Child Prodigy- Aishwarya Venkataraman

hsuvarna · Post by **hsuvarna** » 06 Mar 2007, 09:42

As part of 2007 concerts, yesterday the local SouthIndia Fine Arts organized a concert of 2-2.5hrs
of Violin Solo by 13yr old resident of Los Angeles Aishwarya V. What a magnificent performance on Violin.
She played thodi-bowli-mohana-kapi(RTP cum raagamaala), saramati-mokshamu galada, pantuvaraali- shivashivayanraada, hamsadhwani as long items and bhajans (I couldnot identify. but sure, pretty popular)
and finished with pavamaana-mangalam.

Her father Sri V.VenkataRaman played the mridangam and I have not heard a better mridangam in here
since Sri Mushnam's a couple years ago. The sound produced by his strokes on the mridangam had force
and the stereo of 2 mikes created tremendous mridangam experience.

Aishwarya is hard work of Sri TN Krishnan and they have a web site of
http://www.divinestrings.com/.
Donot miss her program if you are nearby. Best wishes to her in the future to take carnatic violin forward for ages.

meena · Post by **meena** » 06 Mar 2007, 09:59

Nice website.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Mar 2007, 11:14

Yes, Nice. Her write up about her guru is quite endearing.

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 06 Mar 2007, 12:26

Just adding a few missing items from hsuvarna' s list. Concert started off with abgOgi varNa, followed by gajAnanayutam in chakravAka. Her AlApane for chakravAka was a bit un-conventional but very good. She followed it up with dEva dEvakalayAmi tE in mAyAmAlavagouLa. IMHO, she could have avoided these two rAgas one after the other. Then came vAtApi ganapatim in Hamsadhvani. She also played heccharikagA rArA somewhere in between.

I had to leave in between the RTP in tODi. tAna was done in tODi, nIlAmbari, bouLi and mOhana. pallavi was set to Adi tALa.

It was a nice concert, and I am sure this young girl has a bright future in music.

-Ramakriya

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 06 Mar 2007, 14:22

Congratulations and best wishes to Aishwarya...

Sam

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 06 Mar 2007, 15:49

Great effort by Aishwarya but I feel too many youngsters these days are being touted as prodigies. Stalwarts like TN Krishnan, MSG, Umayalpuram Sivaraman also gave their first concerts at a very young age (around 10 or less) but rarely do we speak of them as prodigies.

pallavi.pr · Post by **pallavi.pr** » 06 Mar 2007, 16:33

True Mohan, I agree with you.Besides, I feel more than the fact that the child is a prodigy, he/she must have growth in Knowledge as the years progress. It must not become stagnant! Thats my only prayer with respect to prodigies.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 06 Mar 2007, 19:36

mohan wrote:Stalwarts like TN Krishnan, MSG, Umayalpuram Sivaraman also gave their first concerts at a very young age (around 10 or less) but rarely do we speak of them as prodigies.

Aishwarya refers to Sri TNK as a child prodigy!

The audio clip from NPR featuring Aishwarya and her dad is simply wonderful! She is defiinitely putting in the hard work! But the pressure and expectation on this 13 year-old seem extraordinary - a degree in performing arts before she is done with high school and then, pursuit of medicine - talk about BIG expectations on delicate shoulders! I pray that these wishes come true with the least amount of stress and discomfiture, while leading a balanced life!

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 06 Mar 2007, 21:36

Without meaning to dilute the credit to this and other talented young artistes, I want to point out that "multitasking" is more of an upscale dream (not always realized) and adds to physical and mental stress of the person. Sooner or later, something has to give. It is better that the parents realize this and channel the energies of the youngster appropriately. Yes, at the young age the brain can soak up so many details. But the brain, despite being proclaimed as marvellous, can take some detours sometimes to ward off the stress (--We call it LeChatelier's principle in Chemistry) which could be detrimental for the human dimensions of the individual.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 07 Mar 2007, 03:40

Mahakavi - yes, there is an opportunity cost involved. One instrumentalist who achieved a lot at a very young age told me that he wasn't allowed to play cricket with his friends in case he injured his hands and thus hamper his practice regime!

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 07 Mar 2007, 03:57

Do we have any example of someone who blossomed into an adult prodigy? i.e. late bloomer

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 07 Mar 2007, 05:12

For most, the learning of Carnatic music starts at a young age. I started learning Carnatic music at the age of 17 (is that late?).

