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Ragaratnam Nedumangad Sivanandan (V. Sivanandan Nair, born 30 June 1935) is a violinist in the Carnatic tradition of India, who has been in the forefront of both teaching of the Carnatic tradition on the violin, as well as its performance on stage. [1] His contributions to Indian classical music span over 60 years.
Nedumangad Sivanandan was born to the harmonist-vocalist Neyyanttinkara Vasudevan Pillai and Dakshayani Amma in Neyyatinkara in Trivandrum district of Kerala. His family moved to Nedumangad, also in Trivandrum district, shortly after his birth. His early music training was with his father, after which he joined the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, graduating with a Ganabhushanam in music in 1954.[ citation needed ]
He went on to do higher studies in the violin in the Gurukula style as the disciple of one of the most famous violinists of the period, Virudunagar Ganapathiya Pillai, who was himself the disciple of the great violin Maestro Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai. Since then Sivanandan has been performing on stage, as well as teaching the art of Carnatic violin to numerous disciples, many of whom have achieved professional excellence with the instrument. He continues to teach presently.[ citation needed ]
Professionally, he was a music teacher with the Education Department, Government of Kerala, superannuating from service in 1990.[ citation needed ]
Nedumanagad Sivandan is a well-known accompanying artiste, soloist, teacher, and resource person for numerous music-related activities. He has been recognized with numerous titles and awards, including 'Ragaratna' and Srutilaya's 'Sargaratna'. [2] He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 2000. [3] He has performed on many stages in India and abroad.
Nedumangad Sivanandan has been a mentor and teacher to a large and diverse student community. [4] Among his students are some of the most well-known violinists in the contemporary music scene in Kerala, including several "A" Grade artists in All India Radio (Edappally Ajith Kumar, Thiruvizha Sivanandan, Cherthala Sivakumar, Thiruvizha "Viju" S. Ananad, Ms. Bindu K. Shenoy, Ms. V. Sindhu and Manjoor Renjith) and international artists like Toronto Jayadevan as well as a 'B High' Grade artists such as Neelur Jayakumar.
Nedumanagad Sivanandan has accompanied numerous senior vocalists including V. Dakshinamurthy, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, Parassala Ponnammal, Padmashree K J Yesudas, Sudha Raghunathan, M.G. Radhakrishnan, T.M.Krishna, O.S.Tyagarajan, V. Ramachandran and Matangi Satyamurthy. At the same time, he has mentored numerous young vocalists & instrumentalists including Sankaran Namboothiri, and Vaikom Vijayalakshmi from their initial times. In 2007, he played the role of a violinist in the Malayalam film, Anandabhairavi.
His disciples, together with art lovers in the region, celebrated his 80th birthday on 28 June 2015 as "Sivananda Lahari", a day-long get-together with classical recitals and a public meeting. [5] [6] [7]
Nedumangad Sivanandan is married to Vilasini S. Nair. His daughter, Sindhu V., is herself a violin artiste and teacher of music at the Chembai Memorial Govt. Music College, Palghat. Nedumangad Sivanandan, together with Sindhu and her son, Adarsh Dileep, have performed in several places as the violin trio. [8] His sons are Satish Babu and Santosh Babu.
Guru Chenganoor Raman Pillai, also spelt Chengannur Raman Pillai (1886–1980), was a celebrated Kathakali artist from Kerala in south India. He was known for his brilliant portrayal of the anti-heroic Kathi roles on stage, and was the head of palace kathakali yogam to the Travancore Maharaja in a career spanning almost 65 years.
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad. Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1896, into a Tamil Brahmin family in Perakkool Madom, adjacent to Lokanarkavu near Vatakara on Janmashtami day. He lived here until he was five years old. The family later shifted to Palakkad. Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. A recipient of several titles and honours, he was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians and ability to spot new talent. He was responsible for popularising compositions like Rakshamam Saranagatam and Pavana Guru, among others. The music critic 'Aeolus' described him as "the musician who has meant the most to Carnatic Music in the first fifty years of the 20th century." His prominent disciples include Chembai Narayana Bhagavathar, Mangu Thampuran, Guruvayur Ponnammal, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, V. V. Subramaniam, P. Leela, K. G. Jayan, K. G. Vijayan, K. J. Yesudas, Kudumaru Venkataraman and Babu Parameswaran, among others. He also mentored many young accompanists, including Palghat Mani Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, T. N. Krishnan, Palani Subramaniam Pillai and L. Subramaniam. Memorial music festivals have been held in his honour annually since his death in 1974, the most important being the annually celebrated Chembai Sangeetholsavam.
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.
Ramesh Narayan is an Indian classical vocalist, composer and music producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He belongs to the Mewati gharana of Hindustani classical music. Narayan began his initial training in Carnatic music and later mastered the classical Hindustani style under the renowned Pandit Jasraj.
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B. Sasikumar is a noted Carnatic music violinist, musician, teacher, composer and writer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma (1928–2008) was an Indian carnatic singer. and teacher who descended from the royal family of Mavelikkara, Kerala.
Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan, known as TVG, is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Cochin, Kerala, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2014.
Thanu Krishna Murthy, better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.
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Vadakkanchery Veeraraghava Bhagavathar Ravi is an Indian classical music violinist. As an enterprising instrumentalist and violinist he has conducted concerts along with his brother V. V. Subrahmaniam and toured several nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, U.S.A., Canada and England.
Thrissur C. Rajendran is a carnatic violinist from Kerala, India. His domain is enriching the raga bhava through musical embellishment. He is known for his non-domineering responses to the challenges posed by the artists he accompanies. He has composed classical items in addition to lyrics for light music.
Mavelikara S. R. Raju is an acclaimed Carnatic music percussionist. He is adept in playing the mridangam. He is the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Mridangam maestro Mavelikara Krishnankutty Nair.
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Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, 5 August 1898 - 1970 was a Carnatic music violinist of Tamil Nadu, Southern India.
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Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
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Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Instituted in 1962, the awards are given in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts, and for contribution/scholarship in performing arts. The award consists of Rs. 30,000, a citation and a plaque. The recipients of the award are also conferred the title Kalasree.