Guruprasanna excels and shines in a rare art form, the Khanjira. This is an art form that is uncommon having uncommon pursuers and promoters of it. The passion and perseverance is much greater for a pursuit like this, as you would know. But this quest for perfection in the Khanjira has been over 29 long years for Guruprasanna. He began when he was just 5 and a half years old. Guru is also with Novell as a Project Manager and to me, seems to be a domain expert in both the fields.
The days of the inspiration and encouragement to take up music seriously goes way back to his childhood days when he used to perform with friends at local concerts. “It was more fun and pleasure then to perform ensembles” he recalls Basavanagudi Nataraj with gratitude for giving him many platforms and opportunities to perform at an early age. One particular incident in 1995 – 96 stays in his mind when for a concert, he stayed away from home for a week…there it was only music and more music…must have been a impactful experience for this youth icon.
A deep desire, passion and wanting to become a musician for life, to play music forever and be a part of that realm grew in Guru. He recalls his father’s wonderful words of encouragement, “there are many engineers like you but not many artists”. True. Which brings me to his family, the pillar of support and encouragement coming from his parents, Sri K. Gundappa and Smt. G. Leelavathi and wife Pallavi for continuous and unconditional support.
Guruprasanna credits his actual inspiration for taking up the Khanjira to an old concert held in 1994 – 95 by Karaikudi R Mani and Harishanker, both doyens in their own field. He says their performance was truly inspirational and mesmerizing. The passion, devotion and near-penance is still fresh in his memory. And that was the decision point to take up the Khanjira seriously and pursue its depths with great passion and penance. Guruprasanna has received lots of exposure through technical knowledge of the instrument and through several concerts played through the years. He hails from The Harishankar School of Khanjira.
When asked about organizations like Ananya, he mentions that this has always been the organization for youth and has always recognized talent. The organization has provided yeoman’s service to the field and cause of music.
Like a contemporary management theory, Guruprasanna attributes me with three key mantras for his approach to music and that is: practice, patience and perseverance. He also firmly believes that an artist has to be above all the applauds because he / she needs to reach higher, perform better with each performance. And he says with a lot of humility that there are no shortcuts in this art, an artist has to continuously learn and improvise. Admirable, I would say.
When asked about his most memorable concert, he says there are several of them but his first one in 1986 is still fresh in his memory. He also is deeply grateful to all his gurus, mentors and stalwarts who have given him several opportunities to perform and encouraged and taught him the art.
On this occasion he would like to communicate and share his gratitude for his Parama Guru - Khanjira Maestro, Vidwan G. Harishankar, Vidwan Anoor S Ramakrishna , Vidwan Basavanagudi G Nataraj, Vidwan Bangalore K, Venkataram, Vidwan B K Chandramouli, Vidwan R. Sathyakumar, Vidwan S. V. Giridhar, Vidwan C. P. Vyasavittala and Vidwan Anoor R. Ananthakrishna Sharma. He is especially grateful to Anoor R Ananthakrishna Sharma for being a great mentor and guide. He would like to thank some of the key organizations which have given him a platform including Ananya, Ayyanar college of music, Percussive Arts Centre , Malleshwaram sangeetha sabha, Gayana Samaja, All my friends and co-artists. He adds that he takes pride in being part of the Harishankar school of Khanjira.
He was initiated to learn Mridangam at the age of 6 under the tutelage of Vidwan R Sathyakumar at Sri Ayyanar College of Music. He then continued his Mridangam learning under the tutelage and guidance of versatile percussion maestro, Layakala Prathibha Mani Vidwan Anoor R Ananthakrishna Sharma. He is pursuing the Khanjira training under Nada Gambheera Vidwan C P Vyasa Vittala, an accomplished Khanjira exponent and a premier disciple of Vidwan Late G Harishankar. Guru Prasanna has given performances at prestigious sangeetha sabhas all over India and Abroad.
As an accompanying artiste, he has been regularly performing with many renowned artistes such
as, Dr. R. K. Srikantan, T. V. Shankaranarayanan, Dr. N. Ramani, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, O. S.
Thyagarajan, A. K. C. Natarajan, Madurai T N Seshagopalan, M. S. Sheela, Sanjay Subramanyam,
T. M. Krishna, P. Unnikrishnan, U. Shrinivas, Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, Mysore Nagaraj & Dr.
Mysore Manjunath, Ganesh & Kumaresh, Dr. Suma Sudhindra, Prof. Nagamani Srinath, Dr.
Jayanthi Kumaresh, Abhishek Raghuram, Sudha Raghunathan, Malladi Brothers and many
others.
He has been regularly giving Khanjira accompaniment with Mridangam & Tavil legends such as
Dr. T K Murthy, Umayalapuram K Sivaraman, Trichy Shankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Dr. Yella
Venkateshwara Rao, Palghat T R Rajamani, Dr. Haridwaramangalam A K Palanivel, A V
Anand, Thiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam, Srimushnam V. Rajarao, Mannargudi A. Eashwaran,
Tanjavur Govindarajan, Trichur C. Narendran, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, Arjun Kumar, V
Praveen, K V Prasad, Neyveli Narayanan and many others.
