The Making of the Mridangam - A Documentary Film

A humble presentation of the process of making the mridangam, an ancient instrument used in South Indian Classical Carnatic music. The documentary film covers the processes of making the wooden shell at Panruti, Tamil Nadu and the attachment of the drum heads to finish making the mridangam.
There is also a small segment about the usage of a synthetic alternative in the material of the drum head and related innovations, beautifully explained by Sri Ramkumar R, mridangam artiste.
Hope you like it!
Direction, Cinematography: Vishruthi Girish
Assistant Cinematographer: Adith Krishnan
Wooden Shell Maker - Sri Govindaraj R, Panruti - [phone]
Mridangam Repairer - Sri A Sowriyar (Sowri) - [phone]
Background Score: "Chakkani Raja" by J A Jayanth - • Carnatic music | Flute...

[@francisxavier5498]

I just completed reading Sebastian and sons by Mr. T. M. Krishna. I listened to Sri . Palghat Mani Iyer's thani avarthanam. Just then I came across this video. Excellent and very informative. Let the tradition be preserved and may we honour those who make the MRDANGAMS.

[@mridul1075]

south indians are saving and glorifying our culture. salute to you. jai hind

[@a.m.karthick629]

This is how a documentary should be, great man.

[@sharanghanvijayakumar4006]

Great documentary.....and i would prefer the traditional Mrithangam over the Synthetic Mrithangam.

[@XinaCCPFreeTibet]

synthetic polluting crap sounds like a tin can :D Artisan, biodegradable piece of arts sounds amazing.

[@balumuthu]

@@XinaCCPFreeTibet Absolutely true. Anyone with musically sensitive ears will immediately agree. Traditionally made mridangam and other instruments for rhythm and melody are the best of nurture and promote Indian classical music to entertain Indian ears with harmony, melody and rhythm and bring them real peace of mind free from noises in which the environment abounds.

[@prashantp495]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmbde4aAoNJ6mZY

[@prashantp495]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4XFf5eobK96fM0

[@tamizhan1197]

Everything was created by our ancestors for our purpose and traditional mridangam is one of them . Since the synthetic mridangam dies not requires maintenance it directly pr indirectly affects the people who make and service mridangam and nature is only the only best in all forms . Even though synthetic mridangam is good, traditional mridangam is the BEST

[@VRENTRTAINMENTS]

Good video, but comedy thing is he says it sounds similar...🤦🏻‍♂️🙏 There is huge difference Swami 🙏 You can clearly see the difference at last while he was playing synthetic mridangam for one beat the sound is vibrating there is no stabilization in it... and the real traditional mridangam music bit played at last minute sounds real... there is no vibration sound continuous for 1 beat...You can clearly listen it...🙏😊👍

[@SDmusiccomposer]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoiYfWWFfbOYgac

[@chanderbhansital-sk8gu]

Very great video thank you very much with God's blessings ❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@shankarr8842]

From 11.57 to 12.57 was the portion I enjoyed the most. What a reverberating tone for kappi and kutchi and how beautifully he demonstrates it!

[@nivrittiassociatesllp1003]

This was a good documentary. Thanks. I have been practising and playing Mridangam for many years now. Over the last 8 years I have replaced this with the synthetic mridangam. No doubt it is not any way closer to the traditional mridangam, but I get a satisfaction of playing the mridangam which is not an animal product. I am sure over the years the makers of the synthetic mridangam will be able to improve the 'naadam' .

[@violinmak21]

Very nice and with great effort Vishruthi has done this documentary. I congratulate her. Congratulations to Gayathri Girish her mother to encourage her daughter to do this kind of research oriented documentary.

[@VishruthiGirish]

Thank you uncle! 😄

[@kishank593]

Being a Mirudhangam player myself, it is very interesting to see how this instrument was made possible. Thank you for the video.

[@amiteshverma4000]

I am from Delhi and want to learn can you help me ... to get classes in Delhi if u hv any idea ...

[@kishank593]

@@amiteshverma4000 sorry, I am not from Delhi so I do not know, but you can look on KZbin for some videos on how to play mirudhangam

[@jagadeeshutukuru6111]

Two types of mridangam were mentioned. Which one should I pick if I need to learn now?

