earthern amplifiers

[padmanabha]

Where else can you see those cute earthen pots?

With the invention potters wheel, he made similar structures, and used them as storage containers. His rich aesthetic sensibilities lead to the invention of many musical instruments, which are so devised as to serve the needs of Indian melodic system of music. He developed the clay pot into a percussion instrument.

But the 18th century ‘engineers’ of Travancore discovered yet another use with this poor, humble, little clay pots. That is they are capable of amplifying sound!!! Wonderful!!! So they installed them at a Royal court [no less] where the monarch musician Maharaja Swati Tirunal and his court musicians assembled during Navarathri.

For the uninitiated, the Maharajas of Travancore celebrated Navarathri[Dussera] at the Padmanabhapuram Palace. In 1829 when Swati Tirunal ascended the throne, he decided to shift the venue to the Navarathri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram. Even today the idols of the Goddess is brought from Padmanabhapuram on the elephants back, escorted by Kumaraswami the Divine Generalissimo and Munnuti Nanga one of her chief attendants.

The Maharaja has composed nine soul-stirring hymnal songs in nine ragas. The ambience of the Navarathri Mandapam has to be experienced. Huge oil lit lamps light up the concert hall. It endows the atmosphere with a mellow and reverent splendor. The musicians take their positions in front of the sanctum sanctorum. The concert exactly starts exactly at 6pm and concludes by 8.30pm. The listeners should not come late or leave early. They should not applaud as the concert is an offering than a mere performance. Great maestros like Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, G N Balasubramaniam, M D Ramanathan, Mussiri Subramania Iyer had graced the occasion many times.



The mandapam is tastefully decorated. On the ceiling of the concert hall you can see bamboo frames, held in position by coir. In each frame earthen pots of varying sizes are kept with its mouth downwards in different angles. They act as sound reflectors, ensuring even distribution of sound, when there was no sound system. Today most modern systems are available and still these pots are preserved as such and they continue amplifying sound. Hats off to those unknown acoustic technicians, who developed this 17 decades ago.

[Alan]

Interesting!!!!! Miraculous! WE have an Earthern pot in our home for storing cool water - so much better than refridgerated water. But the fact that it amplifies sound is new to me!