Guru Sishya Tree of Mrudangam Artistes

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 30 Oct 2009, 14:55

Nick H u are very much right ... and i respect your view about discussing this in a different thread too ... But one thing i dont agree with your view that personal opinions will find approbation in a forum like this. Personal opinions when made to appear in a forum should have authenticity, authority of the person opining and should have ample justification. Otherwise it will become like anyone can say anything about anybody ....We have a famous saying in Tamil "Thadi Eduthavan ellam Thandalkaaran". It will become that type of activity.

Anyone has a right to have personal opinions and no one can question the veracity of such opnions until it is put forth in forums.

J.Balaji

VISHNURAMPRASAD · Post by **VISHNURAMPRASAD** » 30 Oct 2009, 15:34

Sir IMHO :

We can safely conclude that Maestros are the likes of :-

the revered Ayya Pudukkottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai, Sarvashri Palghat Mani Iyer, Palani Subramania Pillai, Ramanathapuram Murugaboopathy, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Palghat Raghu, T.K. Murthy, Vellore Ramabhadran & Shri Harishankar

And there are numerous great vidwans who were revered by the above Maestros themselves.

As the saying goes "Kaasiyai vida veesam punyam", "Gangayai vida punidhamaana nadhi"... which only concludes about the greatness of Kasi and Ganga, the maestros were "Niraikudams!"

kishore.rajan · Post by **kishore.rajan** » 30 Oct 2009, 22:12

@mridhangam - I would like to withdraw my statement in calling Santharam as a maestro after reading from u. If you compare current Mridangam players with PMI or Palani, none of them would be maestros

Also, FYI, I have not even talked to santharam, except seeing in some stages. So no personal interests in calling him a maestro

@nick H - Yes, this needs to be a separate thread.

@VISHNURAMPRASAD - Don't you need to include Karaikudi Mani, Mavelikara Velukkutty Nair, and Kamalakar Rao in to your list ?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 30 Oct 2009, 23:54

Indeed, Balaji, just as everyone has a right to an opinion, so do others to disagree and discuss --- especially in public forums

VISHNURAMPRASAD · Post by **VISHNURAMPRASAD** » 02 Nov 2009, 15:41

Dear Kishore.Rajan,

I have just given an indicative list. These were my personal favourites whom I have heard and enjoyed their unique styles in many live concerts and recordings. Shri Dakshinamurthy Pillai's name was included based on the immense popularity that he enjoyed and the influence that he had created for many generations though i have not heard his concert recordings barring few gramaphone plates.

My Grandpa who had the oppurtunity to listen to carnatic music from 1910s to 1970s used to quote names like Narayanasami Appa, Tanjore Ramdas Rao, Kutralam Sivavadivel Pillai, Venu Naicker, Palani Muthiah Pillai, Iluppoor Panjami (who was adept in playing Thavil, Mridangam and could sing as well), Umayalpuram Kothandarama Iyer (who was originally a Mridangam vidwan who later shifted to Ghatam), Palghat Ramachandra Iyer, Sakkottai Rangu Iyengar, Kumbakonam Azhaganambi Pillai etc and explain their individual Bhaanis with solkattus and nadais.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 02 Nov 2009, 20:39

Vishnuramprasad

You had given the legends names and they are all the names that the masters often refer to while reminiscing. Thank you so much.

J.Balaji

tharunthilak · Post by **tharunthilak** » 03 Nov 2009, 09:51

Palghat K Jayakrishnan is desciple of Palghat T R Rajamani.
Tripunithura N Radhakrishnan (Ghatom) is desciple of Parassala Ravi.
Trivandrum Balaji is desciple of Trivandrum R. Vaidyanathan.
Dr. G Babu is desciple of Kadanad V K Gopi.
Palghat Maheshkumar is desciple of Kadanad V K Gopi.
N Amrit (Kanchira) is desciple of G Harishankar (Kanchira).
V Suresh (Ghatom) is desciple of T V Gopalakrishnan.
Mavelikara R Rajesh & Uduppi Sridhar (Ghatom) are desciples Mavelikara Krishnan Kutty Nair.
Kollam Vidyadharan is desciple of Mavelikara Velukkutty Nair.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 03 Nov 2009, 12:17

Trivandrum Balaji is disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi Palghat Shri Raghu.

