Can you ever imagine over 450 musicians not knowing each other, never having met before and performing together and playing the perfect note without ever having done even a single rehearsal?
This can be seen in "Melotsavam", a unique art form of Kerala every year at Thrissur. The first note struck by the leader (known in Malayalam as Pramani), with the performers standing in semi-circle around him, conveys the time stretch of the entire performance. The initial notes also convey to the performers the height to which they can stretch the notes. From then on, the performers carry on as one team in synchronization, and in one long stretch without anyone ever stepping out of tune.
The Pramani controls the entire show and the instructions on when to increase the pace of the rhythm of the music and when to bring it down are given via the instruments. The perfect time calculations involve intricate mathematics by the Pramani. In case for some reasons, there is any lapse in the timings, the leader changes the rhythms and adjusts the timing.
The calculations are very important as the performance start from a slow pace and ends on the highest note, gradually picking up speed. " In case the calculations of time verses rhythm of the show are not done properly, then the performance drags on and spoils the fun. It is considered a bad performance of a Pramani," says Ramchandran, secretary of the Mumbai-based cultural group called Keli.
Rhythm is where the music from Kerala scores over music from other parts of the country. "In all my 30 years of observing art forms from all over the country, Kerala is the only place where the rhythm has been harnessed to this sophisticated level. The difference between music from Kerala and other Hindustani art forms is that, while in other forms the instruments are on the periphery, lending support to the vocals here, the instruments assume center-stage and improve upon their own performance," says Subhas Chandran, an art exponent. Chandran, an ex-director of the National Centre for the Performing Arts adds, "The other difference is that while in all other art forms either the music is the focal point of the dance is the focal point, Kerala is the only place where rhythm is the focus. The rhythm is the same as in other art forms, but the use of intervals is what separates it from the rest."

The art form is over thousands of year old and is performed in temples. The largest such performance is held every year at the Thrissurpuram festival organized jointly by the Paarmekkavu and Tiruvambadi temples in Thrissur, Kerala. The performance is a major tourist attraction with over 150 drums being played in front of elephants standing on huge ground in front of Vadakkanathan temple.
Again, the over 450 performers come from all over Kerala and get together barely an hour before. Yet they perform in perfect symphony under the guidance of the Pramani.
During this festival, Melotsavam is at its best and the suddenly the art form springs up all over the temples, streets and every corner of Kerala. The performers follow other vacations during the rest of the year and come together only during such important festivals. Being associated with the temple's traditions, the art form continues to be actively supported by the various temples. Fortunately, art patrons and art patronizing organizations also play an active role today in offering support for these art forms.
The guru-shishya parampara prevalent there is the secret of this art form surviving for over the years retaining its originality and purity. The gurus play an important role in the survival of this art form. As a result, the art forms are known not by the patronizing temples, rather the forms are known by the gurus who perpetuated them. Guru Tiruvilwamala Venkateshwara Iyer, is one of the earlier exponents and had played an important role in the promotion and development of this art form.

Though there is no end to the number of instruments being used for the ensemble, there is a restriction on the types of instruments played. The ensemble has a maximum of five types of instruments and this performance is known as Panchavadyam (five instruments)
The instruments are very simple, but the Malayali names frighten away people from coming closer to the instruments. Here's simple guide: The drums are called Chenda; drums which are beaten from both sides re called Maddalam, the cymbals are Elathalam, the soft drums are Edakka and the pots covered with calf-skins are Mizhavu. Earlier, this art form was restricted to people from the communities of Marar's and Poduval, but now it has spread among all communities. The Keli organization, supported by Sanjana Kapoor's Prithvi Theatre, aimed to introduce the historical Kerala art form to art lovers in Mumbai as part of the Max touch Cultural Series. Form the response generated at their Kerala festival in Mumbai, they seem to have succeeded in achieving their goal.