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Thread: Musicians,events,anecdotes and tid-bits

  1. #31
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    avaneeswaram s r vinu (violinist)

    _________________
    Here is a rising star in violin. Last week he accompanied two well known artistes Aswati Tirunal RamaVarma and Vettikavala Sasikumar organized by Swati Tirunal Sangeeta Sabha and Navarasam Sangeeta Sabha respectively. The violinist received much appreciation from the audience for his eminence. Meet Avaneeswaram S R Vinu.

    Hailing from a family of musicians he was initiated into music by his father Avaneeswaram S Ramachandran well known vocalist and the former Principal of R L V College of music. His grand father Krishan Pillai was a known nagaswaram artiste. And naturally his reverberated with musical notes. However Vinu was attracted towards Violin which his father practiced often and had the basic lessons under him. Later he trained with Kilimanoor Thyagarajan a tutor at the Swati Thirunal Music Academy, during summer vacations. Then he joined the Academy and took his ganabhooshanam and ganapraveena.
    “Once I happened to hear an audio cassette of Mysore M Nagarajan. I was so fascinated by his style of rendition and decided to learn under him. Again I spent my summer vacations at Mysore and had advanced training under him. My guru and his brother Mysore Manjunath practiced violin in the evenings and I will be one among the few listeners” said Vinu.

    He is one of the most demanding accompanying violinists. He has accompanied great musicians like Dr Balamurali Krishna TV Sankaranarayanan. N Ramani, Bombay sisters, Vijay Siva, Sanjay Subramanaian, Trissur Ramachandran, and chitra vina Ravi Kiran. He has performed solo concerts as well. “It gives plenty of freedom. While accompanying one has to under play. One must allow the main artiste to render more. The supporting artiste should only support. If the padantharam of the main and the accompanying artistes are same our job will be easy. It is not always like that. Hence we must widen our repertoire by learning new compositions and to listen to more concerts” feels Vinu.

    Vinu has performed at the Chennai music season besides, the Swati Sangeetholsavam, at the Navarathri Mandapam, and concerts organized by major sabhas in Kerala, Chennai, and Bombay. Vinu is wedded to Aswathi a vocalist. He received Lalgudi Jayaraman Award, Gopala Iyer [father of Lalgudi] Award, for the best young artiste recently.

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  3. #32
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    gaurav mazumdar( sitarist)

    Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Sankar once attended a violin concert at Allahabad. After the show, he invited the artiste to his gurukul school in Delhi. The artiste accepted the offer, reached Delhi and spent a few days in the gurukul. With in this short period his mind has undergone a transformation. He felt that he should learn Sitar and disclosed his ambition to the maestro. Ravi Sankar gave his own instrument and taught the boy Sitar from the very basics. The master’s judgment was absolutely right and within two years he proved his caliber. Today he is one of the leading sitarists. Meet Gaurav Mazumdar. He was in Thiruvananthapuram recently, for a performance organized by Thapovan Heritage Home at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan. He was accompanied on the tabala by Debashesh Mukherjee.

    In an interview the artiste talks about his traditional music family, his training in vocal, violin and then sitar, creation of new ragas, compositions, his performances abroad and his latest project with child prodigies.

    ‘I was born into a musical family in Allahabad. I was initiated into vocal music by my cousins- Kamala Bose and Jayasree Roy. When they got married, I could not pursue music. My father Dulal Mazumdar, Guru Pandit Nandkishore Vishwakarma and my uncle trained me in violin. Soon I started giving concerts. It was on one such occasion that I met Pandit Ravi Sankar” he said and continued:

    “When I decided to learn Sitar there was a great protest. I have to learn sitar from the very basics. I had gained enough popularity as a vocalist cum violinist. It is too late for any artiste to begin the music lessons in the 20s with an ambition to become a professional. So apprehension prevailed. But somehow I wanted to pursue sitar. Hearing sitar I realized that, violin- of course a great instrument- is not meant for me. I spoke to Ravi Sankar with lot of apprehension and fear. He agreed to teach me. I had no sitar of my own. So he gave me one of his. I discontinued my college studies and started learning sitar.”
    How difficult was it?
    ‘I knew that it is going to be difficult. Parents were concerned about my future. They firmly believed that I will end up in no where. But my passion was too strong. Within a couple of years I could imbibe its techniques and qualified to perform for AIR. I started giving small concerts and offers came naturally. My parents were relieved” explained Gaurav.