J.Balaji

VISHNURAMPRASAD · Post by **VISHNURAMPRASAD** » 03 Nov 2009, 17:24

Balaji Sir,

I was recollecting an anectode by the late Shri Pudukkottai Mahadevan who went to see Shri Palghat Mani Iyer when he was ailing during his last days where Shri Palghat Mani Iyer had remembered the genorosity of Shri Dakshinamurthy Pillai who helped him gain prominence in the field at a relatively very young age. Mahadevan sir said that Shri Mani Iyer was on tears when he quoted pillaivaal's gunaadisayams and he said Pillaival was his maanaseega guru. Mani Iyer also at that moment remembered Iluppoor Panjami who was a prodigy but died at a very young age and said God was kind enough to him for giving good life span to play for Maha vidwans and share the dias with the likes of Pillaival.

Till his last day PMI is said to have uttered the name of Pillaival. Such was his devotion and admiration!

On another note, When Mani iyer referred about Iluppur Panjami he also had said to Shri Mahadevan that Iluppur panjami was the one who had composed the popular chitta swarams for Niravadhi Sukhadha, Telisirama, Nenarunchi etc. Mani iyer had then said to have quoted that the playing of Shri Valayappatti Subramaniam was very much like Iluppur and it could be Iluppur who was born again as Valayappatti. What more tribute is needed for Shri Valayappatti than this one?

tharunthilak · Post by **tharunthilak** » 03 Nov 2009, 20:30

Balaji - Trivandrum Balaji's initial guru was Trivandrum R Vaidyanathan itself. Later he studied under Palghat Raghu too.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 04 Nov 2009, 04:53

tharunthilak - thanks I will make the changes in a couple of days

tharunthilak · Post by **tharunthilak** » 04 Nov 2009, 10:19

@mohan - A correction needed. Mavelikara S R Raju is desciple of Mavelikara Krishnan Kutty Nair, and not a desciple of Palani.

veeyes · Post by **veeyes** » 09 Nov 2009, 18:23

Dr. G Babu (currently teaching at Indian Institute of Performing Arts in Bahrain) is a disciple of Shri Karaikudi R Mani. Besides teaching, he also performs in concerts - the recent Navarathri concerts in Trivandrum is an example (Sep 22 accompanying Amrutha Venkatesh)' also accompanied Shankaran Namboothiri in Bahrain for the Vijayadashami concert.

A link about the artiste is here http://kerala4u.in/94/personalities/dr-g-babumrudangist

tharunthilak · Post by **tharunthilak** » 10 Nov 2009, 07:19

@veeyes - If you know Babu, you may please check with him. Babu has studied under Kadanad Gopi for long years. Later he might have studied under Mani sir too. We cannot ignore the initial guru

veeyes · Post by **veeyes** » 10 Nov 2009, 12:39

tharunthilak wrote:@veeyes - If you know Babu, you may please check with him. Babu has studied under Kadanad Gopi for long years. Later he might have studied under Mani sir too. We cannot ignore the initial guru

I did see your earlier post on Shri Gopi's shishyas and Dr Babu was listed in there. Perhaps, I should have been more clearer in my post that Dr Babu has since been a disciple of Shri Mani also. My intention was not to ignore the initial guru. Apologies if it came out that way.

tharunthilak · Post by **tharunthilak** » 11 Nov 2009, 14:31

@veeyes - No worries. I was making a general statement. I know you were not purposefully trying to ignore the initial guru.

But there are lop of people who simply ignore the initial guru (if they are not that popular), and will mention only their popular second guru.