[@kishank593]

@@jagadeeshutukuru6111 personally, i think you should start by using the traditional wooden mirudhangam then try the fibre glass mirudhangam later on

[@redlance9010]

Amazing video...learning mridangam myself its amazing to hear the story on how this wonderful instrument is made!!! Thanks for uploading such a video!

[@JeyakanthanNitharsan2]

it's a very clear documentary. thanx.

[@Parshuram_61]

As a documentary filmmaker/editor myself, I think it’s a nicely made film. Synthetic mridangam still needs to evolve, and it might take many more years of effort and innovation before it catches up with its traditional cousin. But then it can totally eliminate usage of animal parts that are often procured by unethical means. Hope to see more from Vishruti Girish.

[@silentone001]

Sorry to say, but the synthetic one's sound does have a lot to improve

[@sunilamaranth5606]

Music is nature, I was amazed to know that it's jackfruit bark that the main body is made out of in conventional mridangam. Trees, animal and rice...all these resources goes into to get a perfect Shruthi. However, people who are currently concerned about the usage of natural resources, I do not think that it's bad to use natural resources. Due to the humans indescrimant use of resources we are seeing the synthetic mrigandam. Back in those days natural resources was never in conservation mode..it used to get utilised judiciously. So people never found an alternative. Now we are in full mode of conservation, it's quite obvious to feel the heat of artificialness in our life and music too. Rather than conservation mode, we need to reach a point where in the resources are abundant, sustainable and in a utilisation mode. I hope that day will come very soon.

[@agnijitdeb1558]

Well Said..

[@kavitaraghuwanshi2106]

Wood is ok but leather is causing heavy cruelty and suffering onto animals , we should at least change that , traditional they used dead animal skins , but now a days they are killing animals as brutally as they can to obtain leather , this should be stopped....and replaced as soon as possible.....

[@GiriNaidu]

All Hand work only. How complex would have the process of making when no machines were there. Such a beauty really..!!

[@devendranathtiwari1432]

आपके द्वारा बनाई गए दोनों डाक्यूमेंट्री बेहद ज्ञानवर्धक एवं सुरूचि पूर्ण हैं। आपकी मेहनत और लगन को हम नमन करते हैं...

[@saitheja2344]

Loved your articulations on Indian Culture. Hope, you do it More.

[@vishnucnair5645]

Great video , mridangam is one of my favourite musical instrument... 👍👍

[@jaymistry779]

A great piece of cinema. Look forward to future projects.

[@sherwoodestatespii3936]

A nice documentary, with lots of information. Hats off to you. But still, I wonder how could dead animal's skin be taken inside Temples.

[@Kamath.venkat]

I was thinking the same. I asked my granddad. Apparently, it's not allowed in the main gopura., but still didn't make sense.

[@Rajesh04009]

Great Work Vishruthi Girish. Deserves admiration and appreciation from Heart.

[@kartikiyers]

Very informative documentary. Though in my opinion the traditional instrument cannot be replaced, the topic is still debatable. Excellent video thanks.

[@MkMk-es6ml]

மிக அருமையான பதிவு.... இத்துறையை பற்றி உலகிற்கு பரப்பியமைக்கு மிக்க நன்றிகள்

[@muhammadkhan2532]

A Captivating documentary: love the background Mirdangam and Flute. Every minute of the documentary adds to my knowledge. Thank you!

[@MohanAyyar]

Very informative and nicely produced documentary! Great that you are documenting the unique arts and crafts of South India.

[@chlakshmisowjanya2010]

Making man's r great and thanks for this great documentary

[@ellantikishore6843]

Please continue this channel, Don’t stop. I liked both of your videos very much.

[@srisri9937]

The only Instruments which are traditionally made are used for God's seva. Synthetic mrudangam may have its pros but tradition is tradition in my view. Very happy to watch traditional making of mrudangam. Thanks for uploading 🙏

[@kajal2736]

Wow amazing video. So beautiful

[@mattkamar9994]

super documentary.... Thanks

[@dreamcometrue4365]

We are expecting many more videos like this from you, thank you

[@lakshmananvaidhyanathan9858]

Excellent Vishruthi. Best Wishes for all your endeavours in future

[@venkimuck]

Fantastic documentary. Hope you can do many more like these to bring the unsung heroes out.

[@Studela]

Very interesting documentary, waiting for more videos from you.

[@sadakagaja]

Thanks Awesome Proud to be a Indian

[@mayankmishra7801]

Thanks for such an awesome video.

