Tamil Nadu’s classical wind instrument ‘Narasinghapettai Nagaswarm’ gets GI tag

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s traditional wind instrument ‘Narasinghapettai Nagaswaram’ made by traditional village artisans of Kumbakonam has got the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

The GI registry has issued the registration certificate based on the application filed on January 31, 2014.

Nodal officer for GI registration of products of Tamil Nadu government, P. Sanjai Gandhi, in a statement, said that the application for the GI tag for the Narasinghapettai Nagaswaram was filed on behalf of the Thanjavur Musical Instruments Workers Cooperative Cottage Industrial society and felicitated by his team.

He said that the artisans based in Narasinganpetti village are making them through specialised processing skills. The technique and skill of making these instruments were inherited from their forefathers.

Sanjai Gandhi said that the nagaswaram now used by artists throughout is called “pari naggeswaram” and is longer than “Thimiri”. A major portion of Narasinghapettai Nagaswaram is made from the traditional wood “acha”, according to the makers, and provides a unique sound modulation.

N. Karuppuswamy, an artisan working in his field, said: “We use the wood from parts of old houses and the wood used is ‘acha’ or Hardwickia binate. We use drilling machines also other than carpentry tools and these nagaswarams are played widely in functions like temples festivals and weddings. We are happy that our product has got the GI tag.”