Experiencing a diving rhythm with Ghatam Giridhar Udupa…Aparna Shivapura in conversation with a stalwart.
Even if I haven’t met him personally, I can feel the sheer resplendence and the reverberation from nimble fingers his performance can cast on people as he walks back from a standing ovation of 18000 people at the prestigious Sawai Gandharva festival held recently along with Shankar Mahadevan…
Ghatam Giridhar Udupa is a confluence of sorts as his art form weaves in the ancient tradition with the contemporary and future generations together in a timeless flow and bind of music. A youth icon whose passion for his art form is almost meditative and rapturous…his voice echoes into trance as I speak to him of the years he’s already spent in playing the Ghatam.
Giridhar Udupa has been initiated into this musical field for over two decades with strong n in a music-immersed family. His father is the renowned Uloor Nagendra Udupa and it is visible that Giridhar’s initiation into music happened very early. He credits a lot of his achievements to his father for his continued supports and encouragements. His Gurus Vidwan Sukanya Ramgopal and Vidwan Suresh have been his mentors. He has performed now for so many years already that I am not surprised by the sense of comfort and at ease he displays while mentioning concerts.
When asked on the key ingredient for a satisfied musician, Giridhar replies with great humility that it’s important to be firmly seated on the learning curve for a musician. On stage, off stage and all places, it’s learning that matters when you perform with other musicians, co-players, senior artists and the masters. He quotes that it feels truly like a blessing when one performs with experts and senior artists while also being a great challenge to play in harmony with them.
What was his turning point in life, I wonder? And he quips, November 24th, 2001 as the chosen day. Incidentally, this concert, which was his turning point, was organized by this very organization, Ananya. He credits Ananya for its outstanding work towards the development of Karnatic music especially among the youth. It’s played a great role in building awareness among the younger generation.
Giridhar brings out another very key element of the growth and perpetuation of music during our conversation and that is the role of Government support. In Europe, for instance, where he regularly performs, all major festivals are promoted and managed by the Government. This needs to be enhanced significantly here in India, he says. This will also result in enhancing awareness amongst people.
In addition to performing Karnatic, Hindustani, Western, Jazz, Fusion and more forms of music world over, Giridhar perfoms with his own band Layatharanga and has been at it for over 15 years now. I am tempted to ask him a clichéd question and that is, what does music mean to you? He answers me with great passion and I feel him diving deep into his soul to say that music is my entire life to the extent that even when he is not performing or practicing, the very essence of music keeps on touching him and he is fully immersed in the experience.
The physical energy required to play a Ghatam is very high, as one can technically note. A musician will require lots of strength, volatility to continuously perform this instrument. Hence, after a long concert, one is overwhelmed with satisfaction and has a phenomenal feeling. He also performs on varied South Indian percussion instruments including Mridangam, Kanjira and Morsing. He renders Konnakol (syllables) with equal aplomb.
I am silenced by awe when I hear out the names of the masters with whom Giridhar has performed. Here is a list of some of them. He has accompanied eminent South Indian Classical musicians including Sarvashree L.Subramaniam, M.Balamuralikrishna, M.S.Gopalkrishnan, R.K.Srikantan, T.N.Krishnan, T.K.Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram, K.Sivaraman, A.K.Palanivel, Mysore Nagaraj & Manjunath, Ganesh & Kumaresh, Mandolin Srinivas, N.Ramani, K.J.Yesudas, T.V.Gopalkrishnan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, T.N.Seshagopalan, Jayanthi Kumaresh, R.K.Suryanarayana, Kadri Gopalnath, Sudha Raghunathan, Aruna Sayeeram and others. He has also performed with renowned Indian Musicians like Dr.L.Subramaniam, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Fazal Qureshi,Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sivamani, Ganesh Kumaresh, Mysore Brothers, Louis Banks, Niladri Kumar, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Amit Heri, Lucky Ali, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam,Ranjit Barot, Bikram Ghosh, Rahul Sharma, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Western Musicians like Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ernie Watts, John Kaizan Neptune, Chico Freeman, Kai Eckhardt, Hubert Laws, Corky Siegel, Ivry gitlis, Airto Moreira, Fritz Renold, Lewis Pragasam and others.
