KARNATAK MUSIC INSTRUMENTS

A musical instrument is a device created to produce musical sounds. In India

'vadya'is the term used for a musical instrument. The word is a derivative of the Sanskrit
word 'vad' which means 'to speak'. Musical instruments in India vary in their shape,
structure, tonal quality, timbre, form and also the material used to manufacture them.
The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginning of human culture. The
history and evolution of the musical instruments is an important cultural aspect of a
society. The instruments in each culture and musical genre are different. They have
evolved according to time, availability of material, changes in the music and beliefs
within that culture and also due to the influence and interaction with various other
cultures. The Vedas, myths, legends, historical texts, literature, temples, visual
representations like sculptures, paintings, seals, coins, anthropological studies and
others provide us ample material to construct the history of musical instruments in India.
There are at least five hundred instruments known. They include all the instruments
used in classical, folk and tribal music. In view of the constraints of research the chapter
mainly concentrates on the instruments used in South Indian Karnatak music.

INSTRUMENTS OF KARNATAK MUSIC

VEENA:

Veena is considered as the king of all instrument of Karnatak music. Veena is a

plucked string instrument. One who plays veena is referred to as a vainika. The one
Indian instrument with largest number of varieties is the veena. Veena in ancient times
simply meant a stringed instrument. It
comprised of plucked, bowed and
struck varieties. Later on, the word
veena came to denote the fretted
instrument.

Veena in Literature:
The veena has a recorded
history that dates back to the Vedic
period. The instrument is also referred
to in the Sutras and the Aranyakas. "The
Veena of the vedic period had siras (head or neck), udara (bowl), ambhana (the
sounding board), tantra (string), and vadana (plectrum). IV We find reference to veena
in the Ramayana. "The epic of Valmiki was sung by two minstrels, Kusi-Lavas to the
accompaniment of veena. In the harem of Ravana there were women musicians playing
Veena, Vipanchi, Madduka, Mridanga, Panava, Dindima, Adambara and Kalasi.
Ravana was a reputed saman singer and promulgator of the veena called Ravana-
Hastaka. A description of this instrument is given by Valmiki."V References of veena
are there in the Swapna Vasavadatta of Bhasa and the Meghadootaof Kalidasa. In the
Meghadoota the forlorn wife of the Yaksha has a veena on her lap and is eager to sing
a song composed by her on the Yaksa (Meghadoota 83). "The second half of the verse
deserves the notice of the one interested in the structure of this stringed instrument.

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Playing technique:

The playing technique of veena has also undergone changes before arriving at
this present form. Sculptures depict standing positions, and also positions where veena
is held vertically as we hold the sitar now. Even during the period of Wodeyars of
Mysore veena was held in a vertical position resting it on one's shoulders. The final
cross-legged posture, squatting on the floor was considerably a late development. Now
the veena is played sitting cross-legged with the instrument held tilted slightly away
from the player. The small gourd on the left rests on the player's left thigh, the left arm
passing beneath the neck with the hand curving up and around so that the fingers rest
upon the frets. The palm of the right hand rests on the edge of the top plank so that the
fingers (usually index and middle) can pluck the strings. The drone strings are played
with the little finger. Large resonator of the veena is placed on the floor, beyond the
right thigh. Like the sitar, the left hand technique involves playing on the frets,
controlled pushing on the strings to achieve higher tones and glissandi through
increased tension, and finger flicks, all reflecting the characteristics of various ragas
and their ornamentations (gamaka). Now a days one or two circular sound holes are
made. In most of the veenas wooden pegs are replaced with machine heads makes
tuning easier. Modern innovations include one or two circular sound holes (like that of
the lute), substitution of machine heads for wooden pegs for easier tuning. Of late
transducers are widely used for amplification during performance.

