Panchamukha, the instrumental composition, explored rhythmic expression of five elements in speed.

Back in Chennai after a hectic tour of the US during spring, Sri Subash and his team comprising Kanjira exponent Ganesh Kumar, violinist H.N.Bhaskar, Thavil vidwan K.Sekar and keyboard player S. Hari Krishnan are basking in the unexpected grand response. Panchamukha, the unique instrumental composition created by Sri Subash for the U.S. tour, explored the rhythmic expression of the five elements in speed.

“We tried to bring rhythm and melody together and take an essentially percussion concert, supported by the keyboard and violin, to the Western audience,” he says.

The team performed in 16 cities in the US and received stunning response: standing ovation at every single concert, he says. He himself is a master of several percussion instruments — Mridangam, Ghatam, Kanjira, Morsingh and Konnakkol, apart from any Indian classical or folk percussion instrument. And playing in the U.S. is no mean task, Sri Subash says. Sometimes the cold weather takes its toll on the instruments and the artistes’ fingers as well. The sounds themselves are different, says his associate Ganesh Kumar.

“And then, Americans prefer the rhythm base, to get them to appreciate a style quite different from their own through Subash mama’s compositions is also an achievement,” says Ganesh.

The ghatam enthralled packed houses, as did Ganesh’s Kanjira and Sri Subash’s rendering of the Konnakkol, taking rhythm-based melodies from the classical tradition and innovating with them within the tradition. Sri Subash values tradition, coming from a highly respected family of classical musicians. He learned directly from his father T R Hari Hara Sharma, a direct disciple of Tanjore Shri Vaidyanatha Iyer, whose style is followed by most mridangists today. He also studied the Ghatam under the tutelage of K. M. Vaidynathan and Palghat Ramachandra Iyer. “Any innovation that I plan for performances will strictly be within the traditions. I do not compromise on swaram, ragam, talam or neraval,” he explains.

The recent U.S. tour, a CD of which will be released in India shortly, though highly successful, was not his first encounter with bringing foreign audiences to their feet with admiration. Sri Subash has carried his great talent to many countries, binding the audience with the skill of his fingers. He has performed on the invitation of the United Nations, Russia, Switzerland, Japan, Europe, South America and United Kingdom. He has also provided the percussion component to several philharmonics, including the New York Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta. That is one memory he cherishes. The experience of playing with some of the all-time greats of music - Yehudi Menuhin, Stephen Grapheli, renowned drummers Tony Williams, Max Roach, M S Subbulakshmi, Bala Murali Krishna, L.Subramaniam and U Srinivas are interesting stories in his treasure chest of memories. Not surprisingly, he has received several awards and accolades have been heaped on him by sabhas and other organisations interested in propagating classical music.

Besides being part of the faculty of various institutes abroad and teaching South Indian percussion to students of mixed races in the U.S., Sri Subash is the vice-principal of Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya.

He, however, is geared for the future and the unavoidable take over by technology. The latest from him is a tutorial DVD on the artistry of ghatam and Konnakol, also to be released in India soon. As for teaching students, he can envision a time when he will conduct lessons via video conference to his numerous disciples across the world.

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