Kuldeep Pai

Last updated

Kuldeep M. Pai
Kuldeep Pai.jpg
Born (1982-01-09) 9 January 1982 (age 42)
Occupation(s)Musician
Composer
Carnatic music vocalist
Music producer
YouTube personality
SpouseRoopa Revathi
Website http://kuldeepmpai.com/

Kuldeep Muralidhar Pai (born 9 January 1982), best known as Kuldeep M Pai, is an Indian musician, composer, Carnatic music vocalist, and music producer. His videos are mainly performed by children and are released under his own recording label, Chith Studios.

Contents

Early life and education

Pai was born in the Thammanam neighborhood in the heart of Kochi city in Kerala state to V. S. Vijayakumari and G. Muralidhar Pai. His mother tongue is Konkani. [1] He has a younger sister.

Pai completed his schooling in St. Jude's school, CCPLM Anglo Indian High School and Pre-university course (PUC) at Cochin College, Kerala. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Applications in BPC College Piravom, Kochi. He won the 'Kala Pratibha' Award in the Mahatma Gandhi University Youth Festival in 1999.

He was a gold medalist in Masters of Indian Classical Music at University of Madras and also holds a Diploma in Sound Engineering. [2]

He was formally trained by N. P. Ramaswamy, Antony and O. S. Thiagarajan in Carnatic vocals; [3] [4] Hariharan in Violin and Ramamurthy in Western Classical Piano. He learned Mridangam from four masters: Dennis, Vaikom S. Gopakumar, Kalamandalam Krishnankutty, and Mannargudi Easwaran. He is a self-taught [5] player of harmonium and flute.

Career

In 2002, Pai moved from Kochi to Chennai along with his family, to begin his career. His voice was praised by P. Vijayambika, [6] though T. T. Narendran said of one concert that "the image of the raga eluded him". [7]

He established a career as a singer of Carnatic music. [8] [9] [10] He has accompanied the singers O. S. Arun, S. Janaki, and Vani Jairam on harmonium for nearly 300 concerts since 2014. He has also sung for Indian classical dance performances [11] for almost eleven years. He has also provided vocal support for few Indian jingles. From 2015, he began performing online.

Pai is an Ashtavadhani, [12] His album Adviteeya is an experimental album in Carnatic genre [13] where he has sung to his own live accompaniments of violin, mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, tabla, harmonium and melodica. This album was released by his guru O. S. Thyagarajan on 22 November 2006 in Chennai, [13] and singer S. Janaki received the first copy [14] [15]

Music direction and composition

Pai has composed and rendered four songs for a Switzerland-based multi-lingual movie titled “Madly in Love.” [16] He has composed music for dance dramas like “ Janani Jagath Karani” and “Sri Krishna Vaibhavam” produced by Sri Devi Nrithyalaya. He has also had famous songs like Paluke Bangaramayena, Vaishnav Janato, Pibare Rama Rasam, Brahmamokate, Shivashtakam, Mahalakshmi Ashtakam & Ram Govind Hare sung by a young musical artist Rahul Vellal [1] and stotras for his YouTube spiritual music series, 'Vande Guru Paramparaam', including Ganesha Pancharatnam, Shivashtakam, Namo Namo Bharathambe, Shiva Panchaakshara Stotram, Mahalakshmi Ashtakam, Ashtalakshmi Stotram, Bhavani Ashtakam, Rama Ashtakam and other devotional songs. He is currently pursuing training in Western Classical music.He also has many sanskrit songs including ashtakam composed by adiguru shankaracharya etc

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Pai received the D. K. Pattammal award of excellence from Karthik Fine Arts. [17] [18] He has also received the “Yuvakalabharathi” award from Bharath Kalachar in 2007. [19] Pai also received the 'Social Harmony Award' in the field of music, arts and culture at the International Convention of Peacemakers for Universal Harmony in Goa. [20] [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyagaraja</span> Composer in Carnatic classical music

Sadguru Tyagaraja Swami, also known as Tyagayya, and in full as Kakarla Tyagabrahmam, was a saint composer and of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his contemporaries, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music. Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Rama, many of which remain popular today. However, only 720 of these are in vogue. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kritis, which are often sung in programs in his honour. Tyagaraja composed Utsava Sampradaya Krithis, which are often sung to accompany temple rituals and Divya Nama Sankeertanas which are sung as a part of concerts and in daily life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar</span>

Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N. Ravikiran</span> Musical artist

Narasimhan Ravikiran is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iyengar, who was also a Carnatic musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalaimamani</span> Highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India

The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, to recognise artists in the state for their achievements.