There are some like Aruna Sairam and Maharajapuram Santhanam who became very popular artistes later in life, despite having training from a young age.

hsuvarna · Post by **hsuvarna** » 07 Mar 2007, 05:15

jayaram wrote:Do we have any example of someone who blossomed into an adult prodigy? i.e. late bloomer

I think BV Raman and BV Lakshmanan bloomed very late.

rasam · Post by **rasam** » 07 Mar 2007, 06:37

Does someone have proper clips of her playing? All the clips on her website are idiotically labelled: mohanam varnam is some clip of her tuning the violin, "niravadhi sukhada" has some excerpt of a tani-avartanam etc.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 07 Mar 2007, 07:42

Another 'prodigy'..

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 07 Mar 2007, 08:55

With all due respect, that website is way over the top for a 13 year old child to have. She may have some potential to become a good violin player some day but her parents should be a little more humble than calling her some of the ridiculously endearing terms that she is called...if you ignore the flash and sparkle of her website and listen to the music on the website its rather plain...and it's obvious that her vathapi swarams are all memorized....her father is on the mridangam and changes his pattern at the exact second the violin changes her patterns. there are many 13 year years who play far better and don't just memorize patterns...if this is the future of carnatic music then I'll be upset. I know of several violinists who are her age and can actually play in the traditional sense and they don;t need expensive websites to show it...there are many talented youth these days but websites like these only hurt carnatic music.

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 07 Mar 2007, 09:07

While members of this forum are entitled to their opinions regarding the talents/creativity of this 13-year old, I would caution them not to throw cold water at this youngster. Many times it is the unrealized ambition of the parents which is thrust upon their offspring and in their zeal they move heaven and earth including hyperboles and flashy websites to propel their children. Marketing, undeniably, is taking a front seat even in CM. But the casualty in this attempt could be the youngster's emotional life.

I am aware of a few other websites (which will remain unmentioned) of some award winning artistes (some climbing out of their teenages and others who are in their mid-careers) which are flashy and spelling nothing but glory-be-thy-name superlatives scattered all around. I cringe when I read the descriptions there. Sometimes it is others who write those superlatives and many times it goes to the heads of the artistes in question. Welcome to the new (marketing) world of CM!

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 07 Mar 2007, 09:21

I agree that it's probably entirely the unrealized ambition of the parents. I'm convinced that these elaborate websites are the idea of the parents themselves...in this case, the pictures section contains many pictures of a mridangam player (presumably the father) of himself...I'd guess that there is heavy promotion of this girl. I direct none of my criticism at the youngsters themselves...but far more on the parents. She can be a good violinist one day, and she has an , but like all carnatic musicians at her age, she has alot of work to do. That's understandable. But a child genius/prodigy....absolutely not. Ravikiran, Mandolin Srinivas generated high quality music at their young age...great complex ragam and swaram patterns. Memorizing a couple of swarams and an RTP here or there doesn't make you a prodigy worthy of a website.

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 07 Mar 2007, 09:48

This craze to be labelled prodigies in CM is something that I have never understood. Even artistes in their 30s claim they are prodigies and could identify ragams when they were 2 or 4 years old, gave their first performance when they were 6 etc. Even if they want to market themselves, why dont they talk about their more recent achievements? But, I think they are now suffering from their own marketing. A conversation overheard at the end of one Saketraman's concert between 2 mamis sums it all

Mami1 - Romba nanna paddran
Mami2- Avan child prodigy. Illati appdilaan paada mudiyathu.

Haven't these people seen BKS Iyengar? He could never touch his toes as a child but went on to become a legend in his field. Ã

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 07 Mar 2007, 09:48

While I hate to generalise , I know a few people who push their Kids to the limits.
Kids , who are too young and respectful to project their own views.
I used to quarrel with some of these parents (the ones who are close to me) and say
"Go and learn it yourself , instead of...."
No but they take the easy way out.

Has anyone here bumped into a kid who was being touted as a Prodigy Rasika of a Current Star.(in the Chennai concert Circuit)
I was introduce to the kid once by the star struck parents and other star struck friends of mine (who never sensed the Kids discomfiture )
"do you know the thing about this boy ? He travels long distances to ensure that he does not miss a single concert of..."

The parents excused themselves in a hurry (they were missing the juicy opening of the abhogi varnam) but the Boy (hardly 6 or 7 years of age) was more intent on balancing his Pop Corn and kept looking at the door for something else that was yet to be brought in.
Was it an Ice Cream ?
I will never know.

