Grand Carnatic Vocal Concert by Ashwath Narayanan

Sruti is proud to present a grand carnatic vocal concert by Ashwath Narayanan, accompanied by VVS Murari on the violin, Trichy Sankaran on the Mridangam and Anirudh Athreya on the Kanjira

Ashwath Narayanan is one of the most celebrated young Carnatic vocalists in the contemporary classical music landscape. Known for his powerful voice, deep-rooted classicism, and emotionally evocative renditions, he represents a new wave of musicians who combine intense traditional grounding with a fresh and dynamic stage presence. Ashwath began his musical journey at a young age under the mentorship of Vidwan Chingleput Ranganathan, a senior disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, and further honed his skills under P.S. Narayanaswamy, another stalwart of the Carnatic tradition. Under their tutelage, he developed a strong command over raga bhava, laya control, and the subtleties of kriti interpretation, establishing himself as a vocalist of rare depth and versatility. His style is deeply rooted in the Semmangudi bani, known for its emphasis on emotional intensity, improvisational mastery, and textual clarity. Ashwath’s renditions of ragas like Todi, Kambhoji, and Karaharapriya are noted for their meditative elaboration and innovative manodharma. His Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi (RTP) presentations have earned acclaim for their complexity and spiritual resonance.

Born in 1942, Trichy Sankaran had his early musical training under his cousin Sri P.A. Venkataraman. He started at the age of 5, and became seriously involved with the art of drumming at the age of 7. When his first teacher Sri P.A.V. moved to Delhi from Trichy (Trichinappalli) to take up a job initially as a music instructor, and later to become the staff artist of All India Radio Delhi, Sankaran followed him for his musical studies. While in Delhi, Sankaran met Pandit Ravi Shankar for the first time, and played a solo in misra chapu tala for him at the age of 10 (year 1952). It was the same year that Sankaran won the gold medal from the Shankar’s Weekly Children’s Theatre Competition. Again, in the same year, he made his first public appearance (debut) performing with musicians in Harikathakalakshepam (religious discourse -narration with musical accompaniment).

Then Sankaran came under the direct tutelage of the legendary mrdangam maestro the late Sri Palani Subramania Pillai. Sankaran made his formal arangetram (musical debut) at the age of 13, in the year 1955, performing in tandem with Sri Palani Subramania Pillai in the concert of Sri Alathoor Brothers, and Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. This concert took place in Sankaran’s home town Trichy at the famous Nanrudaian Pillayar Kovil (Ganesh temple). Sri Palani Subramania Pillai gave Sankaran unique opportunities to perform duos with him to many top rank Karnatak musicians of that time, that included artists such as Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavatar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Alathoor Brothers, Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer, Flute T.N. Swaminatha Pillai, and others.

Born into a family of musicians with rich lineage and steeped in pedigree music, Vadakkencheri Srikrishna Murari popularly VVS Murari represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in his family. Maestro VVS Murari has been groomed under the guidance of his father and guru the legend ‘Nadayogi’ VV Subrahmanyam and later from the doyen of Carnatic music ‘Padma Vibhushan’ Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Murari was initiated into classical carnatic music by his paternal grand father and musician Vadakkencheri Veeraraghava Iyer, and also mentored by his mother Janaki VVS who hails from a family of great connoisseurs of music and arts in Kozhikode. Murari’s maternal grandfather Shankaranarayanan Iyer was a noted teacher and a passionate flautist from Kozhikode, Kerala.

Murari today not only bears the torch of the VVS tradition but has also evolved as a sensitive and emotive musician, giving a distinct style of his own. In his voyage as a cultural ambassador of India’s rich heritage, Murari has performed extensively in India and abroad in the most prestigious fora, drawing critical acclaim wherever he has performed. he has won several accolades from many reputed institutions.

He has also been the catalyst in taking raw talents, mentoring them, and also putting them on world map by touring them across the United States and Canada. He has also been involved in several unique projects combining classical Indian music and western classical to jazz music thus bringing the world together.

Khanjira artist Anirudh Athreya has great music lineage through his great-grandfathers, Sangita Kalanidhis ‘Papa’ K.S. Venkatramaiah and Alathur Sivasubramania Iyer, who were icons in the twentieth century. His maternal grandfather, V. Thyagarajan was a reputed violinist and grand-uncle V. Nagarajan was a veteran khanjira vidwan. Nagarajan initiated Anirudh into the khanjira when he was nine years old and was his guru for five years. Later, Anirudh came under the guidance of Sangita Kalanidhi T.K. Murthy. Since becoming Murthy’s disciple, Anirudh has not looked back. Within a year he was playing alongside the veteran who went to great lengths to encourage him. He is now a regular accompanist to accomplished artists like Bombay Jayashri, T.M. Krishna, and Vijay Siva, among others. He considers it a privilege to have also participated in the concerts of the likes of R.K. Srikantan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan, P.S. Narayanaswami, O.S. Thyagarajan, and N. Ravikiran. The senior mridanga artists he has teamed up with are his guru T.K. Murthy and Trichy Sankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Srimushnam Raja Rao, Tiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam and Mannargudi Easwaran. He has toured many cities in India, and played abroad in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Singapore, the U.S.A. and Canada.