• Legendary mridangam artist Karaikudi R Rani passed away recently.
• Born on September 11, 1945, in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, he shifted from vocal training initially to learning mridangam.
• He was greatly inspired by mridangam vidwan Palghat Mani Iyer.
• He received his first national award at a young age of 18 from the then President S Radhakrishnan.
• He was considered as one among the all-time greatest mridangam vidwans and had played alongside Carnatic giants like M S Subbulakshmi and D K Pattammal.

About Mridangam

• Mridangam is a popular bifacial drum of Carnatic music and is used as an accompaniment in South Indian Classical music.
• It is also known by the name of maddal or maddalam.
• It is one of the oldest Indian percussion instruments, originating 2,000 years ago.
• It is made of leather and jackwood.
• It is held across the lap and played on both ends with the hands and fingers.
• Other variations of Mridangam are mrdanga, pakhawaj, or tannumai.
• A similar instrument, the pakhavaj, is played in the Hindustani tradition of northern India, as well as in Pakistan and Bangladesh.