Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam was born on November 25, 1956, in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. He comes from a family of traditional musicians and is a renowned mridangam Vidwan. In 2021, he was awarded the prestigious Sangeetha Kalanidhi award by The Madras Music Academy.
He started his vocal training under his mother, Sangeetha Vidushi Smt. T. R. Anandavalli. Later, he began playing the mridangam, a double-headed drum, under the guidance of his maternal uncle, Mridangam Maestro Thiruvaarur Sri Krishnamurthy, in gurukulavasam style. He accompanied his mother in concerts from the age of nine. At sixteen, he moved to Chennai, the cultural hub of Carnatic music, and performed widely in all prestigious Sabhās and organizations. He won several prizes in all the Sabhas in Chennai as a young mridangist. All India Radio recognized his exceptional talent and gave him a double promotion from 'B' to 'A' grade, bypassing the 'B high' grade. Soon after, he attained the coveted top grade from All India Radio, making him one of the most celebrated artists at a very young age. . He also had the rare privilege of playing at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony held in Barcelona, Spain. Sri Bakthavathsalam was interested in spirituality from a young age and visited several religious ashrams and mutts in South India. Over the years, he became very close to the heads of these institutions. He was conferred with the title "Mridanga Vadya Mani" by Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekara Saraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Mutt, making him the youngest recipient of this award among many other veterans.
He belongs to the Tanjore style of playing, but he has developed his own style that focuses on improving the entire concert, not just the rhythm. He is known for his energetic playing and his expertise in a variety of kritis and compositions. In 1984, Pt. Ravi Shankar invited him to join his ensemble for an international tour after hearing him play at the Music Academy in Chennai. He founded the Laya Madhuraa School of Percussion in 2000 and has trained many students worldwide. Several of his disciples have become star performers, accompanying today's top-ranking and most famous artists . Some have even established their own schools in different parts of India and abroad, including New Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Canada, and the USA. Many of his students also teach at schools and universities.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam is a renowned musician who has had the privilege of sharing the stage with numerous yesteryear artists. He has accompanied three generations of musicians throughout his career and has represented India in numerous cross-continent and cross-cultural festivals across the globe as an ambassador of Indian Classical Music. He has also performed alongside many veteran musicians from both Indian and Western music systems.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has played in several fundraising concerts for various social and national causes, such as the Kargil Fund and organizations like the Shankara Nethralaya and the Cancer Society. He has also given many lecture demonstrations and concerts for the youth under the organization SPIC MACAY and represented ICCR in many musical ventures across the country and around the world to create awareness and interest in classical music.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam has received several accolades for his contribution to classical Carnatic music. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India in 2006 and the Kalaimamani Award by the Government of Tamil Nadu. He has also been honored by several Sabhas in Chennai and other places with Lifetime Achievement awards and titles.
He has established a unique outfit of traditional Carnatic music called LAYA MADHURAA "Divine Ensemble," which features traditional instruments like the Nadaswaram, Flute, and other percussion instruments. This outfit is much sought after for all social functions.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam is the first classical artist in the South to have an exclusive fan club in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. His fans conduct music festivals, awareness programs, and other social events in his honor. His contribution to classical Carnatic music in the last fifty years has been tremendous, and he hopes to continue this worthy effort in the future for the benefit of society.
For over seven years, Dr. Bakthavathsalam served as Secretary of the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Mummoorthigal Jayanthi Vizha festival held at the Arulmigu Thyagarajaswamy Temple in Thiruvarur every year. This festival is a week-long celebration of the beauty of Tamizh culture, heritage, and art. Numerous artists take part and pay their tribute to the great composers and the great trinity by offering timeless compositions and renderings to thousands who gather inside the temple premises.
In May 2010, during the 68th birthday celebrations of Parama Pujya Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji, a unique musical presentation called "Laya Madhura Mridanga Yagna" was organized at the Avadhoota Datta Peetham in Mysore. This musical offering was led by Mridanga Maestro Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam and had 108 mridangam artists from all over India participating in it.
The concept of "Laya Madhura Mridanga Yagna" was devised by Swamiji, and it explored the concept of "four" in melody and rhythm. The presentation was based on a new raga, "Sachchidananda" dedicated to Swamiji and was designed to represent the significance of the number four in various aspects of life.
The 108 mridangam artists were divided into four groups, representing the four varieties of rhythm, namely: Chatusram, Tisram, Khandam, and Misram. The raga "Sachchidananda" was woven around the four notes: Sa, Ga, Pa, and Dha, and the mridangam was also tuned to each of these notes by the four groups. Apart from playing intrinsic patterns, the four groups also presented four Korvais.
With the blessings of Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji and ably led by maestro Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam, "Laya Madhura Mridanga Yagna" explored the multihued colors of melody and rhythm in the most exquisite manner and transported the listeners to a meditative plane. This effort was officially included in the prestigious Limca Book of Records and has received due recognition.
Maestro Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam has also led similar concerts in India, like the 76-Mridangam Ensemble in Kanchipuram, which was held in commemoration of the 76th birthday celebrations of Pujya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swami, Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, Kanchipuram.
Sri Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam is the founder and director of the Laya Madhuraa School of Music, which has its headquarters in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was inaugurated in 2000 with the aim of nurturing and training young talents in Mrudangam, the mother of percussion in the field of South Indian Carnatic Music. The school has developed systematic training methodologies and has successfully produced numerous Mrudangam artists worldwide.
Laya Madhuraa School of Music is presently working on conceptualizing innovative percussion ideologies and introducing the nuances of Layam and Nadhaam of the Mrudangam even to a common man to realize the values of Indian traditional arts. The school also actively organizes the LAYA MADHURAA SANGEETHOTHSAVAM every year in Chennai. During this festival, one Carnatic music veteran and one staunch promoter of Carnatic music are honored for their contributions to music.
The festival also features a series of concerts on all five days by eminent musicians, promoting talented youngsters, and providing a platform for many promising young musicians to showcase their abilities.
Laya Madhuraa Divine Ensemble
He has created his own music ensemble called 'LayaMadhura'. This ensemble is considered divine because it includes melodic instruments like the nadaswaram, violin, and flute, and percussion instruments like the mridangam, kanjira, ghatam, morsing, and tabla. All the artists in his group are highly skilled.
CD albums
He has to his credit two solo audio albums viz."Laya Madhuraa" and "Thala Bhakthi", and has also accompanied numerous cassettes and CDs for top-ranking artists. He has also released a CD "Rhythmic Symphony", a percussion jugalbandi with Pandit Anindo Chatterjee on the tabla. The latest twin CD album is the "Divine Ensemble" which is the new novel instrumental ensemble he has evolved with instruments like the nadaswaram, violin, flute, ghatam, kanjira, morsing, and tabla.
The mridangam is a percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the Kendang, played in Maritime Southeast Asia. Its a complex instrument to tune and involves a lot of mathematics to construct korvais.
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