Musicians and disciples will pay tribute to the mridangam maestro
Music lovers, disciples and family members come together to celebrate Thanjavur Upendran’s expertise on the mridangam.
His
25th year Remembrance Day will be held on July 24. A day-long event, in
association with Narada Gana Sabha, will bring alive his journey in
percussion. His facility with the left-hand added an edge to his unique
playing style.
The programme, curated by Neyveli
Narayanan and Thanjavur Murugabhupathy, will begin with concerts at 9
a.m., followed by a Tala Malika by Haridwaramangalam A.K. Pazhanivel
(thavil) and B. Shree Sundar Kumar (ganjira). The pre-lunch session will
end with Saketharaman’s recital.
Carnatica Brothers
will begin the post-lunch session with their concert at 2.30 p.m.
followed by Ronu Majumdar’s collaborative performance with Nirmala
Rajsekar (veena), K.V. Prasad (mridangam) and Ramdas Palsule (tabla).
Eminent
artists will pay tribute at 6 p.m. The highlight of the programme will
be Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s recital at 7.15 p.m. Leading accompanists will
participate as a mark of respect to Thanjavur Upendran. Born into a
family of musicians and freedom fighters, Upendran had his initial
training in mridangam under Thanjavur Rajam Iyer, and later, under
Palghat R. Mani Iyer.
At the age of 10, he made his
concert debut, when he accompanied Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. With
his passion and hard work, he rose to be an eminent mridangist, who
accompanied stalwarts of the time.
He was also
involved in various temple committees, which conducted music festivals
that showcased up-and-coming artists. He encouraged the system of senior
artists accompanying youngsters. A devotee of Swami Haridhos Giri, he
played for him at his bhajans. He taught mridangam for free to those
sincere in learning the art. He brought back konakkol to the stage by
introducing Tiruchi Thayumaanavan.
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