[@gspkmr]

This is nothing but great!

[@ramamaddy]

Very professional and passionate work! Thanks to your efforts!

[@sunil_gowda]

Absolutely fantastic documentary, really awesome the way it is covered, very informative and very crisp, loved it. Please do such informative documentary in future. Looking forward for more from you mam.

[@sreevidhyabharadwaj4309]

Awesome. Cosmos is filled with music

[@dhanashrivaishnavi9708]

mam please make more videos on Indian traditions and science behind it.it was a excellent video.though i am a Indian still i don't know about our traditions and science behind it.

[@vijaybalajiks]

Really nice ! Loved the film making equally!

[@raga.shankar]

Beautiful and Informative! Setting standards for juniors Vish🔥🙈❤️

[@deeparekha.s.vveeravalli5551]

Informative and fabulous

[@HarishKottayam]

Great documentary. I never knew synthetic mridangam is there. Thank you for introducing this.

[@bhanuuthangarai6019]

Very interesting , informative documentary well produced as well. Thank you. U.V.Bhanu

[@r2x3258]

Nicely made documentary! Thank you for this :)

[@balumuthu1]

Mridangam making, indred indigenous producyion of virtually any Indian musical "vasdyams" (rstger than instruments) continues to be a great art snd science involving meticulous care for precision of detail at all stsges. This tradition is indispenssble for preserving the superior quality of Indian music, all the more so of Carnstic music, thus ensuring that the final result of good music (assuming equally good grade of the musicians), is great. In most cases it will be televant to note that close interaction between the artistes snd the traditional artisans/craftsmen exists as necessary. Science snd technology based commercial, mass-oriented production of instrumrntal aids will be acceoted as adequste for most of today's 'cine quality music'.

[@aneeshprasobhan]

The synthetic mrithangam sound totally different. The traditional mrithangam is the best.

[@rezikesha190]

For people who doesn't live in India synthetic is better because traditional needs constant repair

[@aneeshprasobhan]

@@rezikesha190 i see. 👍

[@whitecatpink9675]

Very interesting and informative! Thanks for posting!

[@abhinavmanuvel5699]

Thanks for the video... The feel of traditional can't be obtained with the synthetic.. traditional may be heavy but that gives us d feel.. Keep using traditional as long as we can.. Video shows how traditional mirudangam is made, shows the hard labor in it and in the end it seems like a promo for the synthetic...

[@VishruthiGirish]

Yes, every artiste has their own preference and they are entitled to their choices. The intention of this documentary film was simply to create awareness about the options available in the material of the instrument. Not as a promotion to any particular kind :)

[@geisha-12]

Most people who prefer synthetic is because it free from any animal product. So even if someone believes in vegan lifestyle they can play the instrument now.

[@Aaauum]

thanks. I was looking to buy mridhangam shell . this has helped me a lot. Thanks

[@balajisundaram42]

Great documentary Vishruthi.

[@venkatramanan6443]

Commendable efforts Vishruthi & Adith. Very good one 👍

[@KarthikReddy-tkr]

Amazing technology Thank you for making the video

[@krishnamohanchavali6937]

Valuable documentation sir🙏

[@chaltahijaoon4874]

Excellent ! Hope it will improve further and Take the Stage!. An Annual Performance of these new instruments by Various Artists will give Awareness to General People. And I think never an Animal was killed to make these instruments Only skins of Dead Animals were used.But Anyway People(Some) can't criticise After usage of this material. 🙏 Thank you.

[@anirudhr163]

Good job.... waiting for the next video

[@dhagetita6924]

Amazing process description

[@thotagopi3937]

For your kind information this channel made only two videos both of them are awesome.

[@harishsubramanian6490]

Very nice documentry 😀😀

[@Rajesh-pm2xj]

இத்தனை வேலைபாடா பா , மிக அருமை👏👏

[@mahaveerindra]

Informative, amazing.

[@vijayarjunar2766]

Great video n details

[@mahen2165]

kaigalil kalai vannam padaithaan manithan. miga arumai

[@ranjithay6118]

u have really done a great job

[@paddychaware]

Thank you for this Documentary. I always wondered how this beautiful instrument is constructed and how this sound is achieved. Though I would have liked to have another section in this documentary which throws light on the comparison of sound between the traditionally made and modern synthetic made instrument, but since the documentary was on the making, no matter what I personally will always prefer the sound of instrument made traditionally as they sound more fuller and beautiful. One request- If you could make another documentary on the making of Veena (any type) It would be very helpful and educating.

