A Gifted Young Percussionist Veejay Sai
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SPOTLIGHT GIRIDHAR UDUPA A gifted young percussionist Veejay Sai my lifetime which I never did and Zakir Hussain. Amongst the before, like investing all the punya current generation of youngsters of your deeds of a lifetime”, he says. the name that stands out is that of Someone told him that a Tamil- Giridhar Udupa. speaking family in that island Born into a family of musicians, had a similar instrument, but with Giridhar’s father vidwan Ullur a big fat crack running right Nagendra Udupa was a renowned across its body. “I knew that a mridanga artist. Having accompanied certain gum could do the trick of fixing the instrument. So I tried some of the stalwarts of Carnatic it”, recollects Giridhar with the music on stage, he trained his son same amount of anxiety in his eyes, from the tender age of four to appreciate percussion instruments. Master Giridhar almost half a decade later. “And it worked! It also matched the right Giridhar was attracted to the t was the summer of 2004. pitch of the great maestro’s violin! ghatam. He was sent to learn Far away in Reunion Island, I couldn’t believe myself. Added from his guru-s vidushi Sukanya off the Mauritius coast was to this, an artist who was touring Ramgopal and vidwan V. Suresh. one of the biggest music festivals around came forward to donate his Under their guidance, he blossomed I and mastered the instrument. in the world. Artists from all over instrument on seeing my plight. flocked to showcase their talent. To my surprise that too had the “There are three main places The violin maestro Dr. L. Subra- same pitch,” recollects Giridhar. where the ghatam is made. The maniam was also invited with his That was one of the memorable Bangalore ghata-s are more entourage of artists. Giridhar Udupa concerts by Dr. L. Subramaniam rounded in shape, weigh about who took a flight from Bangalore on the violin and Giridhar Udupa one to two kg and produce an to the venue via Mumbai was on the ghatam. “I think it was entirely different sound. Then there excited to be a part of this the blessings of my guru-s and are those in Madras. The best ones international summit. As he God that I was lucky enough to checked out of the airport with his overcome such a trauma”, he adds Giridhar Udupa COURTESY: THE MUSIC ACADEMY baggage and into the plush venue, with a sigh of relief. he got the biggest shock an artist could get. He opened his baggage The ghatam or the pot is not to find his instrument shattered a popular instrument among to pieces, because of the rough students of music for several handling of baggage in transit at reasons. It is hard to master airports. He sought help from it and a ghatam vidwan is every possible artist he could. But always an accompanying artist. far away, in that part of the world, Very few have taken to it with there was almost no hope of passion and commitment. The one finding his instrument, or even a name that immediately comes to remote replica of it. As news of this everyone’s mind is that of Vikku mishap spread amongst the artist Vinayakram who popularised community, all that little Giridhar the instrument among Western could do was to sit back panic audiences, while a part of the stricken and make a silent prayer. ‘Shakti’ group along with “I probably put in the prayers of John Mclauglin, L. Shankar 33 l SRUTI February 2012 SPOTLIGHT Following the leaders ver the years, Giridhar Udupa N. Vijay Siva, Kadri Gopalnath, like Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ohas accompanied numerous Jayanthi Kumaresh, R.K. Surya Ernie Watts, John Kaizan Neptune, Carnatic musicians like L. Subra narayana, Bombay Sisters, Hubert Laws, Corky Siegel, Ivory maniam, M. Balamuralikrishna, Nityashree Mahadevan, Sudha Gitlis, and Lewis Pragasam. He has M.S. Gopalakrishnan, R.K. Srikantan, Ragunathan, S. Sowmya, and Aruna also worked with leading music T.N. Krishnan, T.K. Murthy, Palghat Sairam. directors in India. He has been a Raghu, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, part of several global symphony In Hindustani music he has A.K. Palanivel, Ganesh and Kumaresh, and chamber orchestras including accompanied famous artists like Mysore Nagaraj and Manjunath, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra Shivkumar Sharma, Amjad Ali Mandolin Shrinivas, N. Ramani, (U.S.A.), KwazuluNatal Philharmonic Khan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Anindo K.J. Yesudass, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Orchestra (South Africa), State Chatterjee, Sultan Khan, Niladri Kumar, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Madurai Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu Lucky Ali, Ranjit Barot, Bhavani T.N. Seshagopalan, Trichur V. Rama (Romania), Sinfonia Baltica (Poland), Shankar, Fazal Qureshi, Swapan chandran, Hyderabad Brothers, Leipzig Philharmonic Chamber Chaudhuri and Birju Maharaj (Kathak). O.S. Thyagarajan, T.M. Krishna, Orchestra (Germany) and the Royal Neyveli Santhanagopalan, P. Unni He has played with Western musicians Symphony Orchestra of Oman. krishnan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, come from the little remote village directors, and been a part of several terrace house in old Bangalore. Radio of Manamadurai in Tamil Nadu. global symphony and chamber France, Polskie Radio (Polish Radio), They weigh about 8 to 10 kg and orchestras. Radio Luxembourg and several radio are somewhat oval in shape. In addition to playing the ghatam, networks have broadcast his solo Even the sound they produce is he also recites the konnakol and concerts and interviews. unique,” says Giridhar. “It takes plays the mridanga. The finesse of his This commerce graduate has an a lot to make a proper ghatam. The fingering, the dexterity of his playing, untiring will to innovate. When soil has to be of the right kind, and the mindboggling speed of his not on concert tours, you can find it has to be heated at the right intricate rhythmic designs go a long Giridhar sitting at home, relentlessly temperature and still maintain its way in enhancing a concert. tapping and trying out patterns humidity. If you make about 100 on the ghata-s or drums around ghata-s, only 15 may come out Giridhar has also experimented with jazz and fusion bands. He was the him. Among his latest favourites is decent. Picking the right ghata is an innovative bamboo percussion not easy says Giridhar. “I usually founder member of a band called ‘Laya Tharanga’ which experimented instrument invented by John Kaizan go to the village and play all the with Indian fusion music. He Neptune called the ‘Uduboo’ which ghata-s available to pick about teamed up with Fabrice de Graef Giridhar flashes with excitement. “It 10 good ones of varying pitch, and Mishko M’Ba to become part is a combination of a double-headed scale and tone for me. Moreover, of the global band ‘Nasha’ that offers drum and the African Udoo drum the ghatam is truly a vegetarian Celtic music fused rhythmically which is a ceramic pot with two instrument, made purely out with Indian percussion. As the sound holes. Hitting the hardened of the five elements,” he adds in core percussionist of the band, membranes produces sharp percussive excitement. Giridhar adorns Celtic music with sounds, while modulated bass sounds Giridhar is a bundle of energy on rich Indian rhythmic patterns. He are made by forcefully covering the stage throughout a concert and not is also a member of the Poland sound holes.” Watching the energy just during the tani avartanam. based Flamenco band ‘Indialucia’ and enthusiasm of youngsters like He helps to elevate the concert featuring Miguel Czachowski, Jan Giridhar Udupa, you feel Indian experience through his involvement Kubek and Adam Glosnicki. A long percussion is in safe hands. For with his chosen instrument. Over list of international concert tours, Giridhar, it is a way of weaving magic the years, he has accompanied an impressive line-up of awards with his nimble fingers. a veritable who’s who of artists, and several wall-shelves filled with (The author is a writer, editor and culture worked with leading music a good number of ghata-s fill his critic) 34 l SRUTI February 2012.