Mar 20, 2002 01:31 PM
3773 Views
(Updated Mar 20, 2002 01:47 PM)
This review is not about the album Moon Over the Isle but about Viku as a person!!!!
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Sri Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram or Viku as he is affectionately called in the music circle has mastered the intricacies of Rhythm from the Ghatam. He has transformed himself into an international celebrity. This is purely because of his talent. The sounds that he gets out of the earthern pot ie the Ghatam is unimaginable.
For the readers who don’t know what a Ghatam is ,the Ghatam is an ancient South Indian Classical percussion instrument made out of clay with brass or copper filings & iron as per th esize of the ghatam.(Basically a Matka) Also a small amount of oil or water is applied to alter the pitch of the sound. The ghatam is placed on the lap of the performer, with the instrument's mouth facing the belly. The artiste uses his fingers (including thumbs), his palms, and occasionally, even the fingernails to produce various sounds. Sometimes, the ghatam is turned around so that the mouth faces the audience, and the player is able to play more readily on the neck of the instrument.
Viku Vinayakram ,dressed in a white half sleeve shirt & a white Dhoti or Veti as it is called on South India with Vibhuti & kumkum on his forehead & has hair until his shoulders is one of India's finest ghatam .He studied the ghatam from his father, Harihara Sharma. He was a child prodigy. He started his concert career at the tender age of thirteen. This master of the Ghatam has accompanied many stalwartsof yesteryear like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, and Maharajapuram Santhanam. All this was at a young age of 15. That itself speaks for his talent. Currently accompanies Zakir, Sivamani & Selvaganesh (Shakti) in almost all the concerts. He was a part of the 1st Death Anniversary concert of Abbaji at NCPA & Kala Ghada , Mumbai. When these start using their magical hands it’s a delite to watch & hear.
Viku became known in the West as a member of Shakti , the acoustic jazz/Indian fusion band along with Zakir,Guitarist Mc Laughin & violinist L.Shankar. He has also played under the direction of Zubin Mehta. The extraordinary speed and precision of his duets with tabla Zakir Hussain and mridangam player Ramnad V. Raghavan have captivated listeners throughout the world. On the music platform he majestically finishes many a jugalbandis by throwing his ghatam in the air and catching it without missing a beat. He was a part of Planet Drum that won a Grammy in the World music category along with Zakir & other percussionists.
He has won various awards in India & abroad. He is instrumental in the formation of a pecussion group named Mahaperiyava meaning the bigger of the biggest. He has featured in an album Drums of India along with Sultan khan On the Sarangi, Zakir, Taufiq & Anantha Sivamani. Infact he is a Guru to Sivamani for the Ghatam now.
Vinayakram has two sons who are currently making names for themselves in the field of Carnatic percussion, namely, the elder V. Selvaganesh and the younger T.H.V. Umashankar. Unlike his father, however, Selvaganesh's chosen instrument is the kanjira - the South Indian version of the tambourine. Umashankar has taken up his father's instrument, the ghatam.
Viku is not that well versed in English but he makes his hands & the Ghatam do all the talking. The most common thing in all his concerts are his utterances of ''saabash'' and ''ballay” when he gets deeply involved in the percussion.
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----------------------------------------- I would also like you to go through my earlier review '' Are Huzoor Wah Zakir Boliye'' & comment on it.
