mridangam for sale on may 25

suma · Post by **suma** » 12 May 2009, 20:40

recently someone posted a post asking where to buy a mridangam. I cant find the post. A senior visiting artist is looking to sell his mridangam for $300 on May 25. Sruthi is G or G# (I forgot). If anyone is interested, please send me a note though the forum and I will connect you with the vidwan.

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 12 May 2009, 21:33

is it kappi or kucchi

naaree · Post by **naaree** » 12 May 2009, 21:35

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... angam.html

tburton · Post by **tburton** » 12 May 2009, 21:47

Suma,
I posted the original message, and would definitely be interested in purchasing. My mridangam is a G shruti (roughly) as well, so that would be great. Where is the member located? Also, is it kappi or kucchi?

suma · Post by **suma** » 12 May 2009, 21:52

it is kucchi and sruthi is 5
i just spoke to the artist
who ever wants to buy this, please make arrangements to have it picked up from chicago

suma · Post by **suma** » 13 May 2009, 00:00

just sold the mridangam to member tburton
we can close this post now

appu · Post by **appu** » 13 May 2009, 22:45

suma wrote:A senior visiting artist is looking to sell his mridangam for $300 on May 25. Sruthi is G or G#

A good mridangam in India costs about 4000 to 5000 Rs. That is about $100.00 Sale price at $300.00 seems to be excessive even by US standards. A 200 percent mark up. Wow. I personally think that is a rip off and might set a new trend in the sale of mridangams.

This is my personal opinion.

suma · Post by **suma** » 13 May 2009, 23:21

appu, i have nothing to do with this price. it was quoted by the artist as the selling price and that's what I wrote. as it is i dont know anything about mridangams. i had to call the artist to ask what this kappi and kucchi meant!!
Anyways, now the artist and the buyer are connected with each other and are dealing with this sale directly.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 13 May 2009, 23:27

Whilst it also seemed high to me, I have not bought a mridangam anywhere for quite a few years, so I made no comment on the price.

Mridangams in UK used to be over twice the price they cost here, and we did not think that was unreasonable. Actually, friends in African percussion used to be amazed that the mridangam cost so much less than their much simpler instruments!

They are hard to come by there anyway, but you'd be very lucky to get a morsing for less than Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£5 in UK --- Rs100 here?

It is very difficult to judge this sort of pricing. It is partly charging what the market will stand, regardless of "value", and it is partly a mutual agreement and recognition that purchaser would have to pay far more money to travel to India and buy the same instrument to take home, so is happy.

gn.sn42 · Post by **gn.sn42** » 13 May 2009, 23:27

appu wrote: A good mridangam in India costs about 4000 to 5000 Rs. That is about $100.00 Sale price at $300.00 seems to be excessive even by US standards. A 200 percent mark up. Wow. I personally think that is a rip off

I find this attitude depressing. Most of the time, an instrument actually used by an artist in a concert is worth many times its street value:
Hendrix guitar
Britney gloves

Even if you set aside the collectible value, many of us will find great value in having that instrument selected, tuned, adjusted, and tested in concert by a professional artist.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 13 May 2009, 23:40

Not depressing, it is a fair comment, even though one may disagree.

Following on from your last paragraph, the person who travels to Chennai, buys their mridangam and takes it back to USA may find that the black spot starts to disintegrate within weeks. This happens to experienced mridangists, who are forced, by the lack of repairers in their countries, to stock spare heads and do their own repairs. The fact that an instrument has survived a professional stage bashing really does add value!

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 14 May 2009, 03:19

Usually a mridangam artist knows about his US tours a good 4 to 5 months in advance. In a situation like this, he starts preparing the unit(s) he is proposing to take from that date onwards. In my brother's case, the repairman comes to the house ( my brother does not allow the units to go outside the house, except for kutcheris) and does the necessary work at home, including preparing the black spot on the right side of the unit. The unit is then played for concerts as often as possible. This settles the unit down and acclamatises to the weather as much as possible. The unit is then well packed to with stand the journey. Needless to say, this adds to the weight of other things he has to carry on the long US tour. While I will not debate on the price for which the mridangam was ultimately sold, considering the care and the expense that go into the units, I would like to believe that the amount charged is commensurate with the quality.

