top of page
Genre
Anthropology, Colonization, Casteism, History, Music, Gender
Theme
Sebastian and Sons explores the world of these artists, their history, lore and lived experience, caste dynamics they had to face to arrive at a more organic and holistic understanding of the music that the mrdangam makes.
Gist
The mrdangam is an integral part of the Karnatik stage, its primary percussion instrument. Yet—startling as this is—the instrument as we know it is only a century old. T.M. Krishna investigates the history of the mrdangam and meets the invisible keepers of a tradition: the mrdangam makers.
The making process is an intellectually, aesthetically and physically taxing one. From acquiring the skins for the circular membranes and straps to the wood for the drum, from curing the material to the final construction, and at the end of it all, making sure that it has the tone that the mrdangam player wants, mrdangam-making is also a highly nuanced operation at every stage.
bottom of page