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 07 Mar 2007, 09:52

sbala
I have deleted the duplicate posts

Hmm.There is more.You can delete it yourself

meena · Post by **meena** » 07 Mar 2007, 10:05

sbala

pl. hit submit button only once, avoid duplicate posts.

rasam · Post by **rasam** » 07 Mar 2007, 10:22

She may not be a prodigy, or as talented as is she is made out to be, but whats wrong in putting up a website?

there are many talented youth these days but websites like these only hurt carnatic music.

Pray, how does a website hurt carnatic music? However 'flashy' a website is, ultimately, each person has to make up their own mind whether she is worthy of the hype or not.

Memorizing a couple of swarams and an RTP here or there doesn't make you a prodigy worthy of a website.

So what exactly do you have to do to be a 'prodigy worthy of a website'?

I know of several violinists who are her age and can actually play in the traditional sense and they don;t need expensive websites to show it

Good for them. But having an 'expensive' website doesn't make one any less 'traditional'.

Folks! Stop munching on sour grapes and wake up to the internet era.

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 07 Mar 2007, 10:24

I'm glad to see other people have noticed this trend of calling every single child who sits on stage and does something in a concert...

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 07 Mar 2007, 10:33

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 07 Mar 2007, 11:11

I only wish the kid all the best in her violin playing but...

Doctor mom and Professor dad.. obviously well heeled and well connected and that I am sure helped in getting TNK to tutor her right off the bat.. how many other equally or far more deserving kids have to "settle" for less?

Any kid can be a "prodigy" because the child's brain at that age is so malleable it picks things up very quickly but that does not mean that the kid is worth anything music-wise.

Rasam, I think the point is not so much that the kid has a website but the fact that society is starting to glorify every mediocre achievement of some children to the point that the parents egos get stoked to this extent. It is not so much the website that is bad but the fact that it is a symptom of a swollen heads of parents. Websites like these hurt carnatic music because to a non CM person it would appear that this is all there is to CM, a couple of adi talam krithis, some rehearsed swaras and a line or two of alapana in a simple scale. We're really starting to see far too many of these pretenders come up with snazzy sites while real musicians, real artistes who lived and died by their music are forgotten. That is why I am so angry that these kids are already being labelled 'prodigies'. In fact in one arangetram in Singapore this kid sang Varali and Kharaharapriya (quite well actually) and the idiot reviewer actually dared to write this with a straight face (I didn't find any laugh spittle on the review): "Even the great GNB and Viswanatha Iyer did not attempt to sing these ragas", as if implying that this titch is somehow better even, than them.

Imagine if one day for every one S Balachander or TNR website (are there any in the first place?!) there are a hundred Keyboard Satya, Rohan Krishnamurthy and Aiswarya whateverhersurnameis self-promotional websites?

I can't stop them, but I can damn well critique them, even at the risk of, as it has happened before, sounding like "I don't want to encourage youngsters".

The trend also has been towards inviting some top musician to sing for some kid's mridangam arangethram. Most people who turn up don't really care about the arangetram, and just want to hear the top guy sing, and he usually sings some Rupaka thala krithi and an adi talam krithi for the thani while the poor kid tries to sound at least somewhat semi-decent, and then the kid disappears from the radar completely, despite (I kid thee not!) being hailed as the next PMI no less! Yes, THAT Palghat Mani Iyer. It's a good thing PMI passed away so he didn't have to hear himself being compared to these upstarts.

Disgusting.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 07 Mar 2007, 11:29

When I was five I could read a magazine once (it was anandavikatan those days) and repeat it from cover to cover. I indeed had a photographic memory. In addition I could repeat long stretches of conversations that took place in my house verbatim. My father thought I was a genius. My mother thought it was the blessings of Devi to whom she was seriously devoted. I easily memorized vedic mantras, sahasranaamam stotrams etc. Then my father tried to push me into maths. Perhaps he thought I will be another Ramanujan

He asked me to memorize multiplication tables (upto 999x999). By now I was seven and my memory had started fading. I hated the task of memorizing numbers which were so dry and meaningless. When I was ten the power was all gone and I was just an ordinary kid but above average intelligence. My father of course was diappointed but he was happy with my school grades. I used to be the top student in all classes except those requiring mechanical skills (Am I glad I am not a surgeon

Now in the evening of my life my memory has started fading though I am not diagnosed with Alzheimers (touch wood). I am now below average in memory but can recall many events from early life onwards almost photographically which is not always pleasant. I am glad my father did not 'push' me. I thank the Lord everyday for maintaining my sanity!

rasam · Post by **rasam** » 07 Mar 2007, 11:31

My point is that snazzy websites and over-zealous parents can only get you so far ... Ultimately, either you really prove yourself to the cognoscenti or 'disappear from the radar' altogether as you very nicely put it.

