T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai was a legendary player of which instrument?

Explanation

Thiruvaduthurai Natarajasundaram Rajarathnam Pillai (1898-1956), popularly known as T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, is regarded as the greatest nadaswaram player of the 20th century. He is often called the "Emperor of the Nadaswaram".

T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai was born in Thiruvaduthurai, in the Thanjavur region of Tamil Nadu. He trained in vocal music as a child and later took up the nadaswaram. He was famous for his long and imaginative elaborations of ragas, especially the raga alapana, and his recordings of ragas such as Todi became legendary. He brought the nadaswaram, which was mainly a temple and wedding instrument, to the concert stage and gave it great prestige. He also acted in the Tamil film "Kavi Kalamegam" (1940). Other famous nadaswaram players include Karukurichi Arunachalam and Sheik Chinna Moulana, and famous earlier masters include Neeruswamy Pillai.

The nadaswaram (also spelt nagaswaram) is a large double-reed wind instrument of South India. It has a long wooden body, made traditionally from the wood of the aacha tree, with finger holes, and a flared bell at the end. It is one of the loudest non-brass acoustic instruments in the world. It is considered a "mangala vadyam" (auspicious instrument), and it is played at temple festivals, processions and weddings across Tamil Nadu and South India. It is always accompanied by the thavil, a barrel-shaped drum played with a stick and the fingers. Its North Indian counterpart is the shehnai, which is smaller.

Musical instruments in India are classified into four groups: tata (string), sushira (wind), avanaddha (drums) and ghana (solid, such as cymbals). The nadaswaram is a sushira vadya.

Why not the other options?

Veena is the ancient stringed instrument of Carnatic music, linked with players such as S. Balachander.

Mridangam is the main drum of Carnatic music, linked with Palghat Mani Iyer.

Ghatam is the clay-pot percussion instrument, linked with Vikku Vinayakram.