Carnatic percussionist Tiruchi R. Thayumanavan passes away

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Tiruchi R. Thayumanavan, an exponent of the mridangam, kanjira, and konakkol, died after a brief illness in the city on Friday at the age of 95.

Family sources told The Hindu that the vidwan had not been keeping well since early this year and had been recently admitted to hospital for treatment.

Born in Kottaiyur, Kumbakonam, on September 11, 1931 as the third of four sons to violin exponent S. Raju and Thaiyyalnayagi, the young Thayumanavan showed an early aptitude for rhythm (layam). He insisted on learning the mridangam rather than become a singer or violinist like his brothers R. Govindaswamy, R. Thangavelu, and R. Balasundaram.

After training under Narayanaswamy Iyer and his brother Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer, Thayumanavan was taken under the wing of Pudukottai M. V. Dakshinamoorthy Achariyar in 1945. As his skill grew, Thayumanavan accompanied many famous vocalists like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chittoor Subramanya Pillai, Alathur Brothers, M.K. Thyagaraja Baghavathar, and K.B. Sundarambal.

The bond between Thayumanavan and his guru became deeper when Dakshinamoorthy Achariyar decided to get his second daughter Kanagambujam married to his star pupil in 1953. He built a memorial temple for his guru in Pudukkottai and released a book, The Life History of Dhakshinamoorthy Pillai, in 1987.

Thayumanavan received the Kalaimamani award in 1994 for his skill in Konakkol, a kind of note recitation that produces the effect of verbal percussion. The final rites are to be held on Saturday.

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