Mridangam artiste felicitated

Percussionist V.V. Ramana Murthy was conferred the title ‘Sangeetha Sudha Nidhi’.

October 08, 2015 05:47 pm | Updated 08:24 pm IST - HYDERABAD

Mridangam exponent Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murthy being felicitated.

Mridangam exponent Vankayala Venkata Ramana Murthy being felicitated.

Among the percussionists that made a mark in the realm of Carnatic music in this generation, mridangam artiste V.V. Ramana Murthy is very well known. A staff artiste with AIR Visakhapatnam, this nimble-fingered artiste is known for his melodic touch.

Sri Vijaya Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha as part of Dwaram Narasingarao Jayanthi celebrations warmly felicitated and honoured him with the title ‘Sangeetha Sudha Nidhi’ at Sankara Matham, Visakhapatnam, recently.

Born in a family that remained wedded to the art of playing mridangam down generations, he dabbled quite early in it and cruised his way to perfection soon. His father Vankayala Narsimham, a noted artiste of mridangam and staff artiste at AIR Visakhapatnam Kendram, on noticing his flair for rhythmic flow of sound, took him under his wings and trained in the art. Thus a sound grounding under the tutelage of his father paved the way for Ramana Murthy to blossom into a consummate artiste in no time.

“Our family,” he says, “was traditionally a part of Toorupu Bhagavata Mela in this region, a distinct art form of North Coastal districts of Andhra, that had enjoyed rich patronage till a few decades ago and thus playing mridangam has been an artistic legacy for us.”.

A top grade artiste Ramanamurhty widely toured accompanying stalwarts in classical music. A stickler for and an impeccable adherent to tradition, he feels classicism offers a wide scope for experimentation despite its seemingly rigid frame.

Thus he alsoforayed into fusion music. Fusion, he opines, provides scope for learning a lot. Surely it is not without its traits, yet it harmonises different styles extending the reach of music across different stratum.

Bitten by an ingenuity bug, he adopted pakhawaj style for some krithis to be in tune with melody that lent a distinct touch to his art of playing mridangam, which, despite initial reservation, found good appreciation in music circuits. He credits it to his brother late Lakshmana Swamy, an accomplished tabla artiste, who made extensive exposure to Hindustani style possible for him at Luknow.

Though tech savvy, Ramana Murthy prefers traditional Guru-sishya mode of transmission of the art in a real life session rather than through Skype or other net ways, as nothing can substitute Guru’s inspiring presence in imparting technique of the art and its nuances. The electronic modes of teaching, he avers, can at best be supportive in later or advanced stages of learning.

“Notwithstanding the explosion of various kinds of music and its distractive effect on young and impressionable minds, classical music continues to hold prospects for growth and prosperity for any dedicated and talented artiste to seek it as a profession. However, unlike in neighbouring states, the prospects stand rather dim and faint in Andhra,” he observes.

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