Hyperbole about kids is nothing new ... Previously, indulgent parents used to thrust their children upon their relatives (think back to that cousin of yours who was forced to play the only geetham he ever learnt at every family gathering). Now they have a new forum to advertise their children viz. the internet.

A self-advertising website should not alarm anyone to the extent of predicting CM's imminent demise or some such catastrophe. In the age of youtube, google video etc., anyone can record and publicize themselves... but to sustain the interest of the public and please CM rasikas (who must be the hardest to please among all people

) on a sustained basis will ultimately require musicianship of a much higher dimension.

BTB, MVI did sing varali and was famous for 'kanakanaruchira.'

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 07 Mar 2007, 11:53

I agree entirely with the sentiments of Sri Bala. As a simple example, look at guruvayoor dorai's website ( http://www.geocities.com/sri_guruvayur_dorai/) comapared to the website of Rohan Krishnamurthy. Although Rohan's talents are probably largely responsible to the patient teaching of such a great master, Rohan's website is professionally designed and officially registered as a domain name which his teacher's remains as one with an unappealing yellow and content that hasn't been updated in years. If Rohan can develop his own website at such a young age, he should have the deceny to help this guru with a website that is more appealing. How is it fair that Rohan can have a far better website than his teacher? That is one of many problems with these flashy sites. They show disrespect for our traditions.

rasam · Post by **rasam** » 07 Mar 2007, 12:33

Interesting example! Are you suggesting that G.Dorai would be more respected in the CM community (or outside) if he had a flashier website? Or even worse, is one's ability interpreted in terms of how well one's website is designed and maintained? I dont even understand the concept of fairness: Dorai's guru Pazhani Subramanium Pillai may not even have a website (let alone a snazzy one). Does that in any way disrespect him or diminish his accomplishments?

The fact of the matter is that Dorai is a well-established vidwan who has established his presence over 60 years of concert playing. Having a state-of-art web presence adds no more to his wizardry than a superficial element.

Masters of the 20s and 30s have not even been recorded for posterity. Does that mean that their historical presence does not inspire us students of music?

While I agree that the term 'prodigy' has sort of lost its value and that youngsters (even undeserving ones) are being pressurized way more than they should be at such a tender age, one should celebrate the fact that a 13-year old can even memorize and play an RTP, rather than being cynical and pessimistic about it.

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 07 Mar 2007, 15:11

rasam, while it can be argued that an out and out master like Dorai does not need a flashy website (and he does not), it can also be argued that there are many vidwans, even some great ones that have been forgotten, and as I pointed out, even a great like S Balachander runs the risk of being forgotten because of the lack of information available about him, forget about artistes like Bhuvaneshwariah and Venkatagiriappa (violinists), Sathur Subramaniam, Pattamadai Sundaram Iyer etc.

I am not so much against the websites themselves, as much as wondering WHY would a parent be so egotistical about their kids, pushing their achievements this way? Imagine then if more and more parents and later the artistes themselves do this.

Already we have undeserving hacks claiming to be the greatest vainika ever, the "god" of Indian violin, "remniscent of CS Murugabhoopathy" etc on the internet and these people are starting to become or have already become spokesmen for CM, as if they are worth a damn. Do we really need to encourage more of these? He may be somewhat good (I beg to differ but that's another story), but is Rajhesh Vaidya really the "greatest" vainika we have? If you went to his old website you might have gone away with that idea.

I for one am not a big fan of those websites, not because I think the kids are not any good, but because I think it is a symptom of an overreaching ego trip of some parents and the artistes themselves. The kids are really good, then encourage them and nurture them, not exhibit them like showpieces to the world.

I applaud the kid's effort to play an RTP at such a young age, but I don't see the need for the parents to put up a flashy website like that for the world to see. Just as it is their right to put it up, it's my right to shoot it down (With words of course!)

