, was said to be a gift from God himself! Her concerts lasted for over ten hours, in some instances from 10 pm to 6 am. Despite this, she was aware of her age. For example, at the age of 50, she was invited to make a speech at the Madurai Musical Academy but turned it down insisting that upcoming younger artistes deserved to speak there, not an old woman. Her gradual decline started in the year 1990, when she began to feel the strain of age. During that period she would play, from time to time, the nadaswaram in temples and marriages only for pleasant and holy occasions and finally stopped at the age of 74, in 2003. Nonetheless, she continued to be involved in the field. Vignesh recalls, “If a student is really dedicated, she would provide them food and accommodation in her house and would teach them to play the instrument until they mastered the art.” Her charity also went towards supporting musicians; from low socio economic backgrounds with financial aid. Eventually, the very common disease with nadaswaram players, chronic ulcer, caught up with her. She died ON 17 January 2012. However, her legacy carries on through her grandson P.Vikneshwaran. RIP M S PONNUTHAI.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 01:55:58 +0000
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