Tradition Lives: What Does It Mean for a Tradition Truly to Live?

The following is the welcome address delivered by Karaikudi S. Subramanian at Tradition Lives, a vina duet by Thenuga and Mathuriga Thevapalan, supported by mridangam maestro Vidwan Sri K. Arun Prakash, at The ARTery on 17 July 2026.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce two young vina players, Thenuga and Mathuriga Thevapalan.

Their performance this evening invites us to reflect together – as learners at different stages – on the meaning of tradition, its value and the manner in which it continues to live through performance.

Thenuga and Mathuriga were born and brought up in Denmark, where their family found refuge after leaving Sri Lanka during the troubled years of the 1980s. Their engagement with the vina has given them a meaningful direction in life: a means of seeking inward peace, discovering their own identity and connecting with others beyond geographical and cultural barriers through the sound of the instrument.

Let us welcome them into our community and listen to them as they continue their journey in this demanding and beautiful art of vina music.

Today’s performance is presented under the title “Tradition Lives”. It is a beautiful title, but it also raises an important question: what does it mean for a tradition truly to live?

A tradition does not live merely because old compositions are preserved in archives, because improvisations continue to be performed as acts of self-expression or because an ancient instrument continues physically to exist. It lives when its values find a home in the hearts of those willing to dedicate themselves to them.

Tradition has a remarkable way of finding such individuals. It is not always inherited by birth or through a musical family. It may also be inherited through recognition, longing and commitment. When the longing is genuine and the dedication unwavering, tradition discovers its own inheritors. Thenuga and Mathuriga are such inheritors. Through the vina, they are engaged in an intimate quest to understand what tradition means. That is what makes today’s performance especially meaningful.

They did not have the privilege of growing up within a traditional Carnatic musical environment. Yet something in the sound of the vina drew them towards it. For nearly ten years, they have pursued this demanding art with uncommon seriousness, patience and devotion. At a time when the modern world continually encourages speed, novelty and immediate effect, they have remained quietly steadfast. They have chosen depth over distraction, discipline over display and sustained engagement over passing attraction. To me, this is what it means for tradition to live.

The strength of a great tradition lies in its capacity to transmit not only knowledge and technique, but also an inner spirit, across generations, cultures and continents. Its living sap continues to nourish those who are ready to receive it. In Thenuga and Mathuriga, we see such quiet continuity and such a spirit of learning.

For this reason, I prefer to regard this evening’s event not merely as a concert, but as a performance marking the flowering of a long journey of learning, humility and reverence.

This performance is also offered in recognition of, and in fulfilment of the good wishes of, Smt. Ramani Ammal – a quiet and ardent vina player who represents a distinguished vina tradition through her guru, Smt. Ranganayaki Rajagopalan. By honouring her, these young musicians enter an artistic lineage extending beyond teachers, disciples and concerts. It is a lineage sustained by a passion for vina music and by the values embodied in that passion: seriousness of purpose, fidelity in learning and humility before the art.

This evening, I invite you to open a new space within your listening, to discover the sheer beauty of the pure sound of the vina, without frills or thrills.

The vina does not always seek to overwhelm us. Its beauty often lies in the restrained and subtle movement of a note, the resonance following a pluck, the silence surrounding a phrase and the inwardness of its sound.

Let us therefore listen beyond what is immediately impressive. Let us allow the subdued, restrained and natural acoustic voice of the vina to unfold in its own time, without expecting every musical moment to announce itself through brilliance, display, skill or scholarship.

Subdued does not mean weak. Restraint does not mean the absence of strength. Within the quiet voice of the vina lies an immense world of musical realisation, emotional depth and spiritual suggestion. It asks not merely to be heard, but to be listened to – particularly in an intimate space such as this, The ARTery.

I hope you will receive these young artistes with affection and encourage them as they continue their journey towards discovering the sheer beauty of vina music.

One of our foremost musicians to recognise the value and significance of their journey, and to support them spontaneously and without hesitation, is the mridangam vidwan Sri Arun Prakash. His readiness to accompany these budding artistes is both admirable and touching.

Sri Arun Prakash is a musician of exceptional sensitivity to the natural acoustic beauty of instruments. He does not merely accompany the vina, or, indeed, any musician. He listens, converses and responds to the finest subtleties arising in the act of music-making.

In doing so, he carries forward the highest principles of mridangam accompaniment established by legendary maestros such as Sri Manpoondia Pillai, Sri Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Sri Palani Subramania Pillai, Sri Murugabhoopathi and Sri Palghat Mani Iyer. At the heart of this valued tradition lies the principle that accompaniment is not an exhibition placed beside the music, but a sensitive and creative participation within it.

This evening, therefore, we have the rare opportunity to hear the strength of the mridangam expressed through listening, guarding, embracing and conversing with the melodic and rhythmic beauty of the vina.

May this performance remind us that traditions do not live merely because we preserve them. They live because, in every generation, a few individuals choose to enter them deeply, submit themselves to their discipline and allow their values to become part of their lives.

Thenuga and Mathuriga have made such a choice.

Let us welcome them, supported by Vidwan Sri Arun Prakash, with our warm affection, sensitive listening and heartfelt appreciation.

Below is an excerpt from the performance. For more excerpts, please visit our YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD8TKqH9dYM