VIOLIN:

Violin is a bowed stringed

instrument. Though every civilization had
some sort of simple bowed instrument like
ancient Ravanahasta or Vil Yazh or
Jyaghosa, the present day violin is a
Western instrument that has been adopted
into Indian music. It is presently the chief
melodic accompaniment in Karnatak
classical music. It is also performed as a
solo instrument.
The question of the origin
of European violin has been discussed by
several eminent scholars of the West
themselves. They are of the opinion that the
violin has an Indian ancestry. "The origin of
the violin bow has been and still is a constant source of discussion, but is becoming
more and more evident that not of the Germanic peoples, as has been recently suggested
but to India we owe its existence. Dr Sachs supports the view originally propounded by
Fetis. "x Vidwan Lalgudi Jayaraman refers to the book Violin-Making, edited by Heron
Allen, Ward Lock Limited, London to substantiate his position that Violin is of Indian
origin. Prof Raghavan also quotes A.C. Moule who emphatically speaks of this: "From
this great country, so rich in musical emotion, its little offspring was borne by Arab
traders from the western coast to their own land and to Persia in the seventh or eighth
centuries and they also applied to the small lutes already in use, like the flute, it soon
afterwards sped westward again, through Byzantine commercial routes and North
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African invasions, to adorn as the legacy of India, the highest attainments of our
European music. "The Agastyeshwara Temple in Tirumakudalu Village in Karnataka
has a sculptural representation of violin. Messrs Madhava Menon and B.J Chacko have
discovered a sculptural representation of violin in the Chidambaram Temple and have
published it with a photograph of the violin sculpture.

Construction:

A violin typically consists of a spruce top, maple ribs and back, two end blocks,
a neck, a bridge, a sound post, four strings, and various fittings, optionally including a
chin rest, which may attach directly over, or to the left of the tail piece. A distinctive
feature of a violin body is its hourglass-like shape and the arching of its top and back.
The hourglass shape comprises two upper bouts, two lower bouts, and two concave C-
bouts at the waist, providing clearance for the bow.

The voice of a violin depends on its shape, the wood it is made from, the
graduation (the thickness profile) of both the top and back, and the varnish that coats its
outside surface. The varnish and especially the wood continue to improve with age,
making the fixed supply of old violins much sought-after.

Animal hide glue is used for majority of joints in violin. Animal glue is capable
of making a thinner joint than most other glues, it is reversible (brittle enough to crack
with carefully applied force, and removable with warm water) when disassembly is
needed. In addition to it fresh hide glue sticks to old hide glue and original wood can be
preserved while repairing a joint.

Strings and tuning:

Strings were first made of sheep gut (commonly known as catgut), or simply
gut, which was stretched, dried, and twisted. In the early years of the 20th century,
strings were made of gut, silk, aluminum, or steel. Modern strings may be gut, solid
steel, stranded steel, or various synthetic materials, wound with various metals, and
sometimes plated with silver. Most E strings are unwound, either plain or goldplated
steel. Currently, violin strings are generally not made of gut, with the exception of violin
strings used to play music from the Renaissance, Baroque, or early Classical periods.
There are four strings in a violin. In the south Indian classical system of playing, the
strings used are E,A,D,G for the first, second, third and fourth strings.

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GOTTUVADYAM

"The name of the instrument

occurs in Sringara Savitri written
by Raghunatha Nayak in early
seventeenth century. This
instrument is also known as
Mahanataka Vana. The name
Mahanataka Vana suggests that
Gottuvadyam may have been
used for accompanying music
drama performances. XIV
Gottuvadyam (chitraveena, hanumadvina, or mahanatakavina), is a 21stringed
fretless lute of Karnatak music, played mainly in South India today. It is quite similar
in its playmg technique to the vichitra veena of North India. Its origins can be traced
back to Bharata's Natya Shastra. The Natyashastra refers to this as a 7 string fretless
instrument. It has undergone numerous developments and today it is one of the
prominent solo instruments in Karnatak music. It is also often seen in collaborative
world music concerts and North-South Indian jugalbandis. It is one of the oldest
instruments in the world and also the forerunner of the fretted veena.

