Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer

 

Vaidyanatha Ayyar was born in Vaiyacheri near Thanjavur in 1897 and died on April 13, 1947. He learned mridangam from Thanjavur Doss Swamigal, Kannuswami Nattuvanar, and K. Ponniah Pillai. He trained disciples in the "Guru Kula" system. He was popularly known as "Vaitha Anna," ("Vaitha" is the short form for Vaidhyanatha and "Anna" means elder brother.) Initially, he played for Parameswara Iyer’s drama troop and traveled to many places in India. Soon, he accompanied Harikesanallur Muthaih Bhagavathar, Fiddle Appa Iyer Subharama Bhagavathar, Kanchipuram Nayana Pillai (from 1916-1926). He also served in the State Broadcasting Radio Station in Trivandrum. Vaidhyanatha Iyer served as a "King Maker" in the field of mridangam with three of his disciples being the legends Palghat T.A.S. Mani Iyer, T.K. Murthy, and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Only after coming under his tutelage, Mani Iyer started playing the "arai chappu" stroke (more common in modern mridangam playing). T.K. Murthy grew up as an adopted son in the maestro’s house and often played double mridangam with him in many concerts. Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman used to play any lesson in 4 speeds immediately after learning the nuances from Vaitha Anna at the young age of 14. Like the singing culture of vocalists, T.V. Iyer imparted a unique pedagogy based on his mridangam fingering and is today considered to be the "Father of Mridangam." It is said that in his playing style, one can identify whether a pallavi, anupallavi, or charanam was being performed just by hearing his mridangam accompaniment. His other disciples include Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer (who wrote a book for learning mridangam), ghatam Vilvadhri Iyer, and Krishnamurthy Rao, among others.