    Shiv kalyani, Aishani, Madhu priya, Akansha, Shivangi and Saraswati malhar are a few ragas that Mazumdar has created. On the eve of the new millennium he performed at Vatican where he presented Akansha [hope and expectation] and dedicated it to world peace. He collaborated with and composed for the English Chamber Orchestra and performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London. East Meets West was a joint presentation of Pandit Ravi Sankar and Lord Yehudi Menuhin the two great giants in music. Years later Gaurav performed the same with Daniel Hope - the pupil of Menuhin. Its recording was released by Warner Classics and was nominated for the Grammy Award in 2004. He had the honor of being chosen to compose music for a ballet based on Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. He has written a lot of lyrics for khayal.

    Currently Gaurav is working with the school children in England. Children who are good in instrumental music are selected. He has composed a special piece for an orchestra thus formed, and will be staged on 23rd of May, in London.
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  4. #33
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    dr. t k murthy (mrudangist)

    The mother while cooking was surprised to find a gold medal in the mustard box. The father patiently waited for the arrival his seven year old son. After lunch he asked his son “When did you start learning mrudangam?” The child stared for a while and said, “I just played, and the Maharaja Chithira Tirunal gave me this medal.”
    “Oh I see. Can you play for me now?” The child nodded. The father sang and the child played. The father was convinced and said, “You better learn mrudangam.” After the Scout rally cultural program was organized at the Model High School. I and Chellamani (father of play back singer Hariharan) were classmates, at the Fort High School. Our Head Master Shri Unni, knew our talents and asked to represent our school. I was afraid to inform my parents as I was learning vocal music under my father Thanu Bhagavathar. So I promptly dropped the medal in the mustard box-laughs Sangitakalanidhi Dr. T K Murthy the doyen in mrudangam. He was in the capital city for a couple of performances. In an interview he talks about his ancestors, his relationship with the Melody Queen M S Subbalekshmi, the great maestros he has accompanied, and the need to create awareness about the less known great musicians of the past.
    Murthy belongs to a family of Mullamudu musicians. For generations they were court musicians of Travancore. “My father Thanu Bhagavathar, grand father Subramanya Bhagavathar, great grand father Thanu Bhagavathar and his father were court musicians. This is my 75th year of performance.” He said.

    As a child it was his long desire to learn mrudangam under Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer. “I disclosed it to the Maharaja and he provided the financial support” remembers the maestro. “I continued there for 35 long years. The master treated me and Palakkad Mani Iyer as his children.
    Thnjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer was an undisputed master of caliber and could produce equally talented disciples, namely Mani Iyer and Murthy. He presented Murthy a pair of diamond studs. It was Paakkad Mani Iyer who christened me T K Murthy.

