Anirudh Athreya, ganjira expert, elicits warm appreciation from fellow artistes. Senior mridangist K. Arunprakash says, “He is an absolute team player, knowing how to enhance every other artiste on stage.” Vocalist Amritha Murali: “His sense of aesthetics, care and sensitivity towards his own music, and that of his co-artistes, and his commitment towards the overall experience, is most commendable.”
Anirudh grew up in a large joint family with grandfather V. Thyagarajan, violinist, and Thyagarajan’s younger brother, V. Nagarajan, ganjira exponent. Anirudh’s great grandfathers were Papa Venkatramaiah, violin wizard, and Alathur Sivasubramania Iyer, one of the Alathur Brothers (who weren’t brothers). Anirudh would peep in on cousin K.S. Ramana’s mridangam lessons with Nagarajan. After learning vocal and violin from Neyveli Santhanagopalan and Thyagarajan, respectively, Anirudh realised that he preferred percussion. Nagarajan began Anirudh’s training in 1997, when Anirudh was nine, directly on the ganjira.
He recalls injuring his wrist playing tennis. Receiving a tongue lashing from Nagarajan (“Is he going to become Pete Sampras?”), put an end to sport activities. “From then on, there was no playtime. It was always practice.” He had to practise — 4-6 hours was a routine — every morning and after school too. With an in-house guru, there was no escape. “Thatha would be sitting on the porch. I would even duck to avoid him,” chuckles Anirudh. In 2002, Nagarajan introduced him to T.K. Murthy, also of the Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer school, requesting Murthy to guide Anirudh in accompaniment.
Teaching styles were different. Nagarajan would break everything down into readily digestible components and Anirudh merely had to play what he heard. Murthy expected the students to decipher what he played. “Initially, it was very difficult. I required notes, came home, practised and understood,” says Anirudh. Vocalist K. Bharat Sundar says, “Everyone, including seniors, really admire the sounds of Anirudh’s ganjira — the body and tone are excellent.” Anirudh uses stainless steel, rather than the traditional ¼ anna coins, for the jingles on the instrument.
First concert
Anirudh’s first performance was a wedding concert in 2001 for P.S. Narayanaswamy, with both Nagarajan and Thyagarajan with Umayalpuram Mali on the mridangam. His first outing with T.K. Murthy was in 2002 for Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan. In January 2003, Murthy, who was to play for Sanjay Subrahmanyan at Sathguru Sangeetha Sabha in Tiruchi, asked Sanjay if 14-year-old Anirudh too could play. “Sanjay anna cheerfully agreed,” remembers Anirudh. That concert was a huge success with Anirudh giving his all.
Barely two months later, he played with his guru for R.K. Srikantan at Musiri House. Attended by Vijay Siva, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, T.M. Krishna, N. Ravikiran, etc., Anirudh had no idea then of their standing. Anirudh later received a call from Kartik Fine Arts to play for T.M. Krishna. “My mother, who managed my concert engagements, was taken aback. She repeatedly asked if it was indeed me they wanted. ‘Krishna wants him,’ she was told,” recollects Anirudh. That was his first major concert in the season — December 10, 2003. Now, he has at least one concert a day, and two or three during the peak season.
In 2007, Sriram Gangadharan fixed Anirudh for his concert at the Music Academy. Anirudh received another letter from the Academy — the second for T.V. Sankaranarayanan, who had specifically asked for him. V. Subramaniam, disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, told Anirudh that he had played very well and that he was reminded of Nagarajan. Anirudh received the Best Kanjira Artiste award in the Senior category for that concert — his maiden year at the Academy. “Sankaranarayanan Sir recommended me for Yuva Kala Bharathi and Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar too,” he says reverently. Besides, Anirudh also received the Kalki Krishnamurthi Award and Krishna Gana Sabha’s Yagnaraman Award of Excellence.
Upapakkavadyam artistes rarely have a direct line of sight with the artiste at the centre. “I sit with a profile view of that artiste. The mridangist is usually my first point of reference, followed by the violinist. Both of them have already done some interpretation.” How one handles unexpected occurrences is the challenge. When Anirudh was playing for Bharat Sundar once, the ganjira broke during the tani avartanam, the jingles flying far. “On the new ganjira, Anirudh restarted exactly where he left off,” Bharat recalls appreciatively. Anirudh routinely carries four ganjiras to every concert.
Arunprakash says: “Anirudh has absorbed both the crucial aspects of supporting and enhancing by playing what the music demands.” Amritha adds, “Success sits lightly on his shoulders.” Anirudh puts it simply, “The art is more important than the artiste.”
The writer opines on Music, Moods and Meals at lakshmianand.com
