Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram Sivaraman shared his experiences of accompanying great musicians — each possessing exceptional mastery in their respective fields — and said that it became easier for him after undergoing rigorous training.

He likened the experience to visiting a sweet stall. “You will be bewildered about what to buy,” he said during a conversation with CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby at The Hindu office.

“You should have the reflexes to play immediately. Whatever is in your brain should come out through the mridangam. Through hard work, you reach the top and maintain your place by constantly improving. Otherwise, others will overtake you,” he said.

Recalling his experience with Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, he said the veteran often sang in madhyama kalam, and sometimes the mridangam player had to establish the tempo before he began the kriti.

“I wanted to accompany him in one desadi thalam, but for a long time, we didn’t get the opportunity. Then one day, he sang it, and I said, ‘Today I am very happy, mama.’ He replied, ‘Only today do I have the confidence that you will play well,’” Mr. Sivaraman recalled with a smile.

Mr. Sivaraman said one could never deviate from kaala pramanam (sense of timing) while playing for Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. “He would say, ‘Ennathu? Odapidathe. No running. Nothing.’ And you had to play with abandon because his voice was so powerful,” he said.

In one programme, to showcase Mr. Sivaraman’s scholarship, Chembai gave him five thani avarthanams in a single concert. “After that, he asked me to drink Horlicks from a flask. He said, ‘I will not stop singing, and you should not stop playing.’ At the end of the programme, he said, ‘I have earned name and fame. I also got money. You should earn all that too.’ Then he sang the Mangalam,” Mr. Sivaraman reminisced.

Playing for Madurai Mani Iyer was a different experience. The mridangam player could never deviate from shruti.

“The great T.R. Mahalingam said of Madurai Mani Iyer: ‘If you want to worship Swara Devatha, here is Mani Iyer’s music.’ When Madurai Mani aligns with the tambura, there is no dichotomy. You have to tune the mridangam accordingly. If it’s not in tune, he will look at you,” Mr. Sivaraman said.

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer was known for sarva laghu singing. “It is like the running of a horse. You won’t have time to tune,” he said.

G.N. Balasubramanian was famous for brigha-laden music, and Sivaraman had to adapt his playing accordingly.

“The Alathur Brothers were pallavi experts. When you ask them, they would say, ‘There’s nothing you don’t know.’ But then they would sing something I wasn’t familiar with. While singing Thiruppugazh, if you didn’t play aruti, they would ask why hadn’t I played it,” he said.

He added that while accompanying Musiri Subramania Iyer, he had to play the niraval properly and also provide the aruti.

“If you accompanied flautist T.R. Mahalingam, you would never know what he was going to play. He might play a misra gathi adi tala varnam. You had to be ready,” he said, and even demonstrated by singing Viribhoni Varnam.

With Viswanatha Iyer, Sivaraman said he had to embellish his playing because Viswanatha Iyer himself knew mridangam well.

“These are all the ways I learned so many things. Everyone is great,” he said.

Mr. Sivaraman also shared his experience of playing Simhanandana Thalam with 128 beats for Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer at the Music Academy.

“He had a tuft. He would keep the thalam correctly. Sometimes, his tuft would come undone — he would stop to tie it back, but he never missed the thalam. You also had to play thani avarthanam in that thalam. So when you go through all these drills, it becomes easy. You really have to pass through all this,” he said.

Asked whether playing for T.N. Seshagopalan was tough, Mr. Sivaraman said he was a very great musician in all aspects — composition, niraval, swaram, pallavi, and Thiruppugazh.

“When you play for Seshagopalan, he will also put you to the test. The thing is, you have to really prove your worth and create something great in the concert so that he will appreciate it,” he said.

Reporting: B. Kolappan

Video: Johan Sathyadas, Thamodharan B, Shiva Raj

Editing: Shiva Raj