A century-old ivory nagaswaram

Chitrai Nayakar, the instrument’s original owner, is said to have played it at the wedding of the famed poet Subramania Bharathi.

It is still in good condition and Chitrai Nayakar, a nagaswaram player and owner of the instrument, is said to have played it at the wedding of national poet Subramania Bharathi.

“Chitrai Nayakar was my grandfather, and the instrument was gifted to me by my mother Meenakshi in 1962 when I got married. My grandfather had told my mother that he played at the wedding of Bharathiyar,” said advocate Ramani Natarajan, who now preserves the instrument.

It is a small timiri-type nagaswaram, capable of producing high pitch music. The lower part — anusu — and upper part of the instrument are made of ivory, and such instruments were normally possessed by musicians of great talent and fame. Chitrai Nayakar died in 1925.