Mumbai: The distinguished Mridangam player and maestro in Carnatic and Hindustani vocal music, Dr T.V. Gopalakrishnan, was awarded the Sri Shanmukhananda National Eminence Award at the Sabha auditorium on Saturday in Mumbai. This honour, given for his lifetime contributions to music, includes the title “Sangeetha Kala Vibhushan”, a cash prize of Rs. 2.50 lakhs, a citation, and a large bronze lamp.
At 94 years old, Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan is not only a vocalist specialising in Hindustani and Carnatic music but also a pioneer in Carnatic Jazz and fusion music. He is a research scholar, an expert Mridangam player, and a violinist. Gopalakrishnan is a disciple of the legendary musician Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and has received prestigious awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan.
Still performing at this age, TVG has several concerts lined up for this Margazhi season. He mentions that renowned film music composers Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman and saxophonist Kadri Gopalakrishnan were his students. He shared an interesting anecdote: “For a film in which Kamal Haasan rides a horse, he used a phaser on my mridangam so that my playing produced the sound of the horse galloping.” This kind of creative sound imagination is truly unique.
In addition to the awards mentioned, the Sabha also presented the “Shanmukha Sangeetha Shironmani” awards to three upcoming artists: Vidya Kalyanaraman and Vevek Sadasivam for Carnatic vocal, and N.C. Bharadwaj for mridangam. Each award comes with a cash prize of ₹50,000, along with a citation and a trophy. In his welcome address, Dr V. Shankar, president of the Sabha, said, “From times immemorial, fine arts have been patronised by kings and courts of wisdom. Following them, temples and devaswom started honouring performing artists to perpetuate all art forms in view of their sublimity and divinity. As a premier institution of fine arts in Southeast Asia, the Shanmukhananda Sabha decided to provide a national framework for honouring veterans and emerging stars in the fine arts field, he said.
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