Finally, matters of this nature are better not discussed in a public forum where the participants are not fully aware of the facts and the nature of the transaction. It would have been advisable to correspond privately using the forum's email facility. This is just my personal opinion.....regards.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 14 May 2009, 06:35

I agree with Sam. I can guess whose mridangam this is and the seller is a man of impeccable integrity. A professional mridangam that is fine-tuned by such a vidwan is priceless. I don't think you could walk into a store in Mylapore and just buy such an instrument.

Mr. Burton, I wish you many years of good music with your new instrument.

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 14 May 2009, 08:31

As someone who purchases mridangams, 300 is a fair and reasonable price for a time-tested quality mridangam. 1 of these mridangams is worth 3 cheap mridangams who can't stay at a struthi and break easily.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 14 May 2009, 10:44

Sam Swaminathan wrote:Finally, matters of this nature are better not discussed in a public forum where the participants are not fully aware of the facts and the nature of the transaction. It would have been advisable to correspond privately using the forum's email facility. This is just my personal opinion.....regards.

On this occasion I disagree with you, Sam, because the very discussion makes people more aware of the facts and creates understanding where they may have been suspicion and uneasiness.

Only the mridangist, and to a lesser extent, the student, will understand the instrument, its problems and values, but it is still good to spread information. However, I think that the air is clearer for our discussion

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 14 May 2009, 20:15

nick H wrote:The fact that an instrument has survived a professional stage bashing really does add value!

Survived stage bashing? Aren't instruments supposed to become more "seasoned" by use in concerts? Not sure about Mridangams, though.

tburton · Post by **tburton** » 14 May 2009, 22:18

Just to clear things up, I felt that that was a completely reasonable price, especially considering where and who it is coming from. To put it in perspective for everyone, I also play cello, and to get a good concert cello of the same caliber would cost me at least 8-10,000 dollars, and if it were to be fine tuned and cared for by a master cellist it would cost me WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY more than that, so I see this as an unbelievably fair price. I was also able to hear about the instrument from the artist himself, which I found to be an invaluable experience in itself, and I am very happy to be supporting his incredible talent. So thank you for the coments everybody, and just relax! We are all here for our love of music right?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 15 May 2009, 00:22

I was using my words very loosely about the bashing.

a performing pro is going to be subjecting his instrument to more finger strikes per second, for greater periods of time than most students. Either the mridangam gets to sound better, or it falls to pieces.

tburton, I think this has been a useful conversation, that people may understand the nature of these transactions. When money changes hands, suspicion is often not far away. I think we have cleared the air!

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 15 May 2009, 02:14

Nick...you are missing the purport of my last sentence. What I meant was, having identified the source of the unit, the interested person could have discussed the price, quality and the mode of delivery etc etc thru private emails rather than publishing them in the public forum. While the methodology to buy a mridangam from a visiting aritist could be a matter of interest to the forum members, the transaction itself is or should be a confidential matter which does not concern the forum.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 15 May 2009, 08:48

Hmmm... I see your point, which I had mistaken --- but do not see any great need for confidentiality.

I don't see the price of something to be a confidential thing at all. As this is a regular occurrence, best that people are aware of the going rate.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 16 May 2009, 10:08

Sir

I buy mridangam and apply castor oil for about one month daily on the wood and then only i give the mridangam for Moottu work. Actually the wood becomes beautiful red to maroon in colour which is not the original colour when you bought. After the moottu is being done we have to undergo a process called "Thattu Murithal" which is nothing but making the black patch shed by practising with force. Until the first sAdam is cleared most of the instruments are not concert worthy as far as the traditional mridangam making process is concerned. Though today even the first sAdam while the moottu is being made is made to be concert worthy it is not desirable to use the freshly made moottu for concert purposes unless one is very sure of its top quality and also its raising or lowering tendency. I have used new mridangams for concerts but many a times i have not been satisfied with its performance. Hence as some member pointed out the work involved in making a good mridangam is something which cannot be equated in terms of money. In 1995 and 1999 i sold my mridangams for about the same amount quoted above. As such not much difference has come in its rate for nearly 15 years shows to go that the mridangists are not greedy for more money and are well within the selling rates prevailing in the US for more than 15 years.