Udupa has given concerts under the auspices of prestigious
Sabhas all over India and abroad, including USA, UK, Canada,
South Africa, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain,
Switzerland, France, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic,
Luxembourg, Romania, Indonesia, Mauritius, Re Union Island,
Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat, Doha,
Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Apart from receiving critical acclaim for his instrumental
abilities, Ghatam Udupa has also received many national
honours .He has been honoured as "Asthana Vidwan" of the
Sri Matam of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, 2010. He was
conferred with title "Yuva Kala Bharati" by Bharath Kalachar,
Chennai, in 2004, "Vijaya Kalashree" title in 1997,"Yuva Laya
Prathibhamani" in 2009. He has won the Aryabhata Award for
the year 2000 at a young age of 20. Besides the general honours, he has also won numerous "Best Percussionist" and "Best Ghatam Player" awards
Giridhar firmly believes that music is indeed an elevating experience and what begins as a musical experience translates to something deeply spiritual and this feeling cannot be compared or equated to anything else in the world. For an artist who has performed all over the world and in so many years, when I ask for his most memorable performance to date, he laughs humbly since there are so many of them. He fondly recalls a concert in a remote village in France. A concert where he was so involved and immersed into his performance that he had forgotten where he was and at the end of his performance, he felt truly exhilarated and knew that he was on the right path to become a musician, his humility rings out loud as he tells me that he felt eligible to be a musician.
Giridhar is full of gratitude and thankful to his wonderful family, his parents and his sisters for being supportive, encouraging and always being there for him. I ask for this wonderful musician’s message to the people and he says that more and more youngsters should be part of this experience; there should be an increased awareness about Karnatic Classical Music. When asked which leg of the long journey he has reached, he shares with me that his musical journey has only begun and there is a long way to go and he feels that his best is yet to come. Our best wishes with you, always.
His accomplishments read out like an encyclopedia in itself! It will take you a while and you may have to read this article twice before taking in all his achievements at one shot! Giridhar and his music are an experience in itself…impactful, healing and life changing for his audiences and fans the world over.
Experiencing a diving rhythm with Ghatam Giridhar Udupa…Aparna Shivapura in conversation with a stalwart.
Even if I haven’t met him personally, I can feel the sheer resplendence and the reverberation from nimble fingers his performance can cast on people as he walks back from a standing ovation of 18000 people at the prestigious Sawai Gandharva festival held recently along with Shankar Mahadevan…
Ghatam Giridhar Udupa is a confluence of sorts as his art form weaves in the ancient tradition with the contemporary and future generations together in a timeless flow and bind of music. A youth icon whose passion for his art form is almost meditative and rapturous…his voice echoes into trance as I speak to him of the years he’s already spent in playing the Ghatam.
Giridhar Udupa has been initiated into this musical field for over two decades with strong n in a music-immersed family. His father is the renowned Uloor Nagendra Udupa and it is visible that Giridhar’s initiation into music happened very early. He credits a lot of his achievements to his father for his continued supports and encouragements. His Gurus Vidwan Sukanya Ramgopal and Vidwan Suresh have been his mentors. He has performed now for so many years already that I am not surprised by the sense of comfort and at ease he displays while mentioning concerts.
When asked on the key ingredient for a satisfied musician, Giridhar replies with great humility that it’s important to be firmly seated on the learning curve for a musician. On stage, off stage and all places, it’s learning that matters when you perform with other musicians, co-players, senior artists and the masters. He quotes that it feels truly like a blessing when one performs with experts and senior artists while also being a great challenge to play in harmony with them.
What was his turning point in life, I wonder? And he quips, November 24th, 2001 as the chosen day. Incidentally, this concert, which was his turning point, was organized by this very organization, Ananya. He credits Ananya for its outstanding work towards the development of Karnatic music especially among the youth. It’s played a great role in building awareness among the younger generation.
Giridhar brings out another very key element of the growth and perpetuation of music during our conversation and that is the role of Government support. In Europe, for instance, where he regularly performs, all major festivals are promoted and managed by the Government. This needs to be enhanced significantly here in India, he says. This will also result in enhancing awareness amongst people.
