Kottayam :

Renowned exponent of Sopana Sangeetham  Padmanabha Marar, 113, passed away at Ramapuram  in Kottayam district on Wednesday.

Marar used to play Edakka and sing at the Sreerama Swamy temple in Ramapuram near Pala for over 100 years. For last few years he was leading a retired life at his residence in Ramapuram. Funeral will be held at his residential premises at 3pm on Thursday.

Marar began singing at the temple at the age of eight. He first came to the temple in the year 1905 and continued to sing and play edakka till the age of 110. The state Sangeetha Nataka Akademi had honoured him with Gurupooja for his contribution and expertise in the music form. He was a regular at various temples in the district with his music.

His father was his first guru in sopana sangeetham. Later he went to Puthussery Narayana Marar and Thirumaradi Sankara Kurup for further studies.

For several decades he used to wake up at the brahma muhurtham and his day would begin with a dip in the temple pond. By 3.30 am, he would whistle the conch and later played edakka for the various poojas during the day. For the past few years, his sons have been helping him by taking turns.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kozhikode News / Jaikrishnan Nair / TNN / April 04th, 2018