This one kid in Singapore who was also not too awful on the keyboard (for a guy who's been learning it for only four months, yes four months), went about saying "Indian music tends to put people off, I want to make sure more people can appreciate it", on TV no less. He's only been learning the keyboard for four months and already talking about playing "Jagadanandakaraka" (pretty horribly I might add) and started to speak for Indian classical music. Again, millionaire parents helped this kid get a TV slot, have some top guy from India as a chief guest and generally stoke their already overinflated egos. Would my condemning the concert as atrocious (from an objective point of view) be "cynical and pessimistic"? I think not. While I appreciate the kid's efforts in trying to learn CM (under a hack teacher, unfortunately), I also think that the parents killed his skill by promoting it too early and too often (culminating in a very forgettable performance at what was then Singapore's premier performance venue. The samosas were nice though).

sbala · Post by **sbala** » 07 Mar 2007, 15:22

kij/meena,
Sorry for the duplicate posts. I got an error each time after clicking the submit button and I wasn't able to access the website for sometime. I assumed the post didn't make it and I gave up!

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 07 Mar 2007, 15:37

another child in the melee! aishvarya and parents! my heart felt sympathies! it is a harsh world!

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 07 Mar 2007, 20:31

My take on the websites of "prodigies" is that it is their privilege, their time, and their money (not to speak of their vanity). We, the rasikas, also have our time-limits, and our privilege (not to visit those sites if we don't want to). While the general comment that the word "prodigy" is grossly misused/abused is valid, I, for one, would let the "prodigies" hack it out in the arena where it counts. Those of us who are uncomfortable with such pomp and pageantry can retreat gracefully.

As for the website owners taking the heat from all and sundry, it comes with the turf. As you made the bed so must you lie on it. The alternative is to remake the bed.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Mar 2007, 21:01

I agree, mahakavi.
Bala, with you too, except for using words like 'to be condemned'. However smart these kids are when it comes to
creating web sites, they are children after all, and have to be spoken of in milder terms. Again, it is mostly the parents who are to be held responsible for all this. Even those youngsters whose parents go easy and are not frenzied, can break their hearts over their not making it to stardom. Yes, parents, please slow down. Let your children have a healthy childhood...

bala747 · Post by **bala747** » 07 Mar 2007, 21:04

arasi, I get what you mean but I was referring to the parents, not the children.. Anyway I have corrected the post accordingly. I do get carried away at times.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Mar 2007, 21:08

Thanks, buddy...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 07 Mar 2007, 22:17

It is SO EASY to tell the parents from the ones who are not!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Mar 2007, 22:20

You said it!

hsuvarna · Post by **hsuvarna** » 07 Mar 2007, 22:36

Using the word prodigy was a mistake by me, I guess. I should have just said
talented kid in the subject.

But there is no need to get into what moms/dads do for living and how connections are formed, and how equal opportunities are not present for other kids etc. There is ~80% reservations in our country. I would not have put a web page myself but there is no need to condemn if one does by using terms like idiotic etc.

How about another child prodigy Sachin Tendulkar, did'nt he play and play, bat and bat in his childhood?
What a first century he hit? Did he miss childhood? How about Ramanujam, di'nt he solve and solve maths in childhood? How about Edison? Was'nt he experimenting in childhood?
Whatever the interest kids have, parents have to recognize and promote to the extent possible. But how much time should they spend doing that every day? Is 1hr enough? Is 2hrs enough? Is 3 or 4 or 5?

Also we need to take notice that Aishwarya is a good swimmer, meaning she enjoys and recreates herself.

The fact that at 13yrs, sitting infront of hundreds of people and playing blemishles violin for 2-2.5hrs need to be appreciated and encouraged. We don't know whether she will be as creative as MMI or Voleti or L.Subramanian
after few years. She has the basic platform of playing violin intricacies now. She can concentrate on manodharma aspect for rest of the years. After all why do we think that only Aishwarya and her parents benefit out of this?
CM and rasikas like us also benefit a lot by their hardwork and good music. Is'nt it?

But few good points
-we need to be careful of web content
-The guru must dominate the content. An example of what a dedicated guru can do.
-follow kids interest and see where their heart is.
-keep the exposing to a limit otherwise, it may distract the objective

meena · Post by **meena** » 08 Mar 2007, 00:18

Before we jump on 'child prodigy' websites.
Have u all checked some of the 'current' artists websites?
How many have dedicated a website to their guru?
Many 'well known' artists, don't wanna name them, have a half page writeup on their guru and a tiny pic.

pathetic i say!

http://rasikas.org/links.php

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 08 Mar 2007, 00:58

>>How about Ramanujam, di'nt he solve and solve maths in childhood? How about Edison? Was'nt he experimenting in childhood? <<

hsuvarna:
You have valid points. I agree with you that none of us have the right to question the antecedents of young artistes or their parents. What some of us are saying is that (1) take everything that is written at a website with a grain of salt and if necessary ignore them, and (2) we are offering advice to the parents not to push the kids too much nor raise their own ambition skyhigh since any slippage will be disastrous, especially for the kid.