As a Khanjira artist he has represented the nation upholding our ancient tradition in many
nations such as
• Rome & Milan – Performed with a contemporary music ensemble and collaborated with
European musicians with Dr. Mysore Manjunath – 2012
• France – Performed in the first ever Carnatic classical music concert in the prestigious
Opera De Lille with Dr. Mysore Manjunath – 2010
• France & Belgium - Performed with the famous Jazz group, Aka Moon – 2010
• France & Belgium – Performed with a contemporary music ensemble along with Ictus
musicians at Opera De Lille and Kaaitheater – 2010
• USA – To take part in the annual music festival conducted by Nadatarangini – 2000
Practice, Patience & Perseverance
He has got many awards and titles in recognition of his achievements such as:
• Blessed by Parama Poojya Periyava as “Aasthana Vidwan” of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti
Peetam, Kanchipuram – 2011
• “Ananya Yuva Puraskar”, youth award for excellence in the field of Khanjira, by Ananya
GML Cultural Academy - 2007
• CMANA Prize, awarded to the talented young percussionist in the 25th
Thaalavaadyotsav of Percussive arts centre – 2006
• Late Sri B. Seetharam Iyengar Memorial award with the title ‘Khanjira Praveena”, by Sri
Thyagaraja Aradhana Samithi formed by Vidwan V. Praveen – 2005
• “Best Khanjira Artist” by the Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat, during the 33rd Annual
Conference – 2002
• “Ananya Prathibhe” for Khanjira – 2000
• Secured 1st Prize in Khanjira with B-grade in AIR National level competitions – 1998
• Recipient of Karnataka State Scholarship from 1989-91
His future plans are being made with one goal in mind and that is he always wants to play good music as much flawlessly as possible. One needs to put in a lot of dedication and practice to achieve it. I like the way Guruprasanna adds that while playing the instrument, an artist carries a lot of responsibility with him. He says this with a deep commitment that music is life to him. It plays several roles like a stress buster, a soother, and a healer and above all, brings peace, internal harmony, silence and a deep sense of equilibrium. Fascinating, indeed that music can touch people’s lives in so many ways. Isn’t he a true youth icon for he carries the classical tradition forward with a practice, patience and perseverance that is unforgettable?
Guruprasanna excels and shines in a rare art form, the Khanjira. This is an art form that is uncommon having uncommon pursuers and promoters of it. The passion and perseverance is much greater for a pursuit like this, as you would know. But this quest for perfection in the Khanjira has been over 29 long years for Guruprasanna. He began when he was just 5 and a half years old. Guru is also with Novell as a Project Manager and to me, seems to be a domain expert in both the fields.
The days of the inspiration and encouragement to take up music seriously goes way back to his childhood days when he used to perform with friends at local concerts. “It was more fun and pleasure then to perform ensembles” he recalls Basavanagudi Nataraj with gratitude for giving him many platforms and opportunities to perform at an early age. One particular incident in 1995 – 96 stays in his mind when for a concert, he stayed away from home for a week…there it was only music and more music…must have been a impactful experience for this youth icon.
A deep desire, passion and wanting to become a musician for life, to play music forever and be a part of that realm grew in Guru. He recalls his father’s wonderful words of encouragement, “there are many engineers like you but not many artists”. True. Which brings me to his family, the pillar of support and encouragement coming from his parents, Sri K. Gundappa and Smt. G. Leelavathi and wife Pallavi for continuous and unconditional support.
Guruprasanna credits his actual inspiration for taking up the Khanjira to an old concert held in 1994 – 95 by Karaikudi R Mani and Harishanker, both doyens in their own field. He says their performance was truly inspirational and mesmerizing. The passion, devotion and near-penance is still fresh in his memory. And that was the decision point to take up the Khanjira seriously and pursue its depths with great passion and penance. Guruprasanna has received lots of exposure through technical knowledge of the instrument and through several concerts played through the years. He hails from The Harishankar School of Khanjira.
When asked about organizations like Ananya, he mentions that this has always been the organization for youth and has always recognized talent. The organization has provided yeoman’s service to the field and cause of music.
Like a contemporary management theory, Guruprasanna attributes me with three key mantras for his approach to music and that is: practice, patience and perseverance. He also firmly believes that an artist has to be above all the applauds because he / she needs to reach higher, perform better with each performance. And he says with a lot of humility that there are no shortcuts in this art, an artist has to continuously learn and improvise. Admirable, I would say.
When asked about his most memorable concert, he says there are several of them but his first one in 1986 is still fresh in his memory. He also is deeply grateful to all his gurus, mentors and stalwarts who have given him several opportunities to perform and encouraged and taught him the art.