    At the age of 17 I accompanied my master (2nd mrudangam) for Musiri Subramania Iyer. The occasion was the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Shanmughan chetti the Dewan of Kochi. In 1934 I accompanied Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer at the Mysore Palace. Chaudiah the great was on the violin. We were all conferred with the Killathu maryadai. We were presented Rs.1000 besides a pair of silk mundu and a richly brocaded coat.
    Since then there was no looking back. There are no senior musicians for whom I have not accompanied. I played for M S for 55 years. That was a different experience. She calls me suttu. We stayed at the residence of Jawaharlal Nehru, for 10 days, and the Rashtrapathi Bahavan for another 10 days when Rajaji was the Governor General. I am lucky. I could accompany M S all over the world. We performed at the UN Head Quarters. In those days she paid me 400/ performance. One day while chatting at her residence, she paid the amount for four concerts. She said “Suttu count and check.” I refused. When she insisted I gave the money back. There were 2000 rupees. Immediately she said “from now onwards we have enhanced your payment to Rs 500 per concert” That was her magnanimity.
    “We also stayed at the Birla’s residence for 10 days. We were served food in silver plates which resembled plantain leaves. After lunch we were offered cold sweet drink. I consumed it. After some time I started yelling at Sadasivam the husband of M S. The drink contained Baang an intoxicating agent, and I never knew that” recollected T K Murthy.
    Vikku Vinayakram’s father and I were friends. When Vikku was born I went to see the child. I prophesied that he would become a Ghatom master. The father asked “You are a mrudangist. How come you advice like that?” It could be a slip of the tongue. But today Vikku is the one of the greatest Ghatom artistes. He has accompanied M S for many years. “
    Murthy has performed jugalbandi with Allarekka.
    “Recently Zakkir Hussien invited Murthy for a concert on his father’s day. Murthy has plenty of disciples in India and abroad. Regarding the Swati Puraskaram he said “the Govt should select the musicians who have really propagated the compositions of Maharaja Swati Tirunal. There are many award winners who do not know who the Swati Tirunal was. It is my humble request to organize programs to revive the memories of the legendary musicians like Shadkala Govinda Marar, Anantharama Bhagavathar and Vaikkom Krishnan. The present generation must know about them, and the organizers should promote the musicians of Kearala.”
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  5. #34
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    sajeev namboothiri( vocalist)

    Sajeev Nampoothiri- B. Tech., MBA, is a different personality altogether. He is not after MNC s. His aim is to establish himself in the field of classical music. His mellifluous voice and strong foundation in carnatic music enabled him to be identified by the connoisseurs.


    Born to Gowri Antharjanam and Sreekumaran Nampoothiri of Chandramana Illam, Perumbavoor, Sajeev had his basic lessons in music from Lalitha, Irinjalakkuda Vijayalekshmi, and advanced lessons from Varkala C S Jayaram. Narayanan Nampoothiri his paternal uncle also trained in music.

    “I owe much to my parents. My father takes me daily to the music class at 6 am. When I was 12, I participated in Poo mottukal a children’s program for Doordarsan. It was well received and later it was telecast by Bombay Doordarshan. That was my debut performance. In the formal arangettam Mahadeva Sarma the popular violin artiste accompanied me. The family once made an unscheduled trip to Puttaparthi in the next year. I sang Thodi raga and Sai Baba was much pleased. He blessed me” said Sajeev.

    In 1992, Sajeev passed the audition test conducted by AIR, Calicut. He came first in the AIR National music competition in both classical and semi classical music. He won the gold medal at the National University Youth Festival held at Nagpur [1993] and Gulbarga [1995]. For three consecutive years he won the first prize at the M G University Youth Festival. He won the Chembai Award instituted by the Govt. of Kerala.

    ‘Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, Mussiri Subramania Iyer, Alattur brothers, Palkkad KVN, M D Ramanathan Lalgudi Jayaraman, Mavellikkara Prabhakara Varma, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan and Dr K Omanakutti are a few of my favorite musicians. As an effort to popularize the lesser known compositions of Neelakanta Sivan, Papanasam Sivan, Gopalakrishan Bharathi, Thulasivanam and Lekshmana Pillai I make it a point to include a small piece during performance. I had the opportunity to perform at Thiruvayaru during Thyagaraja festival” he said.

    Sajeev’s grand father and his brother-Sreedharan Nampoothiri and Govindan Nampoothiri- were popular kathakali artistes. Love for Kathakali is in his blood. Kalamandalam Haridas trained Sajeev in Kathakali pathangal.

    Sajeev expressed his gratitude to R Krishana Swamy and Rajalekshmi for their proper advice and encouragement. ‘It was T S Babu who passed away last week, trained my father and his brother in music. I too am a student of Babu. What I am today is because of the blessings of these well wishers. At Chennai Sajeev has established Neelakanta Cultural Academy in Adayar. There he takes music lessons and conducts concerts. Sajeev has performed at many sabhas during the Chennai music season and also at Bangalore, Bombay and Kerala. He has produced three CDs so far.
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  6. #35
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    irayimmen thampi(composer)