[@swarajjadhav9946]

Thank you for this video 😊

[@russellm3702]

Beautiful beautiful ❤️❤️❤️ Vishruthi

[@vsmanitnv4997]

Mam, we are motivated by these vedios Please upload more vedios for us Thank you 😊

[@prithikagopalakrishnan7083]

Great documentary!! Ban synthetic🙀go natural!!❤

[@svanan77]

Documentary very well done. I enjoyed very much. The topic is on natural mridangam. It nice if this natural mridangam played first and as innovation the synthetic mridangam been introduced. Though the synthetic mridangam is said to have similar sound, when he plays can sense the artificial sound it produces. Each beat oscillates more than usual. Please do more documentary, you have a natural talent.

[@sowburnekasenthil5745]

So Good. Man please do more documentaries. Thank you

[@jackb9146]

Very nice demonstration.

[@govindnair5604]

The content is really beneficial 👍👍👍👍

[@arunsadasivan1738]

Two super videos. Please upload more videos

[@SureshSuresh-vb3nv]

Good work done 👍

[@sagargirijann]

Thanks for this!!

[@vinothrejith8737]

very nice use full video

[@thirupathyselvaraj7803]

A concise documentary😃😃

[@sidharthanaramban2061]

Great upload...✌️✌️😍😍😍 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Thanks...

[@sreekanthpn8901]

The backdrop of kharaharapriya is beautiful

[@cksumpire]

More difficult than making a cricket bat. I saw 'Pioneer" bat manufacturing at Lethpora near Srinagar and the process of bat making is more simplified because of less nusances in making but both are more or less similar.

[@shankararamantk2181]

Nothing to equal the bass and resonance of the jack fruit based traditional kutchi mridangam. Old is gold just as the saying goes. Its like comparing a vintage cast iron bullet's thump with a modern that of an interceptor.

[@lucagambirasio]

Very interesting, thanks!

[@kalyanasundaramjanakiraman1186]

இதை செய்வதற்கு நிறைய பொறுப்பு தேவை.கவனமாக செய்ய வேண்டும்.நல்ல டாக்குமெண்டரி.வாழ்த்துகள்

[@Borishal]

Thank you, Guruji.

[@xen_kat]

Very well made!

[@midhunvr4876]

traditional innovation...

[@sundararaghavan9032]

EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY- WHAT I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING - THIS IS THE TIMELY UPLOAD I SAW TO ASCERTAIN MY VIEW - AS I KNOW MANY PERCUSSIONISTS- AGAINST SRI TM K ‘S BLABBERING- I WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SRI TRS - THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR DOCUMENTARY AS I PERSONALLY THINK ONLY SRI TRS’S BLESSINGS ONLY I SAW THIS TO CLEAN THE VOMIT 🤮 AGAINST CLASSICAL SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC WHICH IS NOW CORRODED WITH POLITICS- CASTE - RELIGION- RACE TO GET PERSONAL GAINS- ONCE AGAIN 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@UMS9695]

Wonderful effort!

[@reinshorseriding8453]

Great information provided ma'am!! Hope more such videos are posted..... and is such a video available for a Ghatam too??

[@rickyanthony]

Amazing video

[@MS-ql4ug]

👏Great video

[@BitcoinBabu369]

Superb. 👌🙏

[@balumuthu]

This is a very informative video of genuine value on the art and science of mridangam making. The video is all the more warmly welcome even as alien forces are seriously trying to inject the poison of pseudo social justice with the use of certain shortsighted and selfish artistes of classical music,. The pseidos are blinded by selfish political ambitions due to their feeling of insecurity and discontent practising our supetior spiritual music. WARMRST CONGRATS TO THE PRODUCERS AND UPLOADERS OF THIS. Sure, you will ignore the pseudos, remain faithful to ensuring perfection of your srt. Gor conservatism is after all "it is necessary not to change it is necessary to change".

[@gokulchandran5586]

very informative video....

[@aztecahernandez6539]

I still prefer the ORIGINAL. GREETINGS FROM A MEXICAN.

[@kumaraiyer5353]

This puts Sébastien and Son in context🙏