Kavalam Srikumar | |
---|---|
Born | 3 March 1959 |
Origin | India |
Genres | Carnatic music |
Occupation(s) | Carnatic vocalist, Musician and Composer |
Instrument | Vocal |
Kavalam Srikumar is a classical musician, Malayalam film singer and music composer from Kerala, India. His recitation of Ramayana is also famous. [1] He has also rendered more than 200 famous Malayalam poems. [2] He is the son of the noted Malayalam poet and dramatist Kavalam Narayana Panicker. [3]
Kavalam Srikumar was born on 3 March 1959, in Alappuzha, Alappuzha district to Padmabhushan Kavalam Narayana Panikkar and Saradamani. [4] He had an elder brother named Harikrishnan, who died in 2009. Srikumar started learning classical music vocals at the age of five, and studied music under masters like Ambalappuzha Sivasankara Panicker, Thrissur Vaidyanathan, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma and Ambalappuzha Tulasi. Had advanced training in Karnatic Music under the famous Musician Shri.B.Sasikumar. [5] [6] He joined as programme executive in All India Radio in 1985 and voluntarily retired from service in 2007, as Assistant Station Director. [7] His wife is Lekshmy Sreekumar and has two children, Krishna Narayanan & Gouri Sreekumar
Kavalam Srikumar, as a musician, has made his mark in Karnatic classical, devotional, folk and indigenous music of Kerala. He has also sung many movie songs in Malayalam. [6] Malayalam movie Headmaster is Kavalam Srikumar's first music directorial film. [3]
Has performed over 1000 music concerts all over India & abroad in prestigious festivals. Also performed in Sanchi Sreevidya festival in Dec 2018 where he rendered Sree Sankaracharya’s compositions. His soulful, clear, authentic and powerful rendering of scriptures like Ramayana, Bhagavatha, Lalitha & Vishnu Sahasra Namam, Soundarya Lahari, Bhagavad Geetha, Dhyana Slokas etc are widely listened and acclaimed by many throughout the world. He was given the title "Ramakadha Shukan” from Malliyur Sankaran Nambudirippadu in the year 1998 for his contributions in the field of Ramayana rendering. Received “Ganapoornasree” award from Chettikulangara in 2011. Received Kerala Sangeeth Natak Akademi Award in 2012 for Classical Music. Received Ramapurath Warrier Award in 2017, Sangeetha Ratna Puraskar from M S Subbalakshmy foundation in 2017, Kerala Film Critics Award for best music director in 2023.
He has a unique way of rendering poems and Sanskrit devotionals with clarity of lyrics and expression. He has been rendering Adhyatma Ramayana right from 1985, when he stood before the microphone at All India Radio. Since then he has been instrumental in popularizing Thunchath Ezhuthachans Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu(the Malayalam version of Ramayana) with his emphasis on emotion without compromising on its lyrical quality. His rendering of Hindu scriptures like Bhagavatham, Lalitha Sahasra Namam, Vishnu Sahasra Namam and Soundarya Lahari, to name a few, are much sought after.
Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist. He was one of the prāchīna kavithrayam of Malayalam literature, the other two being Kunchan Nambiar and Cherusseri. He has been called the "Father of Modern Malayalam Literature", and the "Primal Poet in Malayalam". He was one of the pioneers of a major shift in Kerala's literary culture. His work is published and read far more than that of any of his contemporaries or predecessors in Kerala.
Kerala music has a complex history distinct from Malayalam poetry, with which it is often associated. Though it is often driven by poetry, Kerala also has its roots in Carnatic music. Songs have always been a significant part of early Malayalam literature dating back to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in Kerala's culture can be deduced from the musical poetry that developed in the Malayalam language long before prose. As music evolved in the region, various branches emerged from it
Kavalam Narayana Panikkar was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's Vikramorvasiyam, Shakuntalam (1982), Bhasa's Madhyamavyayogam (1979), Karnabharam, Uru Bhangam (1988), Swapnavasavadattam, and Dootavakyam (1996). He was the founder – director of theatre troupe, Sopanam, which led to the foundation of Bhashabharati: Centre for Performing Arts, Training and Research, in Trivandrum.
Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu is the most popular Malayalam version of the Sanskrit Hindu epic Ramayana. It is believed to have been written by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in the early 17th century, and is considered to be a classic of Malayalam literature and an important text in the history of Malayalam language. It is a retelling of the Sanskrit work Adhyatma Ramayana in Kilippattu format. Ezhuthachan used the Grantha-based Malayalam script to write his Ramayana, although the Vatteluttu writing system was the traditional writing system of Kerala then. Recitation of Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu is very important in Hindu families in Kerala. The month of Karkitakam in the Malayalam calendar is celebrated as the Ramayana recitation month and Ramayana is recited in Hindu houses and temples across Kerala.
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