    How can one forget the immortal lullaby Omana thingal kidavo….? Nalla komala thamara poovo…? specially composed for the garbhasreeman Swati Tirunal by Irayimmen Thampi? Born to Parvathipilla Thankachi and Kerala Varma Thampan of Cherthala Naduvilae Kovilakam, in 958 M E Thampi was trained by his father. He never concealed his urge for writing and once he composed a verse and submitted to the Maharaja, Dharmaraja. He underwent advanced training in Sanskrit from Moothattu Sankaranilayathu. It is said that Thampi composed Keechakavadham and Uttaraswayamvaram before the demise of Dharmaraja. Thampi married Kalipila Thankachi, and the couple had seven children and among them Kuttikunju Thankachi followed his foot steps and she is the first lady to compose Attakatha. In 990 M E he became the court musician. He has composed many eulogies on Rani Gauri Pparvathi Bayi, Princess Rukmini Bayi, Swati Tirunal and Uthram Tirunal. Murajapam (1004 M E), investiture of Maharaja Swati Tirunal (1004 M E), and similar events connected with the royal family formed the subjects. He was the only Poet Laureate.
    He has penned three attakathas, namely, Kkeechakavadham, Uttaraswayamvaram, and Dakshayagam; Subhadra haranam kaikottipattu, murajapappana, Vaasishtam kilipattu, Rasa kreeda, Rajasevakramam manipravalam, and slokams in Sanskrit and Malayalam. His works are rich in poetic beauty, and alliterations. In most of his works, there is a verse –mudra either in the beginning or towards the end. It is written in such a way that the first letter of the first line, second letter of the second line and similar constructions in the lines that follow would produce the word “Ravivarmanthampikavanam.” Thampi’s kummi “veera virada kumara vibho” for instance are equally popular. 29 Sanskrit Kirtanams, 27 maniparvalam, 5 varnam, are his other works. Some of his padams like prana nadhan enikku nalkiya …, oru naal nisi chaitha leelakal…., are highly erotic. He went to the other extreme and composed “Karunachaivan enthu thamasam Krishna…”He passed away in 1031 in the month of Karkitakom. This is his 150th death anniversary.
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  7. #36
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    lavanya( saxaphone artiste)

    When music lovers saw a thin, fair, young lady with a saxophone, they were awe struck. Women and saxophone?How can it be?
    With the commencement of the concert, they had to accept the fact that women are in no way behind in handling musical instruments as tough as this. Meet Lavanya the only women saxophone player in India. She was in the capital to perform saxophone concert at the Karikkakom temple.

    Lavanya belongs to a family of musicians. Her grand father M R Rajappa was the court musicians of the Mysore Palace. Her father M R Sainath is a leading mrudangist and working as the staff artiste of AIR. He has accompanied many leading artistes especially Kadari Gopalanath-the saxophone maestro. “I was trained in vocal music and regularly attended concerts and had the oppurtunity to hear Kadari amny times. Gradually I was attracted towards saxophone and decided to learn. I was only fifteen then. It is a complicated and complex instrument. One need to spend great effort just to familiarise the fingering techniques.Initially my playing reminded of ancient houses where women blow the fire with a pipe. Then it was like somebody pulling a chair. Even I thought of quitting” LAUGHED Lavanya.

    The artiste need lot of energy to play this. Initially you may develop severe throat pain and muscular pain in the jaws. May be this is the reason why women never try saxophone. “I play even tough compostions. Recital of heavy ragas is really challenging as you have to sustain the notes for long. I never restrict myself to lighter and easier pieces” added Lavanya and continued “The instrumenthas many limitations. Basically it is a western instrument, designed to play western music. Our music is full of grace notes and it is tough to bring that quality and still we do our best”.

