Pandi Melam

A full-length Pandi, a melam based on a thaalam (taal) with seven beats, lasts more than two-and-a-half hours, and is canonically performed outside temples.

The most celebrated Pandi Melam is staged inside a temple compound at the Vadakkunnathan shrine's precincts in the central Kerala town of Thrissur.

For the last several years, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is the lead conductor for this symphony of drums known as Elanjithara Melam.

Another ensemble called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi going by the kind of instruments used but different in its rhythmic patterns and presentational gravitas, is predominantly played inside temples.

There are a lot of Melapramani in Pandi Melam stretching from the north to the south of Kerala, especially in Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam.