With the ‘2014 National Chowdiah Award’ going to morsing maestro L. Bhimachar, the wider picture of the art form, a largely neglected one today, has come into focus.
The 1950s saw the burgeoning of artistes, with masters shaping up students to meet the demands of Carnatic platforms. However, organisers of music programmes and artistes say that nowadays only 10 per cent of the concerts include morsing as a ‘upa-pakkavadya’ (accompanying instrument); it is not considered fundamental and imperative as the mridanga.
Naturally, the makers of this tiny instrument sourced from interior Tamil Nadu are also vanishing, says morsing professional B. Rajashekar, son of renowned morsing artiste L. Bhimachar.
Although morsing is gradually fading from the happening classical platforms, about 15 years ago this shrill twang percussion instrument got a fresh lease of life when a host of ‘laya vadya’ ensembles sprang up, much to the delight of percussion artistes and connoisseurs. At present, Karnataka has the highest number of morsing artistes in the country.
So, why does the road seem tough for morsing professionals?
Mastering the art is time-consuming, says Mr. Rajashekar. “Percussion usually starts with mridanga and if you want to branch out to the shrill twangs, then it is morsing. There was a time from the 1950s to 1970s when Mr. Bhimachar in Karnataka, Pakkiriswamy and Pudukottai Mahadevan in Tamil Nadu had trained hundreds of artistes. But the numbers have gradually dwindled. Yesteryear greats of Carnatic preferred morsing in their concerts. Today, it is up to the main artistes and the organisers to include this ‘upa-pakkavadya’. Art survives with demand, and that is the reason morsing is seen in just 10 per cent of the concerts today,” rues Mr. Rajashekar, and adds that the onus of preserving morsing is on organisers and the main artistes.
Percussion ensembles have a hugely helped morsing survive and represent Indian harp on international platforms, says Mr. Bhimachar. “But one has to go beyond survival today. The music fraternity has to preserve the heritage of Carnatic percussion with mridanga, ghata, khanjira and morsing as an inclusive package. Apart from morsing being part of percussion ensembles, the main artistes have the responsibility of making morsing add to the charm of variety rhythm,” he adds.
Chowdiah Award to L. Bhimachar
“I could not believe it when I heard that I was selected for the Chowdiah Award. It shows that morsing is not forgotten,” said L. Bhimachar.
Reminiscing, he said that in 1979 when All India Radio opened the morsing category, as a 48-year-old, he was the first artiste in Karnataka to twang his morsing on AIR. “Today, I am the first morsing artiste to be recognised for the Chowdiah Award,” he says proudly.
Of his four children, Rajashekar and Bhagyalakshmi took to morsing and Dhruvaraj to mridanga. Mr. Bhimachar and his three artiste-children have represented the nation in world percussion meets and Jewish Harp Fests across Europe. “It’s a pride to demonstrate Indian rhythm to rapturous global audiences,” says the artiste, who is credited with bringing in radical changes in styling.
Regretting the increased absence of morsing, he recollected the days when most yesteryear artistes, including T. Chowdiah, B.S. Raja Iyengar, B. Devendrappa, ‘Flute’ Mali, R.K. Srikantan, M. Balamurali Krishna and Veena Doreswamy Iyengar, preferred morsing in their concerts.
Sole female artiste
When Bhagyalakshmi M. Krishna took to morsing, she challenged a male bastion and gender bias on stage.
And the risk of the sharp instrument cutting her tongue? “There’s a knack for handling the instrument. Do we hurt our fingers daily while cutting vegetables?” says the only lady morsing player in Karnataka. She has been playing the instrument since she was eight. She has nearly 1,000 concerts to her credit. She says that the increase in ‘laya vadya’ ensembles has helped morsing gain importance and helped people get rid of gender bias on stage.
