After having performed concerts for many years, the 24-year-old student approached the new Guru. “You should not touch the mridangam for five years. I have to teach you new fingering.” G. Guru Prasanna, whose musical trajectory has seen him play multiple instruments initially, before settling on the kanjira, says, “I…
At weddings, she noticed that the normally restless child never asked to be taken home – he would run around and stand happily by the nAdhaswaram ensemble. Taking this as a sign, Vignesh Ishwar’s grandmother, Sarada Krishnan, enrolled him for vocal lessons at age 4. The teacher was recalcitrant initially,…
Most know Anantha R. Krishnan (Anantharaman Krishnan) as a skilled mridangist and the grandson of Sangita Kalanidhi Palghat R. Raghu. However, the Ivy League educated Anantha cannot be encapsulated in a single sentence. He is an artiste who looks at art itself with broad horizons – well beyond the mridangam…
Though most composers of Indian Classical Music have historically identified their works with a recognisable watermark, nowadays, the act of claiming credit in this art form is frequently construed as mercenary and disrespectful to hallowed tradition. Given the highly commercial nature of music dissemination now, performers’ rights is a topic…
If one has to be recognised in Carnatic music, one just HAS to relocate to Chennai, it is said. There can be no substitute for listening to live concerts is also oft-heard. This respected violinist, however, has put paid to both the above statements. Charulatha Ramanujam is appreciated not only…
A consummate performer rarely makes a good teacher, each requiring different skill sets. Imparting knowledge to those far less conversant requires assessing and customizing instruction for each student, simultaneously motivating and pushing and, above all, zero insecurity to demystify what seems opaque and frequently shrouded. Lalgudi Jayaraman, whose 90th birth…
Simple and unassuming, Kala Ramnath exudes a gentle, innocent vulnerability that betrays the titan that she is in Hindustani music. One of the youngest recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar, she has put her distinctive stamp on Hindustani violin, made it a force to reckon with, and put it…
Giridhar Udupa literally grew up surrounded by percussion as his father Ullur Nagendra Udupa was a mridangist who taught extensively. At age 4, he started learning mridangam and learned that exclusively until the age of 9. Then, at a concert organized by his father, Giridhar was roped in to play…
This artiste was extremely clear that music was what he wanted to pursue and would have discontinued his studies after 12th Grade, had his Guru not persuaded him to complete his degree. “I had stubbornly refused to listen to my parents,” says L. Ramakrishnan who can be seen accompanying practically…
50 uniformed children, ages 5-10, happily clap their hands and recite konakkol phrases to a refrain of simple instrumental music from a cell phone. Just some twenty minutes earlier, their master of ceremonies had gently introduced the word ‘rhythm’ and got the children to chip in, conveying the message that…