Thayambaka or tayambaka is a type of solo chenda

Chenda

The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....

 performance that developed in the south India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and ilathalam players around.

A thayambaka performance on the chenda has thus its focus on the stick-and-palm rolls produced on the itantala (treble) of the chenda, while the rhythm is laid by his fellow instrumentalists on the valanthala (bass) chendas and ilatalam (cymbal

Cymbal

Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...

s).. Thayambaka, believed to have flourished during the feudal era, spans an average of 90 minutes. It begins at a slow pace before scaling on to a medium tempo and eventually culminating in high, frenzied speed. It has a skeletal pattern on which the performance progresses, but the main performer has the liberty to improvise and innovate to showcase his grip of rhythm, finesse of techniques and cerebral brilliance. In fact, thayambaka is one chenda concert that allows maximum individual freedom to the main player.

Thayambaka, like panchavadyam

Panchavadyam

Panchavadyam, literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four -- timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka -- belong to the percussion category, while the fifth one, kombu, is a wind instrument.Much like any...

 or most chenda melams, is primarily a temple art, but it is also performed outside shrines -- like on proscenium stages, open fields or pagentry grounds. As a ritual temple art, thayambaka is performed mostly at the annual festivals soon after the sunset ritual of deeparadhana inside the sanctum sanctorum, following which the deity is brought to the nadappura (open hall inside the temple precincts). In such cases too, artful exhibition of skills remain prominent, yet the performance is regarded as an offering to the presiding god/goddess. Like any art, thayambaka has its connoisseurs huddled around, listening to every beat of the player and judging them critically.

Over the past half a century or so, there have also been thayambaka performances with more than one main player. If they total two, it is called double thayambaka; and if they are three, it is called triple thayambaka. Rarely, there is also the pancha thayambaka, featuring five main chenda players in a row. One of the earliest to design and execute a double thayambaka was Prof.M N Nambudiripad of Moothiringode Mana near Pattambi. He was a percussionist, a photographer, an electronics engineer and a connoisseur of all art forms. According to Sri Kanhoor Krishnan Nambudiripad, Thrithala Kunhikrishna Poduval and Kodalil Gopi Poduval were the first to perform under the guidance of Prof Nambudiripad at Moothiringode Mana. The second performance was at Pulamanthole temple, near Pattambi.
Thayambaka, like any major percussion art in India, is largely a male domain, though of late it has a handful of women practitioners as well. Also, thayambaka is occasionally performed on the mizhavu

Mizhavu

A mizhav or mizhavu is a big copper drum played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the Koodiyattam and Koothu, performing arts of Kerala . It is played by the Ambalavasi Nambiar community.The drum is played only with hands...

, an instrument that provides support to koodiyattam

Koodiyattam

Koodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...

 and koothu

Koothu

Koothu , means dance or performance in Tamil language, is a folk art originated from the early Tamil country. But more precisely Koothu refers Therukoothu that is street dance or street play since it will be performed village squares. At early age the art of entertainment reached its peak in...

 performances, besides idakka

Idakka

The idakka , also spelt edaykka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from Kerala in south India. This handy percussion instrument is very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a stick...

 and less common instruments like villu

Villu

Villu means Bow in some South Indian Languages* Hari Villu kamal* Onavillu, a simple, short bow-shaped musical instrument* Villu , a Mitanni fish-deity* Villu , a 2009 Tamil film directed by Prabhu Deva...

. Certain patterns of rhythmic rolls in the thayambaka have influenced the taniyavartanam, the 20-minute-or-so instrumental concert on Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

 concerts, where mridangam plays the lead role.

Prominent Schools of Thayambaka

Thayambaka, which predominantly developed in central Kerala, has two major schools -- called Malamakkavu and Palakkad. The Malamakkavu school is known for its measured progression and grammatical purity, especially in the initial Pathikaalam stage. The Palakkad school revels in imagination and lays emphasis on an improvisation-filled Kooru besides a prolonged yet patterned irikida.

It is another matter that thayambaka manifests itself with subtle changes in patterns and overall aesthetics in all the places it has developed over the years -- from northern Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 to the erstwhile provinces of Kochi and Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

.

Leading Masters of Thayambaka

Thayambaka today has its masters ranging from veterans to youngsters. To name a few, they include Sadanam Vasudevan, Kalloor Ramankutty Mara r, Pallassana Ponnukutta Marar, Kalamandalam Balaraman, Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar, Thriprangodu Parameswaran Marar, Kallekkulangara Achuthankutty Marar, Sukapuram Radhakrishnan, Manjeri Haridas, Kadannappilly Sankarankutty, Payyavur Narayana Marar, Porur Haridas, Porur Unnikrishnan, Kalpathy Balakrishnan

Kalpathy Balakrishnan

Kalpathy Balakrishnan is an Indian percussionist who plays the chenda , Thayambaka, Panchari melam, and Panchavadyam. He was born in a small village called kalpathy in the palakkad district of Kerala. He won Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Award for the best thayambaka artist.-References:...

, Athaloor Sivan, Cheruthazham Chandran, Thrithala Kesavadas-Sankarakrishnan, Cherpulassery Krishnakumar Poduval, Chendamangalam Unnikrishna Marar, Kanhangad Muraleedhara Marar, Thiruvalla Radhakrishnan, Guruvayur Haridas, Guruvayur Sasi, Thrithala Sreeni, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, Peruvanam Satheesan Marar, Vellinezhi Anand, Panamanna Sasi, Sadanam Ramakrishnan, Neeleswaram Santhoshkumar-Nandakumar, Pramodkumar, Mattannur Srikanth-Sriraj, Cherpulassery Rajesh, Jayan and Vijayan, Arangottukara Sivan,Kanhangad(Madiyan Kovilakam)Radhakrishna Marar.

The late masters of the modern age, say from the 1950s, include Malamakkavu Kesava Poduval, Thiruvegappura

Thiruvegappura

Thiruvegappura is a Valluvanad village on the bank of river Thutha, a tributary to the Bharathapuzha River, serving as the gateway to Palakkad District, for inboard traffic from the northern Malabar districts of Kerala....

Rama Poduval and Thiruvegappura Sankunni Poduval, Pallassana Padmanabha Marar, Thiyyadi (Narayanan) Nambiar, Thrithala Kunhikrishna Poduval, Pallavur Appu Marar, Alipparambu Sivarama Poduval, Thrithala Kesava Poduval, Peruvanam Appu Marar, Pallavur Kunhukuttan Marar, Kodulil Gopi Poduval, Pookkattiri Divakara Poduval, Neettiyathu Govindan Nair, Mulangunnathukavu Appukutta Kurup and Angadippuram Krishnadas, Kottakkal Kuttan Marar.