Mr. Vamanan Untimely demise

[VRV]

Hello All,

This email made me very sad. Mr. Vamanan a wonderful musician who passed away at a very young age of 50. I had the privilege of accompanying him many times while I lived in India. I used to call him Kutty Chembai, because of his unique style of singing. Here is the email that I received. If any rasikas have recordings, please share.

May his soul rest in peace.

Vinod Venkataraman

Begin email Quote

We are terribly shocked to advise you of the untimely demise , in Mumbai, of the eminent Carnatic singer Shri.Vamanan. He passed away at 7/30 a,m on April 3, 2013. He was in a hospital for two days due to breathlessness.He was less than 50 years old being born on 31/8/1963.

He was a gifted singer, a pleasant person and spread joy wherever he went. He was a music teacher held in high esteem and his students are legion. He was closely linked with "Dilip", a quarterly noted for articles of high quality on religion and culture.

Vamanan was the most distinguished disciple of Shri.Pallavur Mani Iyer and as a token of regard for his Guru, he established an Endowment in his Guru's name on his Centenary year in " Music Triangle ". "Music Triangle " is the premier music Sabha in North Mumbai. The Corpus has Rs 1.8 lakhs to date and the interest therefrom is used to hold concerts every September as also for conducting competitions on the compositions of great Carnatic musicians .

Vamanan presented a pleasing appearance at his concerts. He avoided facial mannerisms while singing , sat erect on the stage.He was free of tension and was always a relaxed singer. It was a pleasure watching him sing. For Vamanan audience satisfaction was an article of faith.

My introduction to him was over 25 years ago when he gave a performance on the birthday of Smt. Seetha Ramakrishnan, reputed Violin teacher in Andheri. Thereafter, he would come three days in a week to my house to teach carnatic music to my sister-in-law's daughter, Swetha Krishnan. This went on for more than two years. We used to hold discussions on carnatic music and it was Vamanan who induced me to write for "Shanmukha"--this has continued for over 15 years."Shanmukha " is the monthly journal of the Shanmukhananda Sabha. I have reviewed in " Shanmukha " the book " Pallavur K.Mani Iyer--The Revelling Nadopaasaka" written by Vamanan as a tribute to his Guru..

Vamanan ,who decided not to marry, dedicated his life to Carnatic music.His demise is a great loss to the world of Carnatic music and Fine Arts. He is survived by his aged parents and siblings. Our hearts go out to them. Their sorrow is shared by a large circle of friends, admirers and sishyas of Vamanan Sir

We pray that his soul rests in peace.

Mumbai, 400 055

[Nick H]

Condolences, VRV

[Rsachi]

VRV, Such people seem to be born for music, they live for music, and even when they pass on, they would live in music. RIP

[rshankar]

Vinod, that is very sad condolesnces to you, his family and friends, and disciples! May his soul RIP
- And unfortunately, this piece of bad news launches me on my soap box - while I am not sure exactly what caused his death - dying after a sudden bout of 'breathlessness' means a massive myocardial infarction to me unless proved otherwise, and brings me to the point of my soap box - we in India are 1) at inordinately high risk for heart attacks and diabetes AND 2) inordinately useless at taking care of ourselves and our bodies appropriately. 40% of MIs in India occur in men under forty and 50% in men under 50 - absolutely horrifying statsitics. Anyway, I will stop my rant there after making a plea that if we continue to think that investing in our health and our bodies is a waste of time/effort/resources, we must at the very least try to ensure that our waist circumferences are less than 50% of our height!

[PUNARVASU]

In the death of Shri Vamanan, I have lost a good friend , and he was our guru too. I have known him for the last 20 years or more and he was a wonderful human being, a very good musician, and a very very dedicated teacher. My heart goes out to his aged parents, his siblings his students and all the music lovers here in Mumbai who were drawn to his pristine music. I Am yet to recover from the shock.

[Rsachi]

I met someone just now who knew Mr Vamanan via the Dilip magazine well. He told me he had sudden kidney failure after going to office.
?

[maduraimini]

Condolences to parents, siblings and students.

[VRV]

In the death of Shri Vamanan, I have lost a good friend , and he was our guru too. I have known him for the last 20 years or more and he was a wonderful human being, a very good musician, and a very very dedicated teacher. My heart goes out to his aged parents, his siblings his students and all the music lovers here in Mumbai who were drawn to his pristine music. I Am yet to recover from the shock.

Punarvasu,

I am talking almost 25 to 30 years ago. Vamanan would come to my home in Kalina and sing his heart out. He learnt from my mother and would painsatakingly attain perfection in every single swara he uttered. The sad part is I did not have an opportunity to reconnect with him diuring the many times I visited India. Honestly my loss.
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/posting.ph ... 2&p=240171#
Do you or anyone in your circle of students or friends have any recordings of him singing. I very much would love to hear his voice once. Specifically his kalpana swarams. Like I mentioned I used to call him Kutty Chembai. His style may have changed but he will remain forever alive for me.

RIP dear friend.

Vinod

[cienu]

VRV,
There is a parallel thread on the most unfortunate and untimely demise of Vamanan in the Vidwan & Vidushis column.
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... it=vamanan

[PUNARVASU]

VRV, will check with my friends. I do not have any with me. Will try from other sources. Yes, he was such a great musician, who spoke very little, and let his music speak. A person who shunned publicity and the lime light. Very rare to find such people.
We will miss him a lot.

[RKrishnamurthy]

I learn that Mr Vamanan was the first cousin of my sister in law. That is her chittappa's son. Obviously she is also devastated.
Krishnamurthy