Does Kokkoroachi ring a bell? Or Kinneeram? Perhaps Kudukkaveena? These are among the rare musical instruments from the collection of Joseph V. Fernandes, aka Joy, at Kunnukuzhi in Thiruvananthapuram. The guitarist-turned music researcher says over the years he has collected or made over 4,000 musical instruments, most of them rare and not in common use today.
He says his quest for traditional and unique musical instruments began quite accidentally when a foreigner walked into his musical shop in the city with a list of instruments he was interested in purchasing. Realising that many of the instruments on the list were either unavailable or unknown to him, Joy began a journey that took him to the length and breadth of the State, including old houses and tribal hamlets. These trips resulted in him amassing a vast collection of unique percussion, string and wind instruments.
Among his prized possessions are a 150-year-old Tutari, which used to be played to announce the arrival of royalty; an ancient Nanduni he collected from a mana in Palakkad; and a nearly 500-year-old Sarangi. “Nearly 2,000 of the rare instruments in my collection were handed over to the musical museum in memory of Palakkad Mani Iyer started in Kalpathy by the Kerala Folklore Akademi,” says Joy. Maram, Thudi, Karu, Vadi Chilambu, Para, Weekchenda, and Thappu, which find pride of place at his Joy’s Musicals - Centre for Research in World Musical Instruments, are used in folk music.
Narsinga, an S-shaped .
