HOW A TEMPLE TURNED INTO A NAGASWARAM AND THAVIL SCHOOL

The Then Tirupati Nagaswara and Thavil school near Mettupalayam, which offers free training and accommodation, draws students from across Tamil Nadu.

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It's 3. 45 a.m., and there's a chill in the air. In the tender light of the morning, students line up for their daily schedule — practising the nagaswaram and thavil in the Then Tirupati Lord Srinivasa temple in Jadayampalayam, near Mettupalayam. Till 6.30 a.m., the temple echoes with the sounds of the instruments.

These are students of the Then Tirupati Nagaswara and Thavil school, set up in 2008, seven years after the temple was built and consecrated as part of the prayer complex of the KG group of industries, Coimbatore.

Says K.G. Baalakrishnan, chairman, KG Fabriks and founder of the school, "When the idea of doing something to foster art and culture came up, I decided to establish a nagaswaram and thavil school, because of the close connection of the instruments with temples."

Initially, only nagaswaram was taught. In 2010, thavil classes began. "Students are given free boarding and lodging, and a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000," says Seshadri Bhattar, Principal of the school.