On this occasion he would like to communicate and share his gratitude for his Parama Guru - Khanjira Maestro, Vidwan G. Harishankar, Vidwan Anoor S Ramakrishna , Vidwan Basavanagudi G Nataraj, Vidwan Bangalore K, Venkataram, Vidwan B K Chandramouli, Vidwan R. Sathyakumar, Vidwan S. V. Giridhar, Vidwan C. P. Vyasavittala and Vidwan Anoor R. Ananthakrishna Sharma. He is especially grateful to Anoor R Ananthakrishna Sharma for being a great mentor and guide. He would like to thank some of the key organizations which have given him a platform including Ananya, Ayyanar college of music, Percussive Arts Centre , Malleshwaram sangeetha sabha, Gayana Samaja, All my friends and co-artists. He adds that he takes pride in being part of the Harishankar school of Khanjira.
He was initiated to learn Mridangam at the age of 6 under the tutelage of Vidwan R Sathyakumar at Sri Ayyanar College of Music. He then continued his Mridangam learning under the tutelage and guidance of versatile percussion maestro, Layakala Prathibha Mani Vidwan Anoor R Ananthakrishna Sharma. He is pursuing the Khanjira training under Nada Gambheera Vidwan C P Vyasa Vittala, an accomplished Khanjira exponent and a premier disciple of Vidwan Late G Harishankar. Guru Prasanna has given performances at prestigious sangeetha sabhas all over India and Abroad.
As an accompanying artiste, he has been regularly performing with many renowned artistes such
as, Dr. R. K. Srikantan, T. V. Shankaranarayanan, Dr. N. Ramani, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, O. S.
Thyagarajan, A. K. C. Natarajan, Madurai T N Seshagopalan, M. S. Sheela, Sanjay Subramanyam,
T. M. Krishna, P. Unnikrishnan, U. Shrinivas, Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, Mysore Nagaraj & Dr.
Mysore Manjunath, Ganesh & Kumaresh, Dr. Suma Sudhindra, Prof. Nagamani Srinath, Dr.
Jayanthi Kumaresh, Abhishek Raghuram, Sudha Raghunathan, Malladi Brothers and many
others.
He has been regularly giving Khanjira accompaniment with Mridangam & Tavil legends such as
Dr. T K Murthy, Umayalapuram K Sivaraman, Trichy Shankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Dr. Yella
Venkateshwara Rao, Palghat T R Rajamani, Dr. Haridwaramangalam A K Palanivel, A V
Anand, Thiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam, Srimushnam V. Rajarao, Mannargudi A. Eashwaran,
Tanjavur Govindarajan, Trichur C. Narendran, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, Arjun Kumar, V
Praveen, K V Prasad, Neyveli Narayanan and many others.
As a Khanjira artist he has represented the nation upholding our ancient tradition in many
nations such as
• Rome & Milan – Performed with a contemporary music ensemble and collaborated with
European musicians with Dr. Mysore Manjunath – 2012
• France – Performed in the first ever Carnatic classical music concert in the prestigious
Opera De Lille with Dr. Mysore Manjunath – 2010
• France & Belgium - Performed with the famous Jazz group, Aka Moon – 2010
• France & Belgium – Performed with a contemporary music ensemble along with Ictus
musicians at Opera De Lille and Kaaitheater – 2010
• USA – To take part in the annual music festival conducted by Nadatarangini – 2000
Practice, Patience & Perseverance
He has got many awards and titles in recognition of his achievements such as:
• Blessed by Parama Poojya Periyava as “Aasthana Vidwan” of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti
Peetam, Kanchipuram – 2011
• “Ananya Yuva Puraskar”, youth award for excellence in the field of Khanjira, by Ananya
GML Cultural Academy - 2007
• CMANA Prize, awarded to the talented young percussionist in the 25th
Thaalavaadyotsav of Percussive arts centre – 2006
• Late Sri B. Seetharam Iyengar Memorial award with the title ‘Khanjira Praveena”, by Sri
Thyagaraja Aradhana Samithi formed by Vidwan V. Praveen – 2005
• “Best Khanjira Artist” by the Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat, during the 33rd Annual
Conference – 2002
• “Ananya Prathibhe” for Khanjira – 2000
• Secured 1st Prize in Khanjira with B-grade in AIR National level competitions – 1998
• Recipient of Karnataka State Scholarship from 1989-91
His future plans are being made with one goal in mind and that is he always wants to play good music as much flawlessly as possible. One needs to put in a lot of dedication and practice to achieve it. I like the way Guruprasanna adds that while playing the instrument, an artist carries a lot of responsibility with him. He says this with a deep commitment that music is life to him. It plays several roles like a stress buster, a soother, and a healer and above all, brings peace, internal harmony, silence and a deep sense of equilibrium. Fascinating, indeed that music can touch people’s lives in so many ways. Isn’t he a true youth icon for he carries the classical tradition forward with a practice, patience and perseverance that is unforgettable?