Maharajapuram Santhanam, was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. S. Gopalakrishnan</span> Indian violinist (1931–2013)

M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1997. He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Kalaimamani, Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palghat Mani Iyer</span> Musical artist

Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mrudangam". Mani Iyer was the first mridangist to be awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi (1966) presented by the Music Academy of Madras, the Padma Bhushan (1971) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards(1956) presented by the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu</span> Carnatic violinist (1893–1964)

Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carnatic music violinists of the 20th century. Naidu was partially blind. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Fine Arts in 1953. Government of India conferred on him the Padma Shri Award in 1957. Several members of his family are also notable Carnatic violinists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman</span> Indian musician

Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the mridangam. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. N. Krishnan</span> Indian musician (1928–2020)

Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan was an Indian Carnatic music violinist. Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1980. He was also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1992, and earlier, the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aruna Sairam</span> Musical artist

Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayathri Girish</span> Musical artist

Gayathri “Kalaimamani” Girish is a Carnatic vocalist. She undertook an archival project titled “Azhwargalum Amudha Tamizhum” to render the Azhwar Pasurams on DD Podhigai television every week for 8 consecutive years. She serves on the artist panel for the ICCR which is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombay Sisters</span> Indian Carnatic music singing duo

The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha (26 August 1938 – 31 January 2023), were an Indian Carnatic music singing duo. They received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. K. Murthy</span> Musical artist

Thanu Krishna Murthy, better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.

<i>Swara Samrat festival</i> Indian classical music festival

Swara Samrat festival is a four-day annual festival of Indian classical music and dance held during the winters in Kolkata, India. This festival is the brainchild of Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his vocalist wife, Manasi Majumder and their Sarod player-son Indrayuddh Majumder. The festival is dedicated to Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indian Classical Music and Dance Legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Aashish Khan, Dr. Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Guru Sujata Mohapatra, Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Kaushiki Chakraborty are some of the artists who have previously performed in this festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. M. Thiagarajan</span>

T. M. Thyagarajan fondly known as TMT was a Carnatic vocalist and musicologist from Tamil Nadu in Southern India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanjavur R. Ramamoorthy</span> Indian musical artist (1929–2019)

Tanjavur R. Ramamoorthy was a vidwan in Indian classical music, playing Carnatic music on the mridangam, an ancient Indian percussion instrument. The mridangam is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble, and in the Dhrupad genre, where it is known as a pakhawaj.

Mahesh Raghvan is a Carnatic music fusion artist. He is known for playing Carnatic music on the iPad on an app named GeoShred.

<i>Namah</i> (Thaikkudam Bridge album) 2019 studio album by Thaikkudam Bridge

Namah (transl. Salutations) is a 2019 studio album produced by the band Thaikkudam Bridge. Following the success of their studio album Navarasam, the band started working on the album during March 2017, and was officially revealed to the public and the media in August 2017. The album is considered as a "tribute to various renowned artists that influenced and inspired their music and made them who they are today". It was considered as the band's "most ambitious project" and had planned to rope international and national musical artists who were renowned for their works in the Indian and world music. The process made the team to delay the prospects of the album until they completed recording and compiling the entire album within September 2019.

Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao is an Indian violinist of Carnatic music style, guru and music teacher from the state of Andhra Pradesh. For over fifty years, he has performed solo and as an accompanist in several music concerts. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India's highest award in the arts, for his contributions to Carnatic music.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kuldeep Pai, the Carnatic musician who found an audience on YouTube, talks spirituality, struggles and students". Firstpost. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. Nambudiri, Sudha (19 August 2007). "Kuldeeply Passionate". Indian Express CityExpress Kochi.
  3. "Wide repertoire". The Hindu. 24 August 2007. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. "Adviteeya, a unique album released".
  5. "Plethora of swaras". The Hindu. 18 January 2008. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. Vijayambika, P. (8 March 2012). "With consummate ease". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. Narendran, T. T. (1 January 2015). "Hits and misses". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. Sivakumar, S. (23 December 2010). "Creative but not overdone". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. Venkatraman, Lakshmi (25 December 2009). "Commendable effort". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  10. Krishnaswamy, Uma; Krishnaswamy, Uma (16 December 2011). "Scoring as a team". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. Nathan, Archana (22 January 2015). "Onus is on the dancer too". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  12. "Aesthetic blend of diction and bhava". The Hindu. 1 December 2006. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Adviteeya".
  14. "Adviteeya- a unique album released".
  15. Ramdev, Darshana (6 October 2018). "Rhythm divine: The 12-year-old whose bhajans broke the internet". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  16. Sharanya, Bharathwaj. "Degree Kaapi with Kuldeep M Pai |". www.britishsouthindians.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  17. ""Chennai sabhas need fool-proof security system"". The Hindu. 2 December 2008. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  18. "Kartik fine arts fest begins".
  19. "YuvakalaBharathi award".
  20. "ICPUH18 5th Feb Update.aspx". icpuh.pathofdivinelife.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  21. prime media goa (5 February 2018), संवसारिक शांतीदूत संम्मेलनाचो समारोप जालो , retrieved 13 February 2018
  22. Bureau, N. T. (2 November 2019). "Singers Sowmya, Kuldeep M Pai get excellence awards". News Today | First with the news. Retrieved 20 November 2020.