    “My guru Kadari was initially trained in Nagaswaram. When he was just eleven years he saw saxophone being played at Mysore. He somehow wanted to learn and there was no teacher available to teach classical music in saxophone. He learned it all by himself and could evolve a style of his own.He was trained in music by T V Gopalakrishnan” informed Lavanya.
    “I have not tried Hindusthani music in saxophone. But I do play bhajans and abhangs. My sister M S subbalekshmi also accompanies me these days. Suddenly she developed food poison and hence couldnot make her presence here. We are popularly known as saxophone sisters” said Lavanya.
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  8. #37
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    mullamoodu tradition of music( )


    Traditions in music are many. Here we have the famous Mullamudu tradition which is n 175 years old. Only, a handful of mullamudu musicians remain today. In an informal conversation Mullamudu musicians talk about their ancestors, their role in popularizing the compositions of Maharaja Swati Tirunal, and how they still maintain rich age old tradition.These musicians pay their musical offerings at the scheduled time on the days of ulsavam and Navarathri at the Padmanabha Temple and Navarathri Mandapam respectively.
    The origin of mullamudu tradition goes like this:
    Maharaja Swati Tirunal, once happened to listen Palakakad Parameswara Bhagavathar at the Temple. Enthralled, he made enquiries on the spot and appointed him as the court musician. He provided him a house at mullamudu near the palace. Parameswaran is the first musician to represent this great tradition. He later served the courts of Ayilyam Tirunal, Visakhom Tirunal and Sree Mualm Tirunal. Coimbatore Raghava Iyer, was his primary disciple. Aashramam Annaswami, Attingal Sankaranarayanan, Elathur Hariharan, Karamana Venkiteswaran, Kalkulam Subramanian, Parakkai Narayanan, Tanjavore Kathir Kama Dasan, Kadayam Kasi,and Neelakanta Iyer were the few others to name. They assembled at the rustling thickets intertwined with jasmine shrubs and rendered the Maharajas compositions and hence the name mullamudu bhagavathar.

    “I have been part of this team since 50 years. My father Padmanabhan was one of the mullamudu musicians” said T .P .Mani Iyer former Principal of the Swati Tirunal Music Academy. We were given rice, vegetables, and coconut daily” remembered Mani.

    “My father Venku Bhagavathar was one among the mullamudu musicians. I have been serving the temple for the past 46 years as the violinist” said V Meenakshi Sundaram. “During the festival we render Ulsava Prabhandam which the Maharaja has specially composed in Manipravalam in 1839. It gives a detailed account of the ten days festival celebrated twice annually. It has 12 songs and 42 verses in different meters. We render the corresponding songs of the day” he informed. He specially mentioned the song Shibikayil Ezhunnalledunnu set to the rare raga Mangalakausika.


    “We render ulsava prabhandam at night and other Swati compositions in the evening on the festival days. At the Navarathri Mandapam we perform Thodaya Mangalam for half an hour before the main concert. We begin with Jayadeva ke kishora [Natta] and Mathanga Thanayayae [pantuvarali] followed by the compositions of Annamacharya and Purandaradasa. On the eve of Ariyittu vazhcha,[Attingal] there existed a custom to recite Aanadavalli kuru [Neelambari] at the nalukettu and Janani Pahi [suddha saveri] at the sanctum the next day” explained Parameswara Sarma son of late mullamudu Lekshmi Narayana Bahgavathar.
    “Lekshmi Narayanan and I, well trained in Ulsavaprabhandam taught other musicians like Palakkad K V Narayana Swami, who later popularized this precious work of the Maharaja. In fact it was Amma Maharani who took the initiative to do so” reminisced T P Mani Iyer and added “on the day of Swargavathil Ekadesi we render Bhaktaparayana in Sankarabharanam at 8.30 pm.”

    During ulsavam these musicians follow the vahanams, rendering ulsava prabhandam to the accompaniment of violin and mrudangam even today.
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  9. #38
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    AJOY CHAKRABORTHI --(HINDUSTHANI VOCALIST)

    Pandit Ajoy Chakraborthi is one of the brightest gems that adorn the crown of Indian music. He is popular among the music lovers of Thiruvananthapuram.

    My parents say I started singing before I could talk. My father Ajit Chakraborthi was a great connoisseur of music, and initiated me into this field-said Ajoy who is the first Indian classical singer to perform in Pakistan.
    He was trained under great musicians like Kaniadas Bairagi, Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Munawar Ali Khan.

    The first recipient of the National Award for the best musician instituted in the name of Kumar Gandarva. Ajoy has won the National Award for the best play back singer in 1990 besides many state awards.

