How much ever pleasant or melodious a voice can be, to say that the accompaniments that go along with it, adds to the beauty, is no exaggeration. There is no likelihood that the connoisseurs of carnatic music, are not aware of the ghatam artiste Suresh, who has played ghatam for a number of eminent carnatic musicians in numerous concerts. His parents, right from his childhood, understood his inclination towards music, especially his grandfather A.C.Nataraja Iyer. He enrolled him in 'Jaiganesha Thala Vadhyam' school in Triplicane,Chennai. It is worth mentioning that this school is run by the eminent and popular Ghatam Vidhwan
Thiru. Vinayakaram.
In the beginning he learnt to
play most of the accompanying instruments. His chief mentor is Sri. T. V.
Gopalakrishnan & he feels that he is very fortunate to have him as his
Guru. Suresh dedicates his growth in music & his musical prowess to his
Guru. He proudly says that once his Guru made him play ghatam at IIT in the
presence of German scholars & told them that he had been waiting for a long
time to have such a disciple. When Suresh was 13 yrs old(1979), he was selected
for the 'Govt. Of India Talent Search Scholarship' & this continued till
1985. For a brief period he was learning special minute fingering techniques from Umayalpuram Narayanaswamy Iyer. Mr.
Suresh has played the Ghatam for Semmangudi Sri Srinivasa Iyer, Veena
Balachander, Balamuralikrishna,T.N.Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman,
K.V.Narayanaswamy, D.K.Jayaraman, Nedhanuri Krishnamurthy, Dr. Ramani,
M.S.Gopalakrishnan and many others.
He has played the Ghatam for renowned mridangists T.K.Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Karaikudi Mani, Guruvayur Durai & Velur Ramabadran also. During a concert by J.Yesudas in the Triplicane Parthasarathy Sabha, he played the Ghatam along with T.N. Krishnan on the Violin & T.V Gopalakrishnan on the mirudangam. AT the end of the concert his mentor requested the audience to give Suresh a standing ovation since it was his first peformance in front of 3000 people. This he says is an unforgettable incident in his life.
He has nearly visited most of the countries around the world to give performances in the past 25 years. Talking about awards, he was given the 'Umayalpuram Kodhanda Ramar Iyer Memorial award' in 1995 by Sriragam Fine Arts & recently in 2002 he was bestowed with the title 'Nadha Oli 2002' by Nadha Inbham Sabha. He feels strongly that the awards & rewards should be given on their own & that one should not receive them by unjust means against one's conscience. Suresh has given 5000 peformances so far.
Mr.Suresh is running a music school in the name, 'Gnanalaya' in Manthaiveli(10/31, West circle road). Mirudangan, Khanjira, Ghatam classes are being conducted here, It is worth mentioning that students from other states & also from abroad are coming & learning here. In recent times, inspired by Mr.
Dasarathi (who teaches flute via the net) he too has taken up teaching ghatam through the net. He is also learning vocal music. He has formed an organisation called 'Intenational Society for Laya Awareness'. Through this organisation, discussions are held about layas & thalams. Another one by name 'Finger Prints' (The sound emenating from fingers) too is run by him.
He says that whenever he begins to play in a concert, he plays with responsibility, devotion & self-confidence. He adds further that every artiste has self prestige, self confidence & little ego & the there is no harm in it. He regrets that accompaniments that add grandeur to the concerts have not been given proper recognition by magazines, T.V & other media. His anguish is that artistes who play ghatam & khanjira are always treated as secondary citizens & that is the same situation when concerts are held abroad. The Sabha Management explains that there are 2 reasons for this state. One is lack of finance & the second is communication. They say that good artistes are not available, but Suresh feels otherwise. He complains that the chances are being denied to artistes and that is the wholesome truth.
To alter such a situation, he says that the members of the Sabha & the people who buy tickets for the concerts should insist on having such accompaniments. This alone will encourage the growth of such artistes & inspire them. Musicians also don't insist on asking for such accompaniments in their concerts.
'Yati', a documentary film, was taken by
Raphaël O'Byrne (french) for which Suresh orchestrated the background music. This film explains about how ghatam plays a crucial part in a man's life - From the beginning till the end. He has also released an album by the same name
'Yati' which has become famous worldwide. He has brought to focus various mellifluous sound of the ghatam in this album. He has created a website
www.ghatamsuresh.com.
He being socially conscious, has pledged his eyes in Shankara Netralaya & is a frequent blood donor. Whenever he signs an autograph, he always writes 'Pledge your eyes'.
Is it not fair that such eminence should be recognised & due importance given to a popular, capable renowned artiste ?
How much ever pleasant or melodious a voice can be, to say that the accompaniments that go along with it, adds to the beauty, is no exaggeration. There is no likelihood that the connoisseurs of carnatic music, are not aware of the ghatam artiste Suresh, who has played ghatam for a number of eminent carnatic musicians in numerous concerts. His parents, right from his childhood, understood his inclination towards music, especially his grandfather A.C.Nataraja Iyer. He enrolled him in 'Jaiganesha Thala Vadhyam' school in Triplicane,Chennai. It is worth mentioning that this school is run by the eminent and popular Ghatam Vidhwan
Thiru. Vinayakaram.
Mr.Suresh is running a music school in the name, 'Gnanalaya' in Manthaiveli(10/31, West circle road). Mirudangan, Khanjira, Ghatam classes are being conducted here, It is worth mentioning that students from other states & also from abroad are coming & learning here. In recent times, inspired by Mr.
Dasarathi 
To alter such a situation, he says that the members of the Sabha & the people who buy tickets for the concerts should insist on having such accompaniments. This alone will encourage the growth of such artistes & inspire them. Musicians also don't insist on asking for such accompaniments in their concerts.
He being socially conscious, has pledged his eyes in Shankara Netralaya & is a frequent blood donor. Whenever he signs an autograph, he always writes 'Pledge your eyes'. 