Nick sir if the matter was kept confidential the positive discussions that have emerged in this forum would not have arised. So I think let us take this discussion on positive lines and try to find out the real through various views.

One must also appreciate that the mridangams are sold after 2 or 3 months of concert tours. Mridangists wont sell and buy a mridangam if the black patch is loose or it has already lost some of its pieces. This also shows the quality of the sAdam which can withstand 30 concerts and more after the mridangam artiste sells the instrument. This also shows the high skill of the mridangists in playing the instrument without making the sAdam come out. It requires great effort and practice towards this effort.

Mannarkoil J Balaji

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 May 2009, 19:05

Nick sir if the matter was kept confidential the positive discussions that have emerged in this forum would not have arised.

That's what I said! I think that openness is the best policy all round.

Thank you for sharing some of the trade secrets with us. It is fascinating.

prapanchamravindran · Post by **prapanchamravindran** » 16 May 2009, 20:27

hi...this is prapancham ravindran ,a senior mridangam artist from chennai..i am selling light weight ,nylon strap mridangam with excellent and proffesional sound quality with trolley bag..in sizes 22 and 24 inches ,both kappi and kucchi..The price is 9000rs(indian currency)..free and quick delivery to any part in india..Those interested
contact : 044 24790223 , 64580223 , 9841135312
email:prapancham@ hotmail.com
visit my website:
www.prapanchamravindran.com

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 16 May 2009, 20:49

For Sri Ravindran, if the seller is willing to bear the additional cost, what is the cost to send such a mridangam to the US?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 May 2009, 21:35

This is not an advertising site.

suma · Post by **suma** » 16 May 2009, 21:57

There is no ebay for carnatic music items. So, I think it is fine if people publish. There was a time when I was desperately looking for a sruthi box and had to go to India to buy. So, I think rasikas.org can be a ebay for instruments and music books I guess.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 17 May 2009, 01:19

Well... it isn't for me to say, I guess

<Blush>

gn.sn42 · Post by **gn.sn42** » 17 May 2009, 04:52

suma wrote:There is no ebay for carnatic music items.

eBay is the eBay for CM items:

Mridangam on eBay

sankirnam · Post by **sankirnam** » 17 May 2009, 11:06

I would naturally be wary of buying any instrument online, since there is no way to examine it beforehand, which is essential since these are pretty expensive purchases

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 17 May 2009, 17:31

I would absolutely not do so. Mridangams vary greatly in quality.

Of course, if one is a beginner, and just needs to start practising with something other than the knees, then any instrument is better than none.

prapanchamravindran · Post by **prapanchamravindran** » 18 May 2009, 00:46

for mri_fan ,i will let you know soon about the cost of sending that mridangam to US..where are you in US exactly..?

tburton · Post by **tburton** » 08 Jun 2009, 07:45

Just to let everyone know, I received the mridangam, and it was definitely worth every penny. To hear my old instrument, you would think I had been playing a log all this time.

vganesh · Post by **vganesh** » 08 Jun 2009, 09:49

Good to hear that. All the best & Happy playing.

suma · Post by **suma** » 09 Jun 2009, 00:34

tburton wrote:Just to let everyone know, I received the mridangam, and it was definitely worth every penny. To hear my old instrument, you would think I had been playing a log all this time.

Thanks tburton.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 09 Jun 2009, 03:16

I expect that playing that log will have strengthened your fingers nicely; now you will be able to concentrate on the subtlety.

Nice to hear that you and your new mridangam are happy together