Carnatic Vocal By T V Sankaranarayanan

As part of its 9-day 40th Annual Cultural Festival of Music, Dance & Drama at the Keyes High School campus from 23rd November to 1st December, Kalasagaram is organising concerts by eminent musicians such as saxophonist Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, vocalists Sudha Raghunathan, the Priya Sisters, Trichur V Ramachandran and T V Sankaranarayanan, and flautist Dr. N Ramani, and two Tamil dramas Vaasthu Vasu and Plastic Kadavul by United Visuals from Chennai.

Today, the 6th day, T V Sankaranarayanan will be presenting a Carnatic vocal recital. He will be supported by S Sankara Mahadevan for the support vocal, Nagai Sriram on the violin, Melakaveri Balaji on the mridangam, Alathur Rajaganesh on the kanjira and Nemani Somayajulu on the ghatam.

A popular Carnatic vocalist, T V Sankaranarayanan was born into a musical family in 1945 in Mayavaram. His maternal uncle was the legendary vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer. TVS got his training from his father T S Vembu Ayyar and Madurai Mani Iyer.

TVS started singing with his father was he was 15. He was initially set to become a lawyer and even enrolled in the Madras High Court as an advocate in 1967. But he finally decided to become a musician, and started giving concerts in 1968. He hasn't looked back since then, and has been one of the most sought-after concert artistes.

TVS owes his popularity to the style developed by his guru and uncle. His enthusiasm and zest even now, after so many years on stage, is enthalling. He usually sings krithis which were the favorite of Madurai Mani Iyer. His intricate and interesting swara patterns are his strength. He has received several awards in his long career, including the Padma Bhushan from the Govt. of India and the prestigious title of Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2003.

Kalasagaram is a South-Indian cultural association situated in the East Nehru Nagar of East Marredpally, and has been organising Carnatic music concerts for the last 40 years. The concerts are usually held in the Keyes High School campus at the open-air theater. The singers are generally from outside Hyderabad, usually amateurs and upcoming artistes, and quite competent. Kalasagaram also occasionally stages South-Indian classical dances and Tamil plays.

The entry is by invitations for members, and by season passes of Rs. 400, Rs. 300 & Rs. 200 per head and daily passes of Rs. 100, Rs. 50 and Rs. 25 per head for others. Please contact V Rajagopal, General Secretary of Kalasagaram, at 2773-1775 for further details.