panchavadyam

Panchavadyam means an orchestra of five instruments and it originates from Kerala and is a temple associated art form. The five instruments used in Panchavadyam are Maddalam, Komb, Edakka, Elathalam and Mimila. Among the five instruments used four of them Timila, Maddalam, Edakka and Elathalam are percussion instruments and Komb is a wind instrument. Sankh or conch is also used as an ancillary instrument. There are different types of panchavadyam depending on the number of instruments. The minimum requirement is three timilas, one suddha-maddalam, two elathalams, two kombs, one edakka, and one sankh. The positioning of the artists is also important and mandatory. The timila and suddha-maddalam artists face each other, elathalam artists stand behind timila artists and komb artists stand behind suddha-maddalam artists. Edakka drummers and the sankh blower stand in front, next to them. Blowing of sankh signals the start of panchavadyam. The famous Thrissur Pooram gives an opportunity to witness the playing of a full complement of Panchavadyam, numbering more than 200. A larger ensemble of this orchestral form is also called sevanga panchavadyam. Similar to chenda melam, panchavadyam is also characterised by a pyramid rhythmic structure, the ever increasing tempo, and the proportionally decreasing number of beats in a cycle.