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Gurus
Bhaskaran was born in a family of art connoisseurs to Smt Lakshmi Krishnamurthi and Sri K.Krishnamurthi, of Chennai. His mother was a very good veena player and vocalist.
Bhaskaran's conscious exposure to music was when he was about 2 years when his sisters learnt music from Ennappadam Sri Ramachandra Iyer. The swara-varisa exercises, varnams and a gitams got so well etched
in his mind... that, much later, at 10 years when he picked up he basics of flute (the SARIGAMA fingering ) from his brother Sri. K. Balasubramanian, and started pestering his mother to guide him for playing varnams and gitams , with just a few tips, he was off, playing complete gitams and varnams with confidence.
This prompted his mother to search for a suitable flute 'Guru' and at the suggestion of veteran miridangam teacher and vidwan Kumbakonam Sri Rajappa Iyer, started the formal flute training under MAYAVARAM Smt.SARASWATHI AMMAL popularly known as Mayavaram Papa in music circles of yester-years.
MAYAVARAM SARASWATHI AMMAL a profile
Mayavaram Sarawathi Ammal, more popularly known in the music field as Mayavaram Papa, was born in Raja Mannargudi on 3 rd September, 1921, to Sri Balasubramanian and Smt. Brahadambal. From a musical family, she was put on to music tuitions, first learning the flute from Sri Muthu, at Peruncheri near Keeranur, in her seventh year. After a few years of formal learning, these classes discontinued due to their shifting to Mayavaram, where her vocal training started under Mayavaram Sri Venugopala Iyer. Her flute training was also resumed, this time under the stalwart Tirupambaram Sri Swaminatha Pillai.
She was a very quick learner and mastered the nuances of Karnatic music at a very early age, proving to be a prodigy, and started performing cutcheris in and around Mayavaram, when she was hardly sixteen years of age. It was at this time, when she started performing on stage, that she came to be known as Mayavaram Saraswathi since she was residing at Mayavaram those days. When she was around 18 years of age, she became one of the first few artistes selected by AIR at Tiruchi, which was newly started, as a graded vocal concert musician. In those days a one-hour slot at 7AM with a five minute news break in between, was the top-most concert time. Very soon she was upgraded to this grade, and she performed on radio for several years, in addition to numerous the stage concerts that she was continuously performing in and around Mayavaram and Tiruchi.
In 1942, Mayavaram Saraswathi Ammal relocated to Chennai, the most happening place in Carnatic music, where her musical career flourished with concerts in and around Chennai, in temples and Sabhas, that included performances at towns like Vellore as well as a concert tour of Sri Lanka, where she had performances in several Sabhas and temples, mainly in Colombo and Yazhpanam. She has been accompanied by several veteran artistes who were leading performers in that time. She also learnt, in Chennai, many rare compositions and finer nuances of the classical tradition from very senior stalwarts like Patamadai Sri Sundaram, (brother of Patamadai Sri Krishnan ) Patamadai Sri Krishnan, Tanjore Sri Sankara Iyer, and Ramnad Sri Krishnan, (who also formally taught music to her daughter).
Around the year 1952, she started teaching music extensively, and trained a number of students on vocal. In 1959, at the suggestion of other musically minded people she started learning the veena also, under Sri Pichumani Iyer, and later under Sri M. A. Kalyanakrishna Bhagavathar. At this point in time, she reduced her concert engagements to concentrate on teaching, making her mark as a teacher in vocal and in veena. However she performed flute for several groups, notable among them being Ms. Padma Subramaniam's dance orchestra. She travelled all over India along with this leading dancer, (in 1964 - 1967) and later on a European tour with another well-known Bharathantyam dancer Smt. Vyjayanthi Mala Bali, as part of the orchestra. From the seventies she has taught flute to many aspiring students, most prominent among them being performing flutist Sri K. Bhaskaran. Performing flutists Sri S. Rajaram, Sri Muthukumar, and Smt Arthi also were trained by her initially for several years. Vocalist Sanjay Subramaniam's mother was also trained in vocal music by Mayavaram Saraswathi Ammal. Thus her contribution as a teacher of the Carnatic tradition has been immense.
Bhaskaran has also had various learning sessions on specific aspects of music from a staturants like Sri (Prof) T.R. Subrahmanyam and Sri S.Rajan other senior vidwans from whom Bhaskaran has had opportunities to get mentorships & guidance on specific musical performance aspects are (veena) Sri Devakottai Narayana Jayengan, Sri P.N.Raghara Rao, Sri. Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer, and general others. He Considers statwants like flute maestros Sri N. Ramani,and Sri. T.S.Sankaran as great mentors.
Bhaskaran also had a short grounding in basics of mridangam from Sri Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer before he started formally learning flute.
News & Events
Concert at Vettikatu Mahadeva Temple, Mynagapalli, Kerala, 14 Nov., thur accompanied by MA Sundareswaran, KR Ganesh and Anilkumar.
We deeply regret the passing away of Bhaskaran's Guru Mayavaram Saraswathi Ammal on 17th Aug at Chennai. The music world has lost a veteran and an extraordinary person who excelled in various skills like vocal, flute, veena etc, and above all was a teacher-par-excellence. May her soul rest in peace.
Forthcoming concerts :
1. Sri. Thyagaraja Sangeetha vidwat Samajam Mylapore 06th Oct 2013, 6 pm - Mrudangam Arangetram of Nandan Bhaskaran under the banner of LAYODAYA school of Mrudangam-guru-Sri.K.R. Ganesh and Sri. Srirangarajapuram Jayaraman.
2. Dussera festival RKM Students home mylapore, 09th Oct 2013, 6 pm.