In addition to performing Karnatic, Hindustani, Western, Jazz, Fusion and more forms of music world over, Giridhar perfoms with his own band Layatharanga and has been at it for over 15 years now. I am tempted to ask him a clichéd question and that is, what does music mean to you? He answers me with great passion and I feel him diving deep into his soul to say that music is my entire life to the extent that even when he is not performing or practicing, the very essence of music keeps on touching him and he is fully immersed in the experience.
The physical energy required to play a Ghatam is very high, as one can technically note. A musician will require lots of strength, volatility to continuously perform this instrument. Hence, after a long concert, one is overwhelmed with satisfaction and has a phenomenal feeling. He also performs on varied South Indian percussion instruments including Mridangam, Kanjira and Morsing. He renders Konnakol (syllables) with equal aplomb.
I am silenced by awe when I hear out the names of the masters with whom Giridhar has performed. Here is a list of some of them. He has accompanied eminent South Indian Classical musicians including Sarvashree L.Subramaniam, M.Balamuralikrishna, M.S.Gopalkrishnan, R.K.Srikantan, T.N.Krishnan, T.K.Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram, K.Sivaraman, A.K.Palanivel, Mysore Nagaraj & Manjunath, Ganesh & Kumaresh, Mandolin Srinivas, N.Ramani, K.J.Yesudas, T.V.Gopalkrishnan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, T.N.Seshagopalan, Jayanthi Kumaresh, R.K.Suryanarayana, Kadri Gopalnath, Sudha Raghunathan, Aruna Sayeeram and others. He has also performed with renowned Indian Musicians like Dr.L.Subramaniam, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Fazal Qureshi,Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sivamani, Ganesh Kumaresh, Mysore Brothers, Louis Banks, Niladri Kumar, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Amit Heri, Lucky Ali, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam,Ranjit Barot, Bikram Ghosh, Rahul Sharma, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Western Musicians like Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ernie Watts, John Kaizan Neptune, Chico Freeman, Kai Eckhardt, Hubert Laws, Corky Siegel, Ivry gitlis, Airto Moreira, Fritz Renold, Lewis Pragasam and others.
Udupa has given concerts under the auspices of prestigious
Sabhas all over India and abroad, including USA, UK, Canada,
South Africa, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain,
Switzerland, France, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic,
Luxembourg, Romania, Indonesia, Mauritius, Re Union Island,
Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat, Doha,
Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Apart from receiving critical acclaim for his instrumental
abilities, Ghatam Udupa has also received many national
honours .He has been honoured as "Asthana Vidwan" of the
Sri Matam of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, 2010. He was
conferred with title "Yuva Kala Bharati" by Bharath Kalachar,
Chennai, in 2004, "Vijaya Kalashree" title in 1997,"Yuva Laya
Prathibhamani" in 2009. He has won the Aryabhata Award for
the year 2000 at a young age of 20. Besides the general honours, he has also won numerous "Best Percussionist" and "Best Ghatam Player" awards
Giridhar firmly believes that music is indeed an elevating experience and what begins as a musical experience translates to something deeply spiritual and this feeling cannot be compared or equated to anything else in the world. For an artist who has performed all over the world and in so many years, when I ask for his most memorable performance to date, he laughs humbly since there are so many of them. He fondly recalls a concert in a remote village in France. A concert where he was so involved and immersed into his performance that he had forgotten where he was and at the end of his performance, he felt truly exhilarated and knew that he was on the right path to become a musician, his humility rings out loud as he tells me that he felt eligible to be a musician.
Giridhar is full of gratitude and thankful to his wonderful family, his parents and his sisters for being supportive, encouraging and always being there for him. I ask for this wonderful musician’s message to the people and he says that more and more youngsters should be part of this experience; there should be an increased awareness about Karnatic Classical Music. When asked which leg of the long journey he has reached, he shares with me that his musical journey has only begun and there is a long way to go and he feels that his best is yet to come. Our best wishes with you, always.
His accomplishments read out like an encyclopedia in itself! It will take you a while and you may have to read this article twice before taking in all his achievements at one shot! Giridhar and his music are an experience in itself…impactful, healing and life changing for his audiences and fans the world over.