T V Gopalakrishnan gets Sangita Kalanidhi award

CHENNAI: Eminent Carnatic musician and acclaimed mridangam exponent T V Gopalakrishnan has been chosen for the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy for 2014.
N Murali, president of Music Academy, said all the members in the awards committee were unanimous in their decision to felicitate the veteran. "We had quite a few names in our list, but Gopalakrishnan was clearly at the top of the list.He is multi-faceted. He is a singer and is adept at playing various instruments," he said.
His other honours include Sangeet Natak Akademi and Padma Bhushan awards. When asked why the coveted 'Sangita Kalanidhi' title was conferred on him so late, Murali said, "It may be late but we have only one award and there are so many singers out there. We may miss a few for a while, but ultimately we do recognize talents," he said.
Music experts have welcomed the Music Academy's decision. "For any Carnatic musician, this is probably the highest award he or she can get. I am glad it has come to him at last," V Ramnarayan, editor of Sruti magazine, said. "Over the last couple of years we had a feeling Music Academy was becoming more biased towards younger talents, but now they have switched back to recognising veterans. To be felicitated by the Mecca of music is a dream come true for many musicians," he said.
Gopalakrishnan, 82, hails from a traditional family of musicians and is proficient in both Carnatic vocal and Hindustani vocal. Born in Tripunithura, Kerala, TVG, as he is known by most, started playing the mridangam at the age of four. His father, T G Viswanatha Bhagavatar, was a court musician for the Cochin royal family and a professor of music at the S K V College in Thrissur.
A disciple of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, an eminent Carnatic music singer from Palakkad, Gopalakrishnan has been a popular guru among both Carnatic musicians and those pursuing music of other genres. He has been a pioneering collaborator in several fusion efforts as well.
Gopalakrishnan's students include Ilayaraja, A R Rahman, drummer Sivamani, saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath, vocalist Vidyabhushana. He has also collaborated with Canadian drummer and composer Franklin Kiermyer and performed with him live on several occasions.
Several musicians in the city extended their wishes to TVG. Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, who has performed with TVG described him as a "fine guru, scholar and researcher".
"He is a wonderful musician who has mastered many art forms of music like Carnatic music, Hindustani music and mridangam. I had the pleasure of accompanying him on the mridangam on several occasions, all of which are evergreen memories in my mind. He has passed on his unique knowledge to numerous disciples globally. I am very happy that Music Academy has selected him for this coveted award," he said.
Drummer Sivamani, too, congratulated him. "My first experience with fusion with A R Rahman, we started with TVG sir. I learned a lot of Carnatic music from him. I am proud and happy that he has got this award."