Trichur C. Narendran
| Thrichur.C.Narendran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 15 December 1951 |
| Origin | Thrissur, India |
| Genres | Carnatic Music |
| Occupation(s) | Mridangam performer |
| Instruments | mridangam |
| Years active | 1961 to present |
Thrissur C. Narendran is a Mridangam (Sanskrit: मृदंगम्,Tamil: மிருதங்கம்,Malayalam: മൃദംഗം,Kannada: :ಮೃದಂಗ,Telugu: మృదంగం) artiste from Kerala, India. His intricate rhythmic patterns, sense of proportion, sharp anticipation, short & carefully thought out phases of silence, and the ability to give the Mridangam the much-needed soft touch make Trichur C. Narendran a class apart.Narendran has accompanied more than five generations of musicians, from Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.
Early life
Narendran was born to Late Venugopala Raja of Manakulam Palace (the royal family of Thalapilly, Thrissur, Kerala, India and Late Sarojini.V.Raja on 15 December 1951 . Narendran inherits a legacy of performing art. Manakulam Late Valiya Kunhunni Raja "Kakkad Karanavarppad", the progenitor of the Temple of performing Art ofKerala – "Kerala Kalamandalam" was his maternal grandfather. He grew up with his elder brother (violinist Thrissur C. Rajendran) and sister (vocalist Prema Balachandran) in an ambience of Music and Art.[1]
Musical training
Born in a family of musicians and scholars, Narendran was initiated into an early training in Mridangam by Sri Kongorppilly Parameswaran Namboodiri who spotted his talent during a dance rehearsal at an annual family get together at Manakkulam Palace, and started teaching Narendran the basics of Mridangam when he was just seven. It was David Bhagavathar of Kunnamkulam who instilled in him the interest in music and inspired him to seriously take up the Mridangam. Later it was Sri E P Narayana Pisharodi and Koduvayur Radhakrishnan who trained him further. Narendran had the rarest privileges to be one of the early disciples of Palghat R Raghu from 1973.[2] It was the scholarship awarded by the Government of India that provided the fecundity for him to learn the finer and the most intricate techniques of mridangam playing from Mridangam Maestro Padmashri Palghat R. Raghu.
Career
Narendran has been exposed to the concert platform from a very early age of 10.
- He has played for Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and K.J. Yesudas at Peringode at the age of 15 along with his elder brother Thrissur.C.Rajendran.
- Narendran had the rare privilege of performing together with his guru Palghat Raghu in the Jass Yatra Festival in Bombay in the year 1978.
- From a very young age, Narendran has been accompanying throughout India with maestros like Semmangudi Srinivsa Iyer, M S Subbulakshmi, Palghat K V Narayanaswami, Dr M. Balamuralikrishna, T M Thyagarajan, Nedunnoori Krishnamurthi, Voletti Venkateswarulu, Dr S Ramanathan, D K Jayaraman,M D Ramanathan, S Kalyanaraman, Maharajapuram santhanam, D.K.Pattammal, T. Brinda, M.L. Vasanthakumari, K S Narayanaswami, T.N. Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, Dr S Balachandar, Dr N Ramani, L Subramaniam, T Viswanathan, John Higgins Bhagavathar, M Chandrasekharan, V V Subramanyam, R K Srikanthan, T R S, T K G, Madurai G S Mani,T N Sheshagopalan, Trichur V Ramachandran, T V Gopalakrishnan,T V Sankaranarayanan, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, K J Yesudas,O S Thyagarajan, Bombay Sisters, E Gayathri, Padmavathi Ananthagopal, Rajeswari Padmanabhan, Karaikudi S Subramanian
- He has provided accompaniment to the present day vidwans like U. Srinivas, N Ravikiran, N Vijay Siva, P Unnikrishnan, Sanjay Subramanyam, T M Krishna, Srivatsan J Menon, Sudha Raghunathan, Bombay Jayasree,S Sashank, and so on. He also has many foreign concerts to his credit :-
- 1982– USA With K S Narayanaswami
- 1982– JAPAN with Dr L Subramanyam
- 1983– USA – Canada – England with K V Narayanaswami
- 1987– DUBAI – Muscat with K V Narayanaswami
- 1989– USA with Bombay Sisters
- 1995– USA with Padmavathi and Jayanthi
- 1996– He was a part of the 50th year celebration of UNESCO in FRANCE
- 1997– USA with Bombay Jayasri
- 2001– USA With P Unnikrishnan
- 2008– GERMANY & FINLAND With Dr. Karaikudi S Subramanian & Shankari Krishnan
- He further Taught Mridangam in San Diego State University USA as a visiting professor during 1984' to 1986 and accompanied visiting artistes like R K Srikanthan and E Gayathri on Mridangam
Stint with A.I.R
It was at the age of 17 that he won first prize in A I R Music competition. In the Commercial CD released by A I R of Palghat K V Narayanaswami, with M S G on the violin, Narendran has provided mridangam accompaniment.He was on the staff of All India Radio from 1992 to 2011. He is now a Top rank artiste of All India Radio.
Awards and Accolades.
- Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer award by Sri Ragam Fine Arts
- NADAKKANAL in 1999
- Maharajapuram Santhanam Foundation Meritorious award in 1999
- VANI KALA SUDHAKARA by Thyagabrahma Gana Sabha in 2000
- ASTHANA VIDWAN OF KANCHI MUTT in 2001
- LAYAVADHYA CHATHURA BY ANNA NAGAR MUSIC CIRCLE TRUST & SADGURU SANGITA VIDYALAYA IN 2010
- LAYA VIDHYADHARA by IRAIPANI MANDRUM Kottivakkam in 2011
- LAYA KALAVIPANCHI From Dr M. Balamuralikrishna on 31 December 2011
- MADHURA MURALI PURASKAR from legend Dr M balamuralikrishna on his 82nd birthday in 2012.
- SANGEETHA THILAKAM from Thiruvambadi Devaswom in december 2012
- LAYAPRATHIBHA - HARMONIAM CHAKRAVARTHY KOTTARA SANKUNNY NAIR MEMORIAL AWARD 2013 – EDAPPALLY.
- DASA KALA RATHNA BY SHRI PRANDARADAASAR TRUST CHENNAI ON 1-3-2015
- Dr. UMAYALPURAM SIVARAMAN AWARD FOR THE "BEST MRUDANGA VIDWAN" for the year 2014-15 on 17.12.2015.
Narendran moved to Chennai in 1973. He is now retired from All India Radio and settled in Chennai.
Sources
References
External links
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