Chennai, Jan 25 (PTI) If the world were to take a single lesson from the 2026 Padma Shri cohort from Tamil Nadu, it would be that “persistence pays”.
Not only did they keep perfecting their art forms for decades, they also had to apply more than once to get India’s fourth highest civilian award.
“I have applied three to four times. Every time, I kept going. In any case, this sort of discipline is ingrained in us musicians,” said 70 year-old Thirvaarur Bakthavatsalam, who began accompanying his mother on mridangam when he was only nine years old.
Othuvar Thiruthani Swaminathan, who has mastered nearly 5,000 songs since he started singing “Thevaram” and “Thiruvasagam” songs at 13 years, said since he knew that winning a Padma Shri is not just about professional achievement, he was ready to try as many times as it would take for him to get it.
“There are so many facets to it. So, it would take time for things to align,” said the 81-year-old veteran Othuvar (custodian of sacred hymns).
Fortunately for him, Swaminathan, who spent 60 years singing hymns that many feared were fading into history, got it the second time round.
For someone who spent six decades as “othuvar”, Swaminathan said he got into it only because the Thuvaram Patasala in Dharmapuram, run by Dharapuram Adheenam, was willing to provide him boarding and food free of cost.
“We had to train for five years. Since I could sing well, my family decided to send me there. Those days were very rigorous, we had to learn three songs a day,” recalled Swaminathan.
Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar, a master bronze sculptor, is also a first generational artist, who enrolled himself at the Government Bronze Casting Production-cum-Training Centre in Swamimalai, which is a hub for GI-tagged bronze icons to learn the art form.
“I come from a family of farmers. Had it not been for the training centre run by the government, in an effort to preserve traditional art, it would not have been possible for me to have come this far,” said the 65-year-old sculptor who has cast nearly 4,000 bronze statues.
His son now follows his footstep, said Goundar, who too kept sending his application for Padma Shri more than three times before he could make the cut.
Punniamurthy Natesan, who specialises in “ethnoveterinary” medicine, and R Krishnan, an artist, are the other unsung heroes from Tamil Nadu, who have made it to the Padma Shri’s hall of fame. PTI JR JR SA
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