Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (born 11 August 1942), also known as Vikku Vinayakram, is an Indian percussionist. He is also known as the God of ''

ghatam The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ ''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம் ''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a varian ...

''. He plays

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

with the ''

'', an earthen pot, and is credited with popularising the ghatam. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, given by

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2002, and later the 2012

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

, the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In 2014 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Early life

Vinayakram was born to Kalaimaamani T. R. Harihara Sharma, a musician and teacher. He took up playing at a very young age.

Career

Vinayakram's concert career began at the age of 13. His first performance was on 5 March 1957 at the

Rama Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

festival in Thoothukudi. While proceeding for the

arangetram Arangetram may refer to: * Arangetram (dance) Arangetram (in Tamil and in Malayalam, known as "Rangapravesha" in Kannada and "Rangapravesham" in Telugu) is the debut on-stage performance of a former student of Indian classical dance and mus ...

the tuned ghatam instrument was broken by a child named Ganesh, which by itself had been a good omen for his bright career. where he accompanied V.V.Sadagopan. He was soon accompanying many vocalists in Carnatic music at the time, including Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, M K Thiagaraja Bagavathar, Dr Sirkazhi S.Govindarajan, Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna,

G. N. Balasubramaniam Gudalur Narayanaswamy Balasubramaniam (6 January 1910 – 1 May 1965), popularly known as GNB, was an Indian Carnatic singer. He innovated the art through emphasis on ''laya ''control and reducing the ''gamakas'' which eventually made Carnatic ...

, Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi and

Maharajapuram Santhanam Maharajapuram Santhanam, (20 May 1928-24 June 1992) was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989. He was born in Sirunangur, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu. He followed the foo ...

. His brother, T. H. Subhash Chandran, also excelled in the field. The Ghatam rose to fame as a percussion instrument that required nimble fingers and strong stomach muscles to control the mouth of the pot. Vinayakram's tryst with the international music platform came in the early 1970s when he joined

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

to play along with John McLaughlin and

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

. He has also performed at Basant Utsav, the annual fund raiser for the Banyan. Vinayakram is Principal of Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya in Chennai, India – the academy established by his late father and teacher in 1958. It continues to produce new stars of Carnatic percussion. Vinayakram's son

V. Selvaganesh V. Selvaganesh is an Indian percussionist working in the Carnatic tradition and one of the leading kanjira (south Indian frame drum) players of his generation. He is also known as "Chella S. Ganesh." Career Selvaganesh gained world fame through ...

is a percussionist, especially after tours with John McLaughlin's group, ''

Remember Shakti Remember Shakti is a quintet which combines elements of traditional Indian music with elements of jazz. The band consists of English guitarist John McLaughlin, and Zakir Hussain (tabla), U. Srinivas (deceased) (mandolin), Shankar Mahadevan (voc ...

''.

Discography

* '' A Handful of Beauty (Shakti Album)'' (1976) * '' Natural Elements'' (1977) *'' Planet Drum'' (1991) – Mickey Hart *''Straight to your Heart'' (1990) Nadaka & Ganesh Rajagopalan *''

Mysterium Tremendum ''Mysterium Tremendum'' is an album by the Mickey Hart Band, a musical group led by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released by 360° Productions on April 10, 2012. ''Mysterium Tremendum'' was created by having the Mickey Hart B ...

'' (2012) – Mickey Hart Band

Awards

Vinayakram was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Awards for

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

for his participation in 'Raga Aberi' along with L. Shankar on the ten string double violin and

on the tabla (the piece is set in the tala cycle of 4¾ beats). The Indian Government decorated him with the

Award in 2002. Finally, he was awarded the 2012

(Akademi Ratna), the highest award in performing arts in India, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. In 2014 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by

Vinayakram was awarded Dr.M.S.Subbulakshmi Centenary award, on 16 September 2016.

References

External links

*
Vikku Vinayakram
at Last.fm {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinayakram, Thetakudi Harihara 1944 births Living people Ghatam players Indian percussionists Musicians from Chennai Planet Drum members Morsing players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts 20th-century Indian musicians Shakti (band) members Remember Shakti members Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award