MALLARI
Mallari as known to everybody is a musical form played on Nagaswaram at the outset of any deity’s procession. It is in a way, a signature tune and anyone can easily understand that the temple diety has commenced the rounds. The form and compositions of Mallari are generally believed to be the off-shoots of ‘Prabhandham’. Even though there are possibilities that the word “ Mallari” may have a tamil origin, we cannot say from which language it originally is. “ Malla ” means wrestler or Palanquin bearer and “ Ri ” means the voluminous sound produced by the palanquin bearer when they carry it. To equate this sound, the work mallari came to be used particularly in temples. An agama “Dhvajarohana vidhi” speaks about a tune called Mallara that should be sounded when the deity starts from its abode. The Mallara might have by the course of time, corruptly gained the name “Mallari”. Interestingly, there is a raga called Mallara a janya of Kharaharapriya (22 nd Mela) with the scal
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