Rhythms of Shakti - Page 2

Abhishek Raghuram (2005)

Primarily a singer who was coached in kanjira by G. Harishankar. Grandson of mridangam master Palghat R. Raghu. Located in Chennai.

Alathur T. Rajaganesh (2005)

A mridangam player who also performs on kanjira. Learned kanjira from B. Harikumar & V. Nagarajan. Located in Trichy.

V. Anirudh Athreya (2005)

Youngest Carnatic performer on kanjira (17 years old). Learned kanjira from his relative V. Nagarajan and now studies with T. K. Murthy. Located in Chennai.

B. S. Purushotham (2005)

One of the busiest Carnatic kanjira players in Tamil Nadu. Learned kanjira from T. K. Murthy. Originally from Bangalore, now located in Chennai.

B. Shree Sundar Kumar (2005)

The most advanced Carnatic kanjira player in Tamil Nadu. Performs regularly with all of the top Carnatic vocalists and instrumentalists and fusion artists. Top mridangam student (A grade) of Karaikudi R. Mani. Grew up around G. Harishankar and learned his playing style on kanjira by observation. His power, speed, rhythmic complexity, and beauty in phrasing are that of a senior artist despite his age being only 24. Located in Chennai.

N. Amrit (2005)

The most advanced Carnatic kanjira player in Karnataka and most advanced student of G. Harishankar who has mastered many aspects of his playing style in terms of power, speed, rhythmic complexity, and beauty in phrasing. Performs often with all of the top Carnatic vocalists and instrumentalists and fusion artists and plays for marathon bhajan performances (up to 6 hours). Highly experienced teacher. A grade kanjira artist and also a great mridangam player who learned from Sri M. Vasudeava Rao and Sri A. V. Anand. Located in Bangalore. Website.

C. P. Vyasa Vittala (2005)

Former student of G. Harishankar and Sri Mushnam V. Raja Rao. One of the few kanjira players that did not also learn mridangam. Located in Bangalore.

C. S. Venkatramanan (2005)

Son of the late kanjira artist C. K. Shyam Sundar. Learned kanjira and mridangam from his father. Originally from Chittoor, now located in Chennai.

Dakshinamurthy Pillai (1935)

Mridangam and kanjira master in the early 1930s. Responsible for furthering the fingering from Pudukottai Manpoondia Pillai by applying more complicated mridangam fingerings to kanjira. His playing is said to have raised the level of kanjira playing. He learned kanjira from Pudukottai Manpoondia Pillai in the late 1800s.

Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (1938)

At age 3 with kanjira. See his mridangam entry below for bio.

Govinda Harishankar (1979)

The greatest Carnatic kanjira player who ever lived. Still to this day, musicians are in awe of what G. Harishankar was capable of with one hand. His was born on June 10, 1958 and died on February 11, 2002. G. Harishankar started on kanjira at a very young age with his father Govinda Rao, started formal mridangam training with the legend Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer and then later with C. S. Murugaboopathy. He plays kanjira right handed but mridangam left handed (it is said that he did so to prove that playing mridangam was not as hard as kanjira so he switched to playing mridangam left handed). G. Harishankar is responsible for furthering the complexity of modern kanjira playing in terms of advanced techniques for speed, power, rhythmic complexity and beauty in phrasing (left hand bending of the skin). It is said in India by many of the senior percussionists that performed with him or witnessed him play that he could top any mridangam player he was matched with in a concert during the percussion solos (thani avarthanam). G. Harishankar on several occasions even topped tabla player Zakir Hussain when they shared the stage in Malaysia and Europe. He had only a few students that carried on his secrets and techniques. Some of his best recorded playing was as a member of Sruthi Laya with Karaikudi R. Mani on mridangam, T. V. Vasan on ghatam, and Srirangam S. Kannan on morsing in the 1980s-1990s. To many in India, his death was proof that he was in fact human and not a god.

Guru Raghavendra (2005)

Plays fusion with vina player Rajesh Vaidhya.

H. P. Ramachar (2005)

Sadly, Ramachar recently died on June 23, 2006. He was the oldest kanjira player in India at 82 years old. Responsible for introducing a new level of speed in the 1970s. Researched the history, construction of, and tuning of kanjira more than any other musician in India. His first concert on kanjira was in 1931 accompanying with mridangam master Palghat T. A. S. Mani Iyer. He learned mridangam from H. Puttachar and taught himself kanjira.

K. S. Rangachari (2005)

One of the older kanjira players still performing at 71 years old. Father of Mambalam Sisters, who he exclusively accompanies now. Began performing on kanjira in 1950. Learned mridangam and kanjira from T. R. Harihara Sharma (father of T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram & T. H. Subash Chandran). Originally from Kanjipuram, now located in Chennai.

