Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman is a famous player of which instrument?

Explanation

Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, born in 1935, is one of the greatest mridangam players of Carnatic music. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2010, becoming the first mridangam player to receive India's second-highest civilian award.

Umayalpuram Sivaraman was born in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. He began learning the mridangam as a child and trained under great masters, such as Palani Subramania Pillai and Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer. He began performing at a young age and, over a career of more than seven decades, has accompanied almost every great Carnatic musician of his time, including Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi and M. Balamuralikrishna. He is known for his precise and creative playing, his deep understanding of rhythm and his ability to support the singer. He has also worked to improve the mridangam, conducting research on its construction and sound. He has performed in many countries and collaborated with musicians of other traditions. He received the Padma Shri (1988), the Padma Bhushan (2003), the Padma Vibhushan (2010) and the Sangita Kalanidhi.

The mridangam is the main percussion instrument of Carnatic music. It is a double-headed drum, made from a single block of jackfruit wood, with leather heads on both ends. The right head has a black spot (soru), which gives it a clear, ringing tone. In Carnatic concerts, the mridangam player plays a solo section called the "tani avartanam".

Other famous mridangam players include Palghat Mani Iyer, Palani Subramania Pillai, Karaikudi R. Mani, T.K. Murthy and Guruvayur Dorai.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ghatam is the clay-pot percussion instrument, linked with Vikku Vinayakram.
• ✗Kanjira is the small frame drum, linked with Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai.
• ✗Thavil is the barrel drum that accompanies the nadaswaram.