Karnanadham

The village of Peruvemba, in Palakkad, is one of the major hubs for traditional percussion instruments and it proudly owns a GI tag for the renowned Palakkad Maddalam. Peruvemba and its artisans not only showcase their expertise in the unique Maddalam making process but also serve as one of the most trusted spots for precise tuning adjustments for all kinds of percussion instruments across Kerala. Their 200 years-long traditional route of making maddalams have given them the reputation of being the manufactures and suppliers of the instrument solely for
the maestros in the field of music. Their technical proficiency lies in the skill of fine-tuning of the maddalam skin, which is achieved through their exceptional hearing ability. This expertise is something that they have acquired over the years from their ancestors, as each of the unique sounds of maddalam can only be tapped and tested manually by the artisans. These traditional craftsmen with their extreme skills in maddalam who toil for a year-round to produce precise instruments often go unsung. They have even started to face a gradual loss in labor with their older set
of craftsmen, who are well versed with the tuning, now find it strenuous to manually tighten and tune the maddalam skin as it takes up a lot of physical effort for its perfection. The accurateness of the maddalam tones is acquired with the combined effect of the artisan’s tedious hard labor of tightening the leather skin, along with their keen hearing sense. This notion of the craft is one which is been tried to portray through the video clip. Rendering a view of the craft’s workspace with close observation and introducing a parallel concept to point out its significance is the key
elements targeted to animate the clipping