K. V. Gopalakrishnan (2005)

Son of K. V. R. S. Mani. Learned from his father and T. K. Murthy. Mainly a mridangam player who also performs on kanjira. Located in Chennai.

K. V. R. S. Mani (2005)

Originally from Madurai, now located in Chennai.

Latha Ramachar (2006)

India's only performing female Carnatic kanjira player. She learned kanjira from her father H. P. Ramachar and also U. K. Sivaraman but has also had some training on mridangam. She is a member of the all female ensemble of percussion and saxophone called Karnataka Mahila Laya Madhuri and has performed all over India, Europe, and the USA with many of India's top artists. Located in Bangalore.

Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (mridangam on left) and Palani Subramania Pillai (left hand kanjira on right, c. 1950s]

Palghat T. A. S. Mani Iyer

Palghat Mani Iyer, one of two of the greatest mridangam players ever, was born in 1912 in Palghat, Kerala and died in 1981. He was named Ramaswamy during Namakaranam (naming ceremony) but when introduced to the music world as a mridangam accompanist at the age of ten, he acquired the name "Mani."

He first studied with Palghat Subba Iyer and Kalpathy Viswanatha Iyer. Later with Thanjavur Vaidanatha Iyer. Mani came into prominence after accompanying Chembai Vaidanatha Bagavathar in a music concert at Madras.

He was unusually talented in rhythm and quickly mastered the technique of the art of playing mridangam from his gurus and
predecessors such as Azhaganambi Pillai, Dakshinamurthy Pillai and even studied
the temple drumming of Kerala (panchavadhyam, chenda, edakka, among others).

Before Mani Iyer's arrival in the music scene, the two mridangists Alaganambi Pillai and Dakshinamurthy Pillai (also a kanjirist), dominated the art of percussion playing. The innovations of Mani changed the style of mridangam playing as Y. G. Doraisamy points out: "It was Mani Iyer who started the now prevalent trend of the mridangam, not just keeping the time with tekkas and moras, but actively accompanying the musical phrasing, so as to be a rhythmic running commentary, reproducing on the drum all the subtleties and rhythmic complexities of the musical composition."

Palghat Raghu, a disciple of Mani Iyer, describes his guru as a genius in that he
showed music followers the manner of blending with the music of the main artist in handling the kritis of every conceivable mood and tempo. By his consistent excellence he could raise the concert to
thrilling heights. It was Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer who outplayed kanjira player Dakshinamurthy Pillai and reclaimed the front seat on the stage for mridangam players. Mani Iyer also occasionally performed on kanjira.

Palani Subramania Pillai

Born in 1908 and died in 1962, never recognized formally with awards for his innovations in the art of mridangam and kanjira (most likely because of prejudice that he was not Brahmin). Palani Subramania Pillai was a contemporary of Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer. Equally skilled at mridangam and kanjira, he was a left handed player.

His technique on mridangam is said to have been the first to introduce the gumki or bending of the bass head by sliding and pressing the hand into the skin. His technique is said to have featured more rhythmic complexity while Mani Iyer featured more beauty in the phrases that he played and how they fit the music he was accompanying. Both players had extremely advanced rhythmic and accompanying skill, and there really is no comparing the two with regards to which was a better performer.

P. Subramania Pillai was a student of his father Pazhani Muthiah Pillai and later Dakshinamurthy Pillai. In concert, Iyer and Palani were each other's favorite to accompany with as Mani played mridangam while Subramania played kanjira. One story goes that during one of their concerts in the percussion solos they traded phrases for an entire hour each not being able to top the other.

Pudukottai Manpoondia Pillai

Born in 1859 and died in 1922, Manpoondia Pillai is considered to be the father of the Pudukottai school of percussion. He is also said to have invented the kanjira, which is not really true as the instrument and players existed before his time. What he is responsible for is introducing the kanjira to Carantic instrumental and vocal music beyond bhajans. His life story of a lantern bearer at the Pudukottai palace who rose to become a high ranking artist is one of triumph of the human spirit.

In his palace job in the mid-1800s he was exposed to dholak and thavil players and became fascinated with thavil. Having first learned a frame drum local to the area (known then as daff), he soon became a student of thavil (he was left handed) and learned from Tirugokarnam Mariyappan.

Manpoondia (he was also known as Mamundi) displayed an unusual skill in that he could play all of the patterns he was shown that required 2 hands with 1 hand.

He also redesigned the kanjira of his time by reducing the number of jingles from 3 pairs to a single pair and replaced the ghungroo pellet bells that were common as jingles at that time with coins as the pellet bells made too much sound that distracted singers and other musicians. He also may have been the first to use Bengal monitor lizard skin (Varanus bengalensis bengalensis) in place of goat skin on kanjira making the instrument more suitable for Carnatic music.

