Mali 1

On Flute Mali (T.R.
Mahalingam) for his 35th death anniversary that

falls today 31st May. He passed away this day in 1986. He was 59.
INCREDIBLE, INDOMITABLE GENIUS
K.P.Ramakrishnan was a mathematician. For him, Mathematics and

Music were his two eyes. He was Flute Mali’s neighbour in the lodge on
Bazaar Road, Mylapore in the 1950s. He knew a lot of other musicians
like Semmangudi, Palghat Mani Iyer etc. He has told us a lot about Mali.
Most of which he has also written for the ‘Sruti’ magazine in its 1986
special Mali issue. Some of these we have recounted here.
Mali, according to KPR was a greater violinist than a flautist. Mali

himself thought so. Mali possessed a violin which he had bought from
an Anglo Indian for Rs.50/. The strings of the bow were frayed. Though
the violin had the usual four strings, the G string was in its last throes.
What kind of sound can this junk produce, thought KPR. A few days
later violinist Papa Venkatarmiah sent word to Mali that he, Papa, would
like to see him. Mali took KPR also to Papa’s residence at T.Nagar.
Papa had bought a new violin for Rs.1000/. He showed it to Mali and
said, “Mali, take it and keep it for some days if you like”. Mali and KPR
came back with the violin.
A few days later, one early morning, KPR who was seated on a chair on
the verandah of the lodge, with his back to Mali’s room, heard the
strains of Keeravani waft through the windows. KPR describes it as
ethereal. The tone, he says, he has never heard from any violinist then,
or ever since. After a few minutes of sheer ecstasy, KPR remarked, “A
thousand rupee violin is a thousand rupee violin indeed!” Out came Mali
and dangled the violin that he was playing Keeravani on in front of
KPR’s face. It was the frayed, fit to be junked Anglo Indian’s violin.
That day, KPR says, he understood that ‘anything goes with a genius’.
Someone had arranged Mali’s violin concert in Bangalore. A vast crowd

had gathered. The violinist T.Chowdiah, the darling of Karnataka also
had come. A few weeks earlier, Mali had rubbed Chowdiah on the
wrong side in a concert at Madras. The Mysorean was seething. Mali
started playing a varnam. After a few minutes, Chowdiah, in a
showmanly flourish got up and left the auditorium. All hell broke loose.
Hundreds got up and began shouting, sAkku, violin sAkku, flute tagoLi,
flute tagoLi (Enough of your violin, take up the flute). Mali’s disciple
had brought a flute, just in case. Keeping the violin aside, Mali played
the flute that day. KPR says, ‘Bangalore will never realise what it lost
that day’.
MALI and PALGHAT MANI IYER
KPR had ample opportunities to witness the interaction between the two
wizards, one of the flute, the other of the mridangam. One such occasion
was at the P.S.High School grounds in Madras in the 1950s. Papa was
the violinist. Mali began his concert with the Bhairavi varnam,
‘viribONi’. Mali played the pallavi and then the swaras and then the
swaras with the refrain ‘chiru navvu’. As is usual with everyone, he
played the second kAlam also. And then he did the unthinkable. He
launched into the third speed. The third speed in a varnam is nothing to
be feared. But KPR says, his heart leapt to his mouth because Mali never
practised on the flute. The flutes he had would be scattered in his room
and on Kutchery days, his disciple Srinivasan had the unenviable task of
searching for the flute all over the room. Apart from an initial startled
look, Mani Iyer played on gamely. And any decent mridangam vidwan
can play the third speed. But what was expected of Mani Iyer was not
just accompanying the main artist. Rasikas were used to Mani Iyer
playing the song itself on the mridangam. How does one do that with
swaras in the third speed? Somehow, the varnam came to an end with
Mani Iyer just about managing to scrape through.
This had repercussions later in the concert. After the main item, Mani
Iyer started playing the tani. Now Mali never kept tALam. He never
even listened to the tani unless it was from Mani Iyer or Pazhani
Subramanya Pillai. Mani Iyer saw his opportunity beckon and while
playing, teased Mali with false starts and complicated korvais. Mali had
to, in KPR’s words, cling to a tusker running amuck, this one a Kerala
tusker at that. Somehow Mali came out of it unscathed and exclaimed,
‘sabhASh’. Mani Iyer replied, “சரியா போட்டதே பெரிசு
sariyA pOTTadE perisu” That you kept the taLam properly itself is a
great thing.
A few days later, one early morning, Mali and KPR were just talking
about this and that. KPR says, Mali’s face on that day, shone like
someone who had had his morning degree coffee (Yeah, Mali drank
coffee too, says KPR). Out of the blue Mali declared, “Mani Iyer is
great”. KPR knew something valuable would come out of Mali’s mouth
about Mani Iyer. But when it did, KPR’s cigarette fell out of his mouth.
What did Mali say? “இன்னும் சுத்தம் வேணும்” innum
shuddham vENum Needs more neatness. What cheek, what temerity,
saying something audacious like this about the great mridangam genius!
The conversation ended there.
A few days later violinist T.N.Krishnan called on Mali. KPR was there.
There was a murmured conversation about this and that. Mali had a
mridangam on his lap and was absentmindedly stroking it. The
mridangam too was like his violin. The வலந்தலை valantalai (right
side) had a lot of cracks on it, with the black part in severe disrepair. The
left side was worse than Madras roads after a storm. A little later TNK
and KPR heard something peculiar from the mridangam. Mali was just
playing the half chApu. But the purity of the sound, KPR says, he had
never heard from either Mani Iyer or Pazhani. It was then KPR
understood Mali’s words, “இன்னும் சுத்தம் வேணும்” (innum
shuddham vENum).

Palghat Mani Iyer used to say it seems, “அவன் கிட்ட ஒரு
வெறும் குச்சிய குடுத்தாக்கூட வாசிச்சுடுவன்”
avankiTTa oru kuchiya kuDuthhAkkUDa vAsichUDuvan” Even if you
give him [Mali] an ordinary stick, he can play flute on it”.
Photos: Mali in his younger days; Mali with T.N.Krishnan and Palghat
Mani Iyer in a concert in December 1970 at Krishna Gana Sabha,
Madras; K.P.Ramakrishnan (KPR) – Photo courtesy - Nochur
Narayanan

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On Flute Mali (T.R.

Mahalingam) for his 35th death anniversary that

INCREDIBLE, INDOMITABLE GENIUS

K.P.Ramakrishnan was a mathematician. For him, Mathematics and

Mali, according to KPR was a greater violinist than a flautist. Mali

Someone had arranged Mali’s violin concert in Bangalore. A vast crowd

MALI and PALGHAT MANI IYER

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