"The playmg of a stringed instrument by sliding a piece of wood is found not

only in India but also outside. The Amaravati sculpture shows a stick being used to stop
the strings. Therefore the idea of playmg an instrument by other than fingers is more
than two thousand years old. "

Prof Sambamoorthy thinks that Gottuvadyam is a Tamil name. He tells, "The

instrument is played with a Kodu meaning a stick in Tamil. Kodu+Vadyam became
Kottuvadyam, and sometime later the instrument was called Prof R
Satyanarayana opines differently. He says, "It may be noticed, however, that a more
plausible and probable derivation is available in Kannada: gottu means hard and
completely dry. The instrument is not played with a stick, but with a hard piece of wood
called gottu. Alternatively, gotu refers in Kannada to a technique of playing on the vina
where the desired gamaka is obtained by horizontal movement of the finger along the
string. It may be noticed that this is exactly the way the instrument is played. The gottu
is made of a hard dry wood such as rosewood or ebony.,,xvll

Structure:

The external structure of the Gottuvadyam resembles that of the fretted veena.
The main sound chamber is hemispherical and is connected to a hollow stem, about 32
inches long and four inches wide. The two parts are made out of wood (usually from
the jack fruit tree) and have a flat top. A secondary resonator, made out of dried
hollowed gourd, (wood/metal/fibreglass) is attached at the other end of the stem. Metal
strings are secured at the right end of the resonating bowl, and at the other end on
wooden pegs along the side of the stem.

Tuning:
 Of the five playing strings, the two nearest to the player are called Saranis. The
other three are mandra panchama, mandra shadja and anumandra panchama. The
pakkasaranis are tuned to the notes Madhya 'sa,' Madhya 'pa,' and tara 'sa.' The
sympathetic strings, which run parallel and under the main strings over the dandi are
usually tuned to the scale of the raga that is being played. Gottuvadyam is the only
instrument, which can employ sympathetic strings, if the artist wishes. Presently six
main strings and twelve sympathetic strings are used. As Gottuvadyam is a fretless
instrument the timbre (loudness and softness) is different from veena. It has the
possibilities of being louder than veena. Because of the openness of the instrument
inherent harmonic properties of the sound can be displayed. Since gottuvadyam
technique is by sliding, not by pulling, it is possible to tune the instrument to higher
pitches thus matching the voice pitch.

Playing techniques:

Gottuvadyam is placed on the floor in front of the artist and played. The kodu is
held in the left hand between the thumb and the first and second fingers and glided over
the strings. As in the case of violin, since there are no frets or other markings for the
swarasthanas, the students have to be guided solely by ear and by their knowledge of
the correct swarasthanas. The characteristic tone of the gottuvadyam is produced by the
upward and downward glide of the kodu. These gamakas are very important and are
known as "errajaru" and "irakkajaru" in Tamil. In the first case, beginnmg from a lower
note, the kodu is glided up to the required note. In the latter, the note is obtained by
sliding the kodu from a higher position to the particular desired note. Some other
gamakas are produced by varying the tension of the strings by pressing it slightly and
gently downwards. The compass of the gottuvadyam extends over four octaves. This is
due to the absence of frets since it is possible to move further towards the bridge. The
gottuvadyam has a very rich and loud tone.

MANDOLIN

Mandolin belongs to the lute family (plucked, or strummed). It descends from

the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in
many shapes but generally round or
teardropshaped, sometimes with scrolls or
other projections. A mandolin may have f-
holes, or a single round or oval sound hole.
A round or oval sound hole may be bordered
with decorative rosettes or purling, but
usually does not feature an intricately carved
grille like a Baroque era mandolin.

Early mandolins had six double courses of

gut strings, tuned similarly to lutes, and
plucked with the fingertips. Modern
mandolins which originated in Naples, Italy
in the late 18th century, usually have four double courses (four pairs) of metal strings,
which are plucked with a plectrum.