It was Manpoondia Pillai that introduced a more complex laya into Carnatic music with his kanjira in the form of korvais and morhas. He began accompanying bhajans and gained attention with his skill of being able with 1 hand to repeat anything a mridangam player could do with 2 hands at that time. Manpoondia Pillai is also said to have been influenced after hearing the mridangam playing of Narayanaswami Appa. Supposedly, after hearing Appa's playing, Pillai realized the tonal possibilities of melody oriented intricacies. This may have been how the bending technique on kanjira began to develop.

He began traveling around southern India to music centers introducing the kanjira and his skill at bhajan performances. Upon reaching Madras (now Chennai), Pillai was asked to accompany the singer Tiruvayyaru Subramaniya Iyer (also known as Patnam Subramaniya Iyer). Before the concert, Subramaniya Iyer challenged him and wanted to know what he was prepared to give up if he could not play what was sung at the concert. Pillai said that if he failed to play what was sung he was prepared to throw his kanjira into the sea and give it up completely. Subramaniya Iyer then said that if Pillai did play what was sung he would give up his place in the center of the stage to him and stop singing.

Subramaniya Iyer had prepared an intricate pallavi and sang it at the concert. Manpoondia Pillai heard it and played it back and started elaborating on it using his imagination. Subramaniya Iyer accepted defeat and decided to concede his place to Pillai. Manpoondia Pillai humbly declared that it was not his place, and that it was his desire to continue to accompany Subramaniya Iyer's music wherever he sang. The two went on to give numerous performances all over Madras and other places and this established the kanjira as a prominent instrument suited for accompanying in Carnatic music concerts. This is also how the kanjira player began sitting in front of the mridangam player because his skill level was higher than that of the typical mridangist at that time.

Manpoondia Pillai is also responsible for training the first Carnatic singer in his refined rhythmic concepts (Konerirajapuram Vaidyanatha Iyer) as well as training percussionists Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Pazhani Muthiah Pillai, and Seithur Zamindar in his rhythmic style on kanjira and mridangam. This brought a much higher level of performance to the stage in such trio concerts with the singer, mridangam player and kanjira player all trained in this more refined rhythmic style.

In his last years, he renounced worldly life, becoming a sanyasi under the name of Murugananda Swamigal.

Mayavaram Somusundaram (2005)

One of the older performers of kanjira still playing at 78 years old. He began performing Carnatic concerts in 1947 and learned mridangam and kanjira from Boobadhiveli. Originally from Mayavaram, located now in Chennai.

N. Ganeshkumar (2005)

Born in 1964, Ganesh is a kanjira player specializing in fusion and has released the first instructional DVD for kanjira in the USA. He learned from T. H. Subash Chandran. Located in Chennai. Website.

Nerkunam S. Sankar (2005)

Former student of G. Harishankar. One of the few kanjira players that has learned only kanjira and has never studied mridangam. Originally from Nerkunam, now located in Chennai.

Neyveli B. Venkatesh (2005)

One of the few mridangam players that still performs on kanjira. Neyveli travels most of the year for performances in Europe with top artists from India. He is a highly experienced teacher of both mridangam and kanjira and has trained students all over Europe. He learned mridangam from A. S. Balaraman and kanjira from M. N. Kandaswami Pillai. Originally from Neyveli, now located in Chennai. Website.

Palani Subramania Pillai (c. 1940s)

Born in 1908 and died in 1962, never recognized formally with awards for his innovations in the art of mridangam and kanjira (most likely because of prejudice that he was not Brahmin). Palani Subramania Pillai was a contemporary of Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer. Equally skilled at mridangam and kanjira, he was a left handed player.

His technique on mridangam is said to have been the first to introduce the gumki or bending of the bass head by sliding and pressing the hand into the skin. His technique is said to have featured more rhythmic complexity while Mani Iyer featured more beauty in the phrases that he played and how they fit the music he was accompanying. Both players had extremely advanced rhythmic and accompanying skill, and there really is no comparing the two with regards to which was a better performer.

P. Subramania Pillai was a student of his father Pazhani Muthiah Pillai and later Dakshinamurthy Pillai. In concert, Iyer and Palani were each other's favorite to accompany with as Mani played mridangam while Subramania played kanjira. One story goes that during one of their concerts in the percusison solos they traded phrases for an entire hour each not being able to top the other.

Papanasam S. Sethuraman (2005)

Learned kanjira with Kalaimamani and Mayavaram Somusundaram and is self taught on mridangam. Performs regularly in Carnatic music and fusion, especially with Ghatam S. Karthick's Heart Beat. Originally from Thirunellveli, now located in Chennai.

