To feature nine female Nadaswaram artists.
Women nadaswaram players are a rare species. There is Madurai Ponnuthayi Ammal — the ‘first lady’ of Nadaswaram. And there is Padma Shri Kaleeshaabi Mahboob of Srirangam. Sparing them, few have made a name playing the instrument.
Parivadini, an organisation based in Chennai, wants to change that. Its upcoming Navaratri music festival will have nine female artists playing the ‘difficult’ instrument. The nine-day fete, Navashakti series, will begin on October 7. It will feature artists from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Parivadini has been hosting Nadaswaram concerts for long. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, we extended help to many artists. It was then we came across over 60 female Nadaswaram artists,” says Lalitharam, Founder, Parivadini. “Navaratri being a shakti festival, we decided to feature female Nadaswaram players this time.” The women will be playing along with their partners.
The artists include Padma Shri recipients Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and Kaleeshabi Mahaboob, SP Palanivel and R Prabhavathi, Balaganesh and Bageshwari, TA Vishwanathan and TV Vijayalakshmi, TP Venkatesh and TV Shankaree, S Soundararajan & S Santhalakshmi, TC Karunanidhi and TK Maheswari, KS Senthilmurugan and S Shanthi and Ochira V Sivadass and Prasanna Sivadass . The programme will be available on Parivadini’s YouTube channel.