    He took his BA and MA with record marks from Rabindra Bharathi University. Since 1981 he has been performing in Europe and America. I was recognized as the honorary citizen of the New Orleans USA, and offered the key of the city, during one of my visits.

    Ajoy has rendered songs for the two popular films namely Lagaan and Hey Ram. For him music is life. “According to me, adhering to a Gharana means confinement. In our country music is taught practiced and spread from the Guru to the pupils by singing together. After 10 or 12 years the pupil is sure to imitate his master though not deliberately. Once, he is convinced that a strong foundation had been laid he can learn from any musician and should develop his own style.”

    “The world of music is as vast as this universe. The more you search the more you get and the more enriched you will be. Our country has the richest heritage. But the process of learning and training is weak. The guru forces the student to perform the way he likes or wants. To a certain extent it is essential. In the process the student’s inner creativity is snubbed. The masters should keep an open mind and they should respect the instinct of his pupils” he opined.

    A special feature of Ajoy’s rendition is his free movement through all the three saptakas. “All vocalists should practice breathing exercise. Singing is nothing but painting in air in al hues and shades. You need absolute concentration and the knowledge of the correct swara. You have to be rhythm conscious and capable of bringing out the right emotions” he explained.

    Apart from khayal, thumri, and tappa, Ajoy is proficient in Pallavi, drupad tillana and tarana. He like to be known as an Indian musician. He is the student of Dr. Balamuralikrishna.

    What prompted him to establish Shrutinandan?


    “My aim is to impart practical knowledge on the basis of all forms of Indian vocal music to the musically inclined younger generation.”

    “It would help them to realize their potentials as worthy artistes thus perpetuating the musical tradition of India. We have nearly 800 students and it has no elite bias” he said.

    Ajoy has to his credit 50 albums and considerable number of CDs most of them are Bengali Songs. Live in Pakistan, 5 volumes, Tagore’s compositions, songs of Kazi Nazrul Islam on 300 years of Calcutta, besides elaborate rendition of ragas.










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  10. #39
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    UMAYALPURAM SIVARAMAN - (MRUDANGIST)

    Can a mrudangam sing?
    Yes it can, if it is in the blessed hands of Umayalpuram Sivaraman.

    Excerpts from the interview:
    Born in 1935 Sivaraman had his debut performance at the age of 10. In an illustrious career spanning 55 years, he lent his mrudangam magic to great maestros like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar,Musiri Subramania Iyer, Palladam Sanjeeva Rao, Chowdiah, Rajamanickam Pilai, Dwaram Venkitaswami Naidu, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer, Chembai, Semmangudi, and Balamuralikrishna.He has performed jugalbandi with Pt.Kishn Maharaj, Ustad Allah Rakka, Zakir Hussein. To Sivaraman goes the credit of introducing fiber glass mrudangam.

    My father Dr. P. Kasiviswanatha Iyer was an accomplished musician. I used to play on whatever objects I touched upon, producing diverse talas.

    My father noticed it and initiated into mrudangam. I mastered it under the guidance of Arupathi Natesa Iyer, Tanjore Viadyanatha Iyer, Palakkad Mani Iyer and Kumbhakonam Rangu Iyengar.
    It is a pleasure listening to Umayalpuram Sivaraman as he explains his concept of music. One is instantly reminded of Umayalpuram Baani. AS far as classical music is concerned we have no gharanas. Our system is so comprehensive that we do not need one. It gives tremendous scope and freedom for creating ones own baani.

    Artistes create with their dynamism, a new tapestry of innovation excellence beauty and aesthetic quality. In my case I had four and I was able to develop my own style which is deeply rooted in tradition yet novel in presentation. It has greatly influenced many artistes, and many drummers in the west.



    You have made several innovations in the instrument. Has the music world accepted this?

    DR. C V Raman had done yeoman service to the harmonics of true mrudangam. HE DID IT LONG BEFORE DECIDING TO SWITCH OVER TO OPTICS. I have studied the works of Raman and Prof. Ramakrishanan and began the work where they had left. Being a performing artiste of repute, and having traversed the realms of Indian music, I always consider Mrudangam an instrument par excellence. It is a king of percussion and queen of melody. The fundamental note, the overtones, the gamaka aspects and other inherent tones of aesthetic value are the greatest assets of mrudangam.