T. Vinayakram Selvaganesh (2005)

Born in 1972, Selvaganesh (also known as Chella S. Ganesh) is primarily a kanjira player specializing in fusion and perhaps is the best known kanjira artist outside of India having worked with Remember Shakti, Jonas Hellborg, Zakir Hussain, Free ~ Winds, and Rikhy Ray. He is also the first kanjira artist to have a CD released under his own name. In India, he works mainly in fusion and session work for film soundtracks and composes his own music via computer. His playing technique is unusual in that his touch is light and he often plays the open tone (dum) with an upstroke with his three fingers as opposed to the traditional classical technique that all other kanjira artists learned, which is to play the open tone with a down stroke of the index finger. Learned kanjira, ghatam, mridangam, and konnakol with his father T. H. "Vikku" Vinayakram but primarily with T. H. Subash Chandran. Located in Chennai. Website. Alternate e-mail.

Thanjavur Srinivas (2004)

Ghatam Brother R. N. Prakash (2004)

Originally from Bangalore but now located in London, the Ghatam Brothers are R. N. Prakash (pictured above) and R. N. Prathap. They learned from Bangalore Vidwan K. N. Krishna Murthy. Both of the Ghatam Brothers are equally skilled on kanjira, mridangam, ghatam, and konnakol. Located in London, England, UK. Website.

C. K. Shyam Sundar

Senior kanjira and mridangam vidwan and former lecturer in the Tamil Nadu Music College, died on January 3, 2005 (born in 1938) in Chennai after a brief illness. He was 66. A recipient of the Kalaimamani award in 1986, Shyam Sundar received the Guruvayur Dorai Trust award in December 2004. He learned mridangam and kanjira from Ramadas Rao and kanjira with Pudukottai Swaminatha Pillai. He performed with all of the senior artists of his time. Originally from Chittoor, relocated to Chennai during his career.

Delhi Raman Srinivasan

Mridangam player who also plays kanjira. One of the only Tamil kanjira players located in New Delhi in North India (where he was born). He learned mridangam and kanjira from V. Chandrasekaran, U. K. Sivaraman & Guruvayur Dorai. Website.

Thenkasi H. Paramasivam (2005)

Learned mridangam from Thenkasi K. Hariharan, kanjira from Pudukottai Paranbariyam, and mridangam, kanjira, and konnakol from Trichy R. Tayumaravai. Located in Trichy.

Thirukadaiyur T. K. Dakshinamoorthy (2005)

Kanjira player mainly for violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. Born in 1926, he is one of the older players still performing today at 80 years of age, and he sits in front of the mridangam player. His guru was Kuthaalam Siva Vadivel Pillai. Originally from Thirukadaiyur, now located in Chennai.

Thiruvayur Saikrishnan (2005)

Learned kanjira and mridangam from Kumbakonam Rajapa Iyer. Originally from Thiruvarur, now located in Chennai.

Thrikakkara Y. N. Shantharam (2005)

One of the few kanjira players from Kerala. Shantharaman learned mridangam from Serpala Gopalakrishnan and kanjira from Parashala Ravi. Located in Kerala.

Tirupur G. Sridhar Kumar (2002)

A mridangam player who also performs on kanjira, often with Smt. Nithyasree Mahadevan. Located in Chennai.

Trichy V. V. S. Manian (2005)

One of the few performers that accompanies on kanjira and konnakol. Learned mridangam, kanjira, and konnakol from Trichy Thayumnavar. Originally from Trichy, now located in Chennai.

Trivandrum D. Rajagopal (2005)

Mainly a mridangam player who also performs on kanjira. Learned mridangam from B. Dorai Swami and mridangam and kanjira with Sri R. Vaidyanathan. Originally from Trivandrum in Kerala, now located in Chennai.

Trichy Sankaran (2001)

Primarily a mridangam player of the highest caliber, Trichy also performs on kanjira in Canada and the USA. Learned from Palani Subramania Pillai. Originally from Trichy, now located in Toronto, Canada. Website.

V. Nagarajan (c. 1980)

Born on the July 30, 1930 and died in February 4, 2002. Son of violin player Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. Papa K. S. Venkatramiah. Nagarajan was a mridangam player that developed a nerve problem in his right hand so he switched to playing kanjira left handed. He learned mridangam from Tanjore Sri Vaidyanatha Iyer for a few years and then with Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer for several years for both mridangam and kanjira. Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer taught him the traditional methods and techniques of kanjira. His first concert was at Trichy with the Alathoor Brothers in 1950. He taught kanjira at Wesleyan University in Connecticut as a Visiting Professor in 1967 and in 1974 he taught at the University of Berkeley-California.

JALATHARANGAM

Anayampatti S. Ganesan (2005)

Ganesan is 1 of just 3 jalatharangam players left still performing in southern India. He plays a set of 19 antique porcelain bowls from China that are 100 years old. He is also a singer and violinist. His was the only jalatharangam performance for the 2005-2006 concert season in Madras from Nov. - Jan. some 3000 concerts at 75 locations (and only because of a cancellation, he was arranged to play to fill in!). Located in Chennai.