In the world of rhythm, his is a distinctive voice. Giridhar Udupa ought to have it for he has trained under the likes of Ullur Nagendra Udupa — his father — besides Sukanya Ramgopal and V. Suresh. Giridhar plays the ghatam in Carnatic concerts, but when he is part of a world music ensemble, he plays other percussion instruments too, like the mridangam, morsing and kanjira, apart from being well versed in konnakol (reciting syllables of rhythm). “I was nine years old,” recalls the young musician, who was in the Capital for a performance recently. “My father’s senior student was to provide the mridangam accompaniment in a concert. My father suddenly asked me also to play the ghatam in that concert. The basics of both mridangam and ghatam are the same and with the little bit of knowledge of the fingering techniques of ghatam, I provided the accompaniment. My father liked the sound that I produced and the way I played. From then onwards he made me play ghatam in concerts where he provided the mridangam accompaniment. That is how my interest in ghatam started.”
Giridhar started his initial lessons in mridangam under his father, the well-known mridangam artiste Ullur Nagendra Udupa, at the early age of four. Later on, Giridhar developed a keen ear for ghatam vidwan T.H. Vikku Vinayakaram’s music and started attending his concerts whenever possible. He says Vinayakaram was his mentor. Soon the Bangalore-based musician discovered that the maestro’s disciple Sukanya Ramgopal was in the same city and started to learn from her. “This is when I started learning the finer aspects of the fingering techniques of this instrument,” says Giridhar. Under a central government scholarship, he took further training from V. Suresh.
Giridhar has played the ghatam in concerts of most of the eminent Carnatic musicians, besides performing in fusion and other world music concerts. He also has been part of numerous international music festivals led by top Carnatic as well as Hindustani musicians. Known for his immaculate style and innate creativity, the musician states, “It is only because of my parents and gurus that I have been able to reach this level.” He is also the founder member of Layatharanga, a team of Indian classical musicians who have embarked on the task of blending different forms of classical, folk and world music. “Usually, only people who are 40-plus attend Carnatic music concerts. But youngsters come to the Layatharanga programmes in large numbers and then in due course start coming to Carnatic music concerts in which I play ghatam. Ultimately, Carnatic music is for all and should reach everyone. I am happy that I too have contributed my bit in bringing the youth to the Carnatic circuits,” says Giridhar, who is now in the thick of the Margazhi season in Chennai, where his concerts are likely to reach a tally of 20.
“The satisfaction that I get while playing concerts during music season is something special,” says Giridhar.