As for prodigies like Ramanujan, Bharathi, and Edison their lives were not without downsides not unrelated to their intense vocational interests. Ramanujan ignored his health (--He didn't know he had to tuck himself under the warm blanket until much later when instructed by another fellow Indian at Trinity dormitory. That and his nutritional deficiencies caused his fatal disease). Bharathi ignored his family and brought undue hardship on himself. Edison experimented so much for the benefit of humanity but became deaf at a young age as a result of one his experiments blowing up a boxcar and the conductor gave him a thrashing which resulted in Edison becoming deaf for the rest of his life.

Notwithstanding all this, we owe a debt of gratitute to the forementioned trio. Times have changed. These days anyone can sound intelligent by surfing the internet. In the former days one had to struggle hard to gather information. In former days if somebody was a genius, they also became eccentric. What is humanity's benefit turned out many times to be the curse of the person who provided the benefit. Such is life. What some of us are advocating is moderation.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Mar 2007, 02:53

..like a candle wasting itself away to light the path for others.
Most of the 'genius', prodigy'...have a miserable life and they make others around them miserable too! I did spend some time with the son of Einstein who used to mention how unkind his father was and how much he hated him, though we all know how miserable Einstein's own family life itself was!

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 08 Mar 2007, 08:50

Just as another example...I recently read this quote in an article about another young musician (mridangam player, no reason to single him out). this is a case where the author of the article has completly done an injustice to CM.

While he can confidently render Thiruppugazh with complete ease, he has also mastered playing mridangam to popular Talams like Adi, Rupakam, Mishra Chapu, Khanda Chapu, Mishra Jampa, Atta, and Kandajati Triputa.

Mastered????

pallavi.pr · Post by **pallavi.pr** » 08 Mar 2007, 10:40

HEE HEE...thats a hilarious and a ridiculous quote allright!

who's the artiste?

mri_fan · Post by **mri_fan** » 08 Mar 2007, 11:59

There's no reason to bring up his name...but he's a 13 year old player who has never performed in a full concert (pre-arrengetram even!) and has taken lessons from a couple of well known mridangam artists like Rohan krishnamurthy and Srimushnam Raja Rao

He hasn't even played in concerts....yet he's mastered playing mridangam according to this article?

pallavi.pr · Post by **pallavi.pr** » 08 Mar 2007, 12:02

well...then thrs no reason to doubt his credentials either....

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 08 Mar 2007, 14:06

While youngsters need to be encouraged, projecting them as genius or prodigies can become conter productive. At an impressionable age such projections make them think that he have mastered the art & subsequently they stagnate

<<hsuvarna>> while we talk about Sachin in this context, let's remember Vinod kambli also. Too much of hype should not spoil a other wise capable youngster

SSK · Post by **SSK** » 09 Mar 2007, 05:00

If the overall intent of this thread was NOT to promote an artist/child/prodigy/genius or whatever... further, then I think all this discussion is doing just the opposite. Talented rasikas will ultimately figure out the real skills and knowledge, that defines an artist in any field. Promotions of any kind, titles, honors and awards cannot enhance the real merit of an artist, nor the absence of such promortions, titles, honors etc.. do away with the skill of the individual.

musicquest · Post by **musicquest** » 10 Mar 2007, 08:51

Folks: I don't normally blog here but after reading all the reviews of Aishwaraya I went to her website and listened to her Music. If folks call this carnatic music by a prodigy. I wish CM good luck. Without trying to discourage her efforts. I encourage each one of you to listen to 8 yr old Jayshree Sarathy who sings and plays violin in the lotus concerts and other bay area concerts to understand what it means to be a prodigy and I don't think I have heard anyone call her that. I am not saying Jayshree is the best but it will give you some food for comparison.

If playing to correct shruthi and reciting memorised swara patterns means CM by a prodigy then I would request you to listen more to our stalwarts of yesteryears ......KVN, MDR, Ariyakudi....etc before jumping to such conclusions. Isn't there something called Raga Bhavam which you only get by internalising a raga and learning many krithis in one raga to understand every nuance in depth?

They say ignorance is bliss but this should not influence the "unknown bliss" of others who love CM music.