It was at a kutcheri in Kumbakonam where Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar was scheduled to perform accompanied by T.N. Krishnan and Palakkad Mani Iyer. Thetakudi Harihara Sarma approached Ramanuja Iyengar and expressed his desire to see his son accompany him on stage that evening. Iyengar said: “Besha vasikkalaam. Edukkum Maniya oru vaarthai ketuko.” Mani also agreed.
The concert began and the young lad expectantly sat through two tani avartanams waiting for his turn to play the ghatam, and midway through the third tani, he gave up all hope. At that point, Mani Iyer looked at the young lad, nodding his head signalling him to take over. The thunderous applause that followed his tani cast the spotlight on the youngster, T.H. Vinayakram. He marvels at the foresightedness of Mani Iyer, who made him sit through two tanis only to strategically introduce him during the third, because by then the debutant would have settled down to the concert pattern. Vinayakram remembers every lesson that he learnt through his various interactions with stalwarts in the field.
History was made in the month of August 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement after the failure of the Cripps Mission. On August 11, in an agraharam in Tiruchi, was born Ramaseshan. He was one of the twins (the other was a girl), it was predicted that only one would survive and he was in a critical position. His uncle suggested that he be given in adoption to Lord Vinayaka, who would remove all obstacles. Thus Ramaseshan was renamed Vinayakraman, and he survived miraculously.
Harihara Sarma was a mridangam vidwan, who had to switch to morsing due to a mishap. He trained his children and was a teacher with great foresight. Being a mridangam player, he saw the dearth of opportunities for ‘pakkavadhyam artistes’. His large family and meagre income did not help much. So, when Vinayakram was young , he trained him to be a upa-pakkavadhyam artiste. He felt that there were more opportunities there since the competition was tough in the pakkavadyam field that was ruled by giants. It was this vision that saw Vinayakram rise and bring the upa-pakkavadhyam to centre stage.
Rigorous schedule
“I stopped going to school when I was 12 years old. From then on it was a rigorous schedule of learning and practicing. I would be woken up at 4 a.m. and made to practise for two hours before I would be given coffee. After a breakfast of ‘pazhaiya sadam’ (leftover rice) the session would continue till lunchtime and again after a break, till late evening. The lamp would be lit and I had to keep playing till the flame went out. This gruelling training for two years prepared me to play for concerts,” says Vinayakaram.
His father would take him to concerts and the duo went to Thoothukudi, where Rama Navami was being celebrated. Vinayakram visited the beach with friends. He responded to the cries of the seller — “chippi (oyster) vaangalayo!” and bought a few. One of them actually had a beautiful pearl in it. Someone quipped: “This boy born under the star of Ayilam will one day shine like this pearl.”
Vinayakaram started playing for concerts gaining in confidence with each. Soon, he was accompanying giants such as Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar. His joy knew no bounds when he played alongside stalwarts such as Palghat Mani Iyer and Palani Subramaniya Pillai. He also started playing for many of the women artistes such as M.L.Vasanthakumari, D.K. Pattammal, P. Leela, Sulamangalam Sisters and K.B. Sundarambal. It helped for they often used the same set of musicians for their concerts, which ensured steady earning for the musician and his family. It was also believed that the metallic sound of the ghatam was more suited for female voices than male.
The sound of the ghatam, its tenor and tone also found resonance with film music composers and offers came his way. Accepting every opportunity, Vinayakram began playing for legendary singers, including M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavatar and T.R. Mahalingam. Over a period of time, he worked with eminent composers G. Ramanathan, C.N. Pandurangan, K.V. Mahadevan, M.S. Viswanathan and A.R. Rahman.
Accompanying M.S., however, proved to be the turning point for Vinayakram. “I started travelling abroad performing at prestigious venues. I would be given the dates of the concerts six months in advance and, in case, I had committed to some other artiste on a particular day, when M.S.’s concert was also scheduled, they would generously allow me to honour my commitment,” reminisces Vinayakram.
“I was excited about my first trip abroad — for the U.N. concert in 1964, but the Pakistan war led to the postponement of the concert. When it happened in 1966, it was a special experience and this concert will always remain as one of my most cherished moments,” he says.
It was father Harihara Sarma again who felt Vinayakram must perform abroad to be seen by a wider audience. His horizons widened when he started playing for the violin trio — L. Vaidhyanathan, L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam. In the 1970s, he joined the Shakti group, a band (consisting of guitarist John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain and L. Shankar) that blended traditional Indian music with elements of jazz and world music. It was through Shakti that Vinayakram’s friendship with Zakir blossomed into a deep and meaningful one — unique case of two people bonding, each not understanding a word of what the other says, music being the common language.
Athens, 1986. The trio of L. Shankar, Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram had been invited for a concert. Vikku reached Athens with his ghatam only to find it broken on unpacking. He informed Zakir and suggested that he opt out of the concert. Zakir told him that it would be impossible. The entire morning Zakir tried all his contacts. Finally, he ended up at the door of a “white man” (as Vikku says) who was in possession of a ghatam that he was not willing to part with because it had been given to him by a maestro. Zakir told him he wanted the ghatam for that maestro and he was only too happy to give it.
In 1966, this man had attended a concert of Vinayakram and fell so much in love with his playing that he persuaded him to part with his ghatam. Vinayakram attributes stories such as these to the glory of the revered seer of Kanchi, Mahaperiyava, of whom he is a devotee.
Vikku’s next major collaboration took him to greater heights, winning him the Grammy Award. Mickey Hart conceptualised and created an album weaving the sounds of percussion instruments from across the globe.
Grammy moment
“Two artistes from seven countries were chosen for it. Zakir recommended my name . We went for the recording with each artiste improvising spontaneously to a basic beat both collectively and individually. Little did I expect that this album ‘Planet Drum,’ would become a chartbuster and win a Grammy award (he is the first Carnatic artiste to win). “It was a moment when my father’s dream of making ghatam world-renowned came true,” says Vikku.
He plays the ghatam as a solo instrument too — performing with four ghatams in varied srutis to a rendering of slokas and sollukattus. He continueshis journey enthusiastically, teaching students at Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadhya Vidyalaya founded by his father. As his sons and grandson take the legacy forward, we often witness three generations of the family on the same stage
Many awards and accolades have come Vikku’s way — Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu, Ghatam Nada Mani from the Seer of Kanchi and more. The latest are the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Music Academy (October 10) and Sri Gowri Manohari Award from Sruthi Laya Kendra (to be conferred on December 9).
Vinayakram feels that life has come a full circle with him being honoured on the native soil. “ Indhiya mannu aina sabhayil pesiyadu ,” wrote Subbudu after the U.N. concert. If he were alive today, he would probably say, “Indhiya mannu ella nadugalilum pesugiradhu”.
This panchakacham-clad ghatam exponent has popularised the pot made in Manamadurai across the globe. And the words of that man all those years ago became prophetic — the little boy has gone on to shine like a lustrous pearl.
