Mridangam exponent Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman was conferred the Nadhabrahmam title by the Naradha Gana Sabha here on Saturday during the inauguration of the institution's Isai Natya Nataka Vizha.
The Senior Musician Award was presented to the Kalyani Ganesan and the Tirunelveli P. Subramania Iyer award to nadaswaram exponent Seshampatti T. Sivalingam.
Cinematographer and film director Rajiv Menon said Mr. Sivaraman had a phenomenal understanding of the lyrics of compositions.
“He perfectly knows how the mridangam accompanies a composition. It is this that makes him one of the all-time greats,” he added.
U. Ve. Appan Parakala Ramanuja Embar Jeeyar Swamy, Sriperumbudur, released the DVD ‘Chumma Chumma Varuma Sukham’, a live recording of javalis and Tamil padams at Natyarangam. The programme was followed by a concert by Kadri Gopalnath.
TVG honouredSangeetha Raga Mahothsavam, the 13 art festival of the Naadhabrahmam music journal got underway here on Saturday at the TAG Auditorium, Ramakrishna Higher Secondary School, Dandapani Street, T. Nagar.
Mridangam exponent and vocalist T.V. Gopalakrishnan was conferred the title of Naada Kovida , bharathanatyam guru Krishnakumari Narendran with Nrithya Kovida , violin vidwan Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi with Naada Sevika and Zakir Hussain with Nrithya Sevaka .
M. Balamuralikrishna inaugurated the festival that will conclude on January 1. Former Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran congratulated N. Subramaniam, himself a mridangam vidwan, for organising the art festival for the past 12 years. Dance guru V.P. Dhananjayan said that T.V. Gopalakrishnan was a master of many art forms. P.S. Prakash Rao, chief general manager, State Bank of India (Chennai Circle) was present.
