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 He is involved in enriching and fostering our culture – music. A product of the new cultural milieu, Shadannan Sathiabalan has traveled all the way from Toronto, Canada, to explore his roots. He has decided to swim in the ocean of
laya.
Enamoured by the mridangam, he is under the tutelage of Vasudevan Rajalingam, renowned mridangam guru in Toronto, fondly referred to as Vasan of Canada. What made this young lad pursue mridangam and not any other instrument? “The ethereal nadam of the instrument made me drift towards it,” declares
Shadannan.
 This soft-spoken boy is being guided by Vasan who is channelising his potentials. After school hours he practices two to three hours a day which is rather tough. His guru was able to discern the potentials in him and his junior mridanga arangetram was staged in 2004. “During that period, I lived in my guru’s house which is a memorable experience,” remarks
Shadannan.
Gurukulavasam, though not in vogue in its place of origin – India, is successful abroad. ”Vasan is like a father figure and takes utmost care in imparting lessons,” opines Shadannan’s mother. “The guru-sishya relationship works well,” states Vasan who is full of praise for the boy’s dedication and guru
bhakti.
Shadannan has accompanied eminent Indian artistes like Suryaprakash and Ashok Ramani, to name a few. His weekly concerts in the local temples and halls have embellished his style, remarks his guru.
 The two families are on a visit to Chennai which made Shadannan accompany Prasanna Venkatraman at the Ayyapan temple in Mahalingapuram. The concert was brilliant and rasikas enjoyed it . Prasanna was accompanied on the violin by Ananthakrishnan and on and on the ghatam by Trichy Murali. The well-knit tani of Shadannan was garnished with an interesting mix of patterns.
Shadannan, whose parents have played a pivotal role in grooming him, says his guru is his role model.
Mira
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