 Percussion wizard Belonging to a family of musicians, T H Subash Chandran is a multi-percussion wizard who started his musical odyssey at the tender age of seven. He started playing mridangam then. His father, Harihara Sharma, was himself adept at playing the mridangam and
morsing.
Subash’s background was matched by talent. To many of us, Subash is synonymous with ghatam. But the Music Muse has bestowed her grace on him. He is a five-in-one - he can play the mridangam, ghatam, morsing, kanjira, and is also well versed in vocal percussion -
konakkol. His talent surfaced when he toured extensively with violin virtuoso Dr L Subramanian. Subash spent nearly 15years accompanying him on all his concerts. He is a faculty in some of the prestigious American universities teaching the nitty- gritty of the percussive techniques. He is conducting advanced training in percussion in USA.
To play in the acclaimed NewYork Philharmonic orchestra is a pipe dream to many. But to Subash Chandran it is a reality. The conductor of the philharmonic orchestra was none other than the inimitable Zubin Metha. Our cultural ambassadors Subramainam and Subash took the world by storm with their rhythmic melody. It was a six-day festival where even for the rehearsal, music buffs used to flock to listen to them. Subash was given the rare opportunity to say konnakol on all days. Zubin Metha was full of praise for Subash and he won a standing ovation from the audience. His hard work had been rewarded suitably.
There was an interesting episode during a performance, says Subash. While performing in Switzerland for the ‘Festival of India’, he was accompanying Dr L Subramaniam. There were other luminaries with him - his own brother the laya exponent, Grammy award winner Vikku Vinayakaram, on the ghatam, the legendary tavil vidwan Palanivel and the mridangist Trichur Mohan, with Subash for konnakol. When they were playing thani avarthanam Subash felt a bit nervous about his part - saying konnakol. He rendered it beautifully and not only the audience but also Zubin Metha and his team gave him a thundering applause. A great honour for a Indian artiste!
Subash has accompanied all the top-ranking vidwans in India and abroad. He has had the good fortune of playing with celebrity violinists likeYehudi Menuhin and
Grapelli.
Subash’s musical creation Pradosh is a great success. His jugal bandhi with gottu vadyam exponent Ravi Kiran and Pt.Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in USA created ripples in themusic world. He has scored music for danseuse Chandralekha’s production ‘Yantra , Mahakal and Raaga’. He is the vice president of Jaya Ganesh Thalavadya Vidhyalaya in Chennai. Many renowned percussionists belong to his school. His son and son-in-law are good percussionists trying to emulate him.
Subash is a staunch devotee of the Paramacharya of Kanchi and owes his success to him. He is a trendsetter in the percussion world by making the ghatam go global and there is a meditative silence as he plays.
If you wish to contact him,write to:
F2, Kala Flats,
New No 77, Lake View Road,
West Mambalam,
Chennai -600 033.
Phone: 24895374
E-mail: subashghatam@hotmail.com
Mira
Mira60@rediff.com
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