Sivamani (1 December 1959), commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban,

darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-s ...

, udukai,

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 variant ...

and

kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic ...

. He performed drumming during the IPL Championships in 2008 and 2010. He is affiliated with the

Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...

team, but gained recognition through his role as A. R. Rahman's lead percussionist. They have been close friends since childhood. In 2019, he was conferred with

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 confe ...

Career

Sivamani is a

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

-based percussionist. He began drumming at the age of seven. Sivamani started his musical career at the age of 11, and later shifted to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. He was inspired by

Noel Grant Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places *Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community *1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, British ...

and

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the ''Moder ...

. He has played for M.S.Viswanathan, K.V. Mahadevan,

Illayaraja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one o ...

, A. R. Rahman and others. In 1990, he shared the stage with

at Mumbai's Rang Bhavan. He has stated that S. P. Balasubrahmanyam is his godfather. Sivamani's earliest experiments with music were with Carnatic maestros including Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Valliyapatti Subramaniam and Pazhanivel, and L. Shankar. During the early stage of his career, he collaborated with T. Rajendar for many of his music compositions. Sivamani also appeared on screen for the song " Dhinam Dhinam Un Mugam" alongside Actor Anand Babu for the movie "Thangaikkor Geetham" directed by T. Rajendar. The

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player Zakir Hussain invited him to share the stage with himself and

Trilok Gurtu Trilok Gurtu (born 30 October 1951) is an Indian percussionist and composer whose work has blended the music of India with jazz fusion and world music. He has worked with Terje Rypdal, Gary Moore, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinul ...

at a fusion concert in Mumbai. Sivamani has since collaborated with several musicians including

Louis Banks Louis Banks (born Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi on 11 February 1941) is an Indian film composer, record producer, keyboardist, and singer. He has often been referred to as the 'Godfather of Indian jazz'. He has done world tours with A. R. Rahman and collaborated with him for ''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for tw ...

''. He has also been a part of a musical group called ''Shraddha'' which comprises

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a T ...

, Hariharan, U. Srinivas and Loy Mendonsa. Sivamani has a band called "Asia Electrik" with Niladri Kumar, Louiz Banks and Ravi Chari. He also plays at another world music band named "Silk & Shrada." Sivamani has played drums for many film score composers hailing from Tamil Nadu. He has played drums for many Indian films including '' Roja,'' ''

Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth (actor), Siddharth, R. Madhav ...

'',''

Swades ''Swades: We, the People'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi and Kishori Ballal while Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, Lekh ...

'', '' Taal'', ''

Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel ...

'', '' Dil Se..'', ''

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

'',''

Kabul Express ''Kabul Express'' is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language adventure film written and directed by documentary film maker Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films was released on 15 December 2006. The film stars John Abraham, A ...

'' and ''

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

'' . Some of the songs that he has contributed to include "Kadhal Rojave," "Pudhu Vellai Malai" ''

Chaiya Chaiya "Chaiyya Chaiyya" (" alkin shade") is an Indian pop-folk song, featured in the soundtrack of the Bollywood film '' Dil Se..'', released in 1998. Based on Sufi music and Urdu poetry, the single was composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar ...

'' and ''Nadaan Parinde''. sivamani has also acted in two Telugu films: '' Padamati Sandhya Ragam'' and '' Sirivennela''. He has also acted in the Hindi film ''

Madaari ''Madaari '' () is a 2016 Indian social thriller film directed by Nishikant Kamat. It is produced by Shailesh R Singh, Madan Paliwal, Sutapa Sikdar, and Shailja Kejriwal and co-produced by Nishant Pitti from Easemytrip. The film stars Irrfan ...

'' (2016). sivamani has performed in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

, Moscow, New York,

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. During the Mumbai Festival 2005,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

India invited him to perform at the Limca Fresh Face 2005 event, where he created melody from

Limca Limca is an Indian multinational brand of lemon- and lime-flavoured carbonated soft drink made primarily in India and certain parts of the U.S. It contains 60 calories per 150ml can. The formula does not include fruit, relying instead on arti ...

bottles. He has also worked on ''Galli Galli Sim Sim'', an educational series on Pogo and Cartoon Network. He also composed music for the

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Andr ...

original film ''

Atkan Chatkan ''Atkan Chatkan'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written and directed by Shiv Hare on his directorial debut. It is produced by Vishakha Singh under Lokaa Entertainment and presented by music composer AR Rahman. The film ...

'' (2020) where he worked alongside A. R. Rahman.

Awards

In 2009, Sivamani was conferred upon with the title of ‘Kalaimamani’ by the Tamil Nadu Government, which is the highest State Honour in the field of arts. In 2015, he was honoured with the ‘Best Instrumental Act’ at the prestigious Live Quotients Awards (LQA 2015). In 2019, Sivamani was conferred upon with the title of "Padma Shri" by the Government of India.

Albums

* ''Golden Krithis Colours'', (1994) a Carnatic Experimental album. BMG Crescendo (collaboration with A. S. Dilip Kumar ( A. R. Rahman), Zaakir Husain and Srinivasan and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan) * ''Pure Silk'' (2000) * ''Krishna Krishna'', a club track released in UK, with Malayalam composer

Rahul Raj Rahul Raj (born 17 March 1978) is an Indian music composer. He has composed and produced scores and soundtracks for Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil movies. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Berklee College of Music and holds a postgraduate degr ...

. * ''Drums on Fire'' (2003). New Earth (collaboration with James Asher) * '' Kaash'' (first ghazal album with Hariharan) * ''Mahaleela'' (first individual album by Sivamani) * '' Arima Nambi'' (2014) * '' Kanithan'' (2016) * '' Amali Thumali'' (unreleased)

Filmography

* '' Padamati Sandhya Ragam''; Telugu (supporting actor) * '' Sirivennela''; Telugu (cameo) * ''

''; Hindi (Drums Artist) * '' Arima Nambi''; Tamil (music director) * '' Kanithan''; Tamil (music director) * ''Mersal''; Tamil (Drums Artist) * ''

Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava ''Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Pooja Hegde and Jagapathi Babu. It revolves around Veera Raghava, a young ...

''; Telugu (Drums Artist) * ''

Arjun Suravaram ''Arjun Suravaram'' is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by T. Santhosh. The film stars Nikhil Siddharth and Lavanya Tripathi. It is produced by Rajkumar Akella, and presented by B. Madhu on the Movie Dynami ...

''; Telugu (producer for song "Che Guevara", beat reused from ''Kanithan'') * ''Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo''; Telugu for the single " Ramuloo Ramulaa"(Drums Artist) *'' Dehati Disco'' Hindi (music director)

References

External links

*
Sivamani Interview
NAMM Oral History Library, January 24, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivamani, Anandan Indian percussionists Kanjira players Tamil musicians Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 1959 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Musicians from Tamil Nadu Male actors in Telugu cinema