    I have been giving lec-dems for long. I explain the nuances and the greatness of this instrument to the rasikas. When you go deeper, in search of nada, you find something unique, fantastic, unseen and unheard. All these resulted in my introduction of the fiber glass mrudangam.

    My greatest contribution to mrudangam playing technique is the approximation to music. I am a strict follower of the gayaki style. If the technical virtuosity and the gayaki style are in a happy wedlock, then the artiste reaches a different plain far away from the mundane and becomes a nadajogi. I have been trying to achieve this goal all throughout my life. I am still trying.

    This master has a number of disciples. The method of training is different.

    To begin with I train my disciple to play for the taala. Then I train them to play for the music. Finally I train them to play fro a musician. The same musician will perform differently on different occasions.

    Accompanying the musician or playing solo which one gives you more satisfaction?

    Accompanying. The purpose of the mrudangist is to give full support to the main artiste, heighten the tempo of the concert, sustain the interest of the audience, giving life and energy to the recital and finally play a great taniavartanam.

    You can take this cue from me. Do not take this as a hobby. Take it as an education. Kindly dedicate yourself to this divine to this divine thing called music. It would confer the best of gifts to you all.
    The cultural climate is excellent.

    A Law graduate Sivaraman has played mrudangam in the special feature the DRUMS OF INDIA in the USA. His Garland of Rhythm gave a new dimension to the concept of taniavartanam. He has been conferred the National Citizens Award by the Indian President.

    A general tendency today is that they consider the tani avartanam part of a concert, as a time killer.

    Some stretch their limbs and many simply sulk. But this is not the norm when Umayalpuram is on the mrudangam. The audience sit in rapt attention as they experience the Sivaraman Effect. They realize that if they fail to pay attention they run the risk of losing the chance of a life time. This is what differentiates this genius from the rest.
    (FRIDAY REVIEW-2001)
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  11. #40
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    sudha reghunadhan-- (carnatic vocalist)

    Sudha Regunadhan the popular vocalist has performed many times in Kerala. This interview was done in 2001, when she came to the capital city in connection with a concert organized by the Chembai Trust.
    Excerpts from the interview:
    Could you please explain briefly the initial training in music and how you happened to be the disciple of MLV?

    I HAD THE basic lessons in music from my mother. Then I had the fortune to learn music from T V VAISWANATHAN and B V Lakshmanan. I secured the central government and became the disciple of MLV. It is indeed a blessing that I accompany her for many years. She advised me a lot and insisted that I should stick to music, though I had other aspirations.
    Has the long association with MLV, influenced your style of rendition?
    The most striking aspect of MLV and her guru GNB, is the elaborate rendition of the raga and the cascading flow of kalpanaswarams. IT IS HIGHLY METHODICAL and creative. It is natural that the disciples quickly fall into he line of their gurus. Besides raga alapana and kalpanaswarams I imbibed from her the sense of adventure, inclusion of gamakas, and higher pitch. MLV had cautioned me not to become the replica of the guru. Imitation has a short span of existence. She was very considerate. She gave me opportunities when I accompanied her.

    Sudha ahs performed in Los Angeles, Canada, UK, and almost all European countries. “When we render ragas and swaras they listen with awe.” She said.

    She had performed fusion concert of World Music. There were artistes from Hungary, Male, Switzerland, USA, Madagascar, besides myself representing India.

    Initially I was worried. How can carnatic music merge with a variety of western music?
    I decided to go ahead. We all had to sing bits of each others music like an exchange of music for music.

    After a week long rehearsal the concert was held in Germany. The result was unbelievable. It once again proved that music has no barriers.

    Sudha’s concert revealed the extent of hard work and perseverance that had gone into her art.

    “In fact, I was so involved in classical music that I did not even think of play back singing. You can say, it just did not happen. Classical music requires more depth and the voice is processed for that” she said
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