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 Many variants of the mandolin exist. These include Milanese, Lombard,
Brescian and other six-course types, as well as four-string (one string per course),
twelve-string (three strings per course), and sixteen-string (four strings per course).

Construction

A mandolin has a hollow wooden body with a tailpiece that holds one end of the
strings, a floating bridge, a neck with a flat (or slight radius) fretted fingerboard, a nut,
and mechanical tuning machines to accommodate metal strings. Like any plucked
instrument, mandolin notes decay to silence rather than sound out continuously as with
a bowed note on a violin. Its small size and higher pitch make mandolin notes decay
faster than larger stringed instruments like guitar, which encourages the use of tremolo
(rapid picking of one or more pairs of strings) to create sustained notes or chords. The
mandolin's paired strings facilitate this technique: the plectrum (pick) strikes each of a
pair of strings alternately, providing a more full and continuous sound than a single
string would. Different design variations and amplification techniques have been used
to make mandolins compatible in volume with louder instruments and orchestras. Some
musicians play electric mandolins through amplifiers.

Tuning:

A variety of different tunings are used. Usually, courses of 2 adjacent strings are
tuned to the same pitch. The most common tuning by far, GDAE, is the same as violin
tuning:
Fourth (lowest tone) course: G3
Third course: D4
Second course: A4
First (highest tone) course: E5

Instruments of Uttarakhand Music

Traditional Musical Instruments of Uttarakhand refelcts the values of

Uttarakhand people. The famous musical instruments are Damama, Hurka,Turturi or
turhi,Binaee,Mushak Been or Bagpipe, or Flute these are the most famous in
Uttarakhand.Folk dance and music both require the help of several musical instruments
that lend the former their characteristic simplicity and regional touch and make them
more enchanting. These instruments form the soul of folk dance and music.
Uttarakhand’s traditional musical instruments are quite simple but unique into the
emotions they evoke. Some of the commonly seen musical instruments are:

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Dhol Damau
This is a drum in which a wooden or brass hollow is covered with leather at both ends.
At one end it is beaten with a stick while the other end is patted with the palm. It is
generally played in Barats, Navratris and religious processions.

Construction
The dhol is a double-sided barrel drum played mostly as an accompanying instrument
in regional music forms. In Qawwali music, the term dhol is used to describe a similar,
but smaller drum with a smaller tabla, as a replacement for the left hand tabla drum. The
typical sizes of the drum vary slightly from region to region. In Punjab, the dhol remains
large and bulky to produce the preferred loud bass. In other regions, dhols can be found
in varying shapes and sizes and made with different woods and materials (fiberglass,
steel, plastic). The drum consists of a wooden barrel with animal hide or synthetic skin
stretched over its open ends, covering them completely. These skins can be stretched or
loosened with a tightening mechanism made up of either interwoven ropes, or nuts and
bolts. Tightening or loosening the skins subtly alters the pitch of the drum sound. The
stretched skin on one of the ends is thicker and produces a deep, low frequency (higher
bass) sound and the other thinner one produces a higher frequency sound. Dhols with
synthetic, or plastic, treble skins are common.

Playing

The dhol is played using two wooden

sticks, usually made out of wood, cane, or
also known as wickers cane. The stick used
to play the bass side of the instrument is
known as the dagga in Punjabi.
Traditionally the Dhol player would go and
look for a branch from a hardwood tree
known as Tali (oak or mahogany) that was
naturally curved at that angle and use this
as the Dagga (Bass Stick). The reason for
the bend stick is because of the goat skin.
This is thin like 80-100gsm paper, so the stick has to be bent to avoid piercing the skin.
The bass stick or Dagga is the thicker of the two, and is bent in an eighth- or quarter-
circular arc on the end that strikes the instrument. The other stick, known as the tihli, is
much thinner and flexible and used to play the higher note end of the instrument.
The dhol is slung over the shoulder or, more rarely, around the neck of the player with
a strap usually made up of woven cotton. The surface of the wooden barrel is in some
cases decorated with engraved patterns and sometimes paint.

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Damau (also damaun, dhamu or dhmuva) is a single-
headed drum instrument that is played extensively in
the folk music of Uttarakhand in India. It is usually
played along with the larger drum, the dhol, according
to the ancient oral treatise of Dhol Sagar, which lists
specific rhythm patterns for every occasion in life,
including christening, wedding, religious festivals, folk
drama and death rituals. This consists of two leathered
brass cones one somewhat bigger and the other small in
size. The bigger one is called ‘Daindama’ while the smaller one is called ‘Baundamu’.
Both produce different sound when beaten with sticks known as ‘Lakur.’

GHATAM

Ghatam, is one of the most ancient instruments of South

India. It is a large clay pot with a narrow mouth. It has been
used as an accompaniment for folk and religious music all
over the world since ancient times. This instrument has
attained the status of an upapakkavadya in Karnatak
classical music concerts.

Construction:

It is an instrument made of single homogenous

material and has no detachable parts. The mouth of the
ghatam is open and somewhat narrow compared to the mud
pots used for domestic purposes. The clay used for making
the ghatam is mixed with iron fillings and are carefully
kneaded and uniformly baked. Strong, durable and resonant ghatams are made in
Madras and Manamadurai in South India.

Tuning:

The ghatam is basically a non-tunable instrument. Slight pitch variations can be

made using wax or water.

Playing techniques:

The ghatam player sits on the floor with his shirt open with the mouth of the pot
held close to his stomach. It is played with two hands, wrists, ten fingers and nails.
Finger strokes are given at the neck, center and bottom of the outer surface.

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Mushak Been or Bagpipe

Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using

enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of
air in the form of a bag. The term bagpipe is
equally correct in the singular or the plural,
though pipers usually refer to the bagpipes as
"the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of
pipes".This well-known Scottish instrument
was introduced in Uttarakhand by the British
army some 200 years back around the Anglo-
Gorkha was of 1814-15. Now it is an inseparable part of folk music and dance. This
testifies the receptivity and addictiveness of the local people.

Construction

A set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually at
least one drone. Many bagpipes have more than one drone (and, sometimes, more than
one chanter) in various combinations, held in place in stocks—sockets that fasten the
various pipes to the bag.
Air supply
The most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a
blowpipe or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with
their tongue while inhaling, but most blowpipes have a non-return valve that eliminates
this need. In recent times, there are many instruments that assist in creating a clean air
flow to the pipes and assist the collection of condensation.
Bag
The bag is an airtight reservoir that holds air and regulates its flow via arm pressure,
allowing the player to maintain continuous, even sound. The player keeps the bag
inflated by blowing air into it through a blowpipe or by pumping air into it with a
bellows. Materials used for bags vary widely, but the most common are the skins of
local animals such as goats, dogs, sheep, and cows. More recently, bags made of
synthetic materials including Gore-Tex have become much more common.

Muruli or Flute

Muruli or flute has been an integral part of the lives of shepherds and cattle grazers in
Uttarakhand. They have created a number of folk tunes while grazing cattle in the
jungles or meadows. The ever-enchanting landscapes undoubtedly provided the
inspiration to create new tunes on which some folk songs are based.

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Flute is the most ancient instrument and directly derived from Nature. When wind blew
through the narrow passages and holes bored on bamboo a sweet sound emanated. It is
believed that the idea of flute emerged from this. Prof V Raghavan points out that Flute
played an important role in the ancient phase of Indian music as the base or 'adhara' for
vocal singing. The flute supplied the pitch note to
which the human voice sang and it performed the
function of drone or sruti. XIX This role of the wind
instrument is borne out by descriptions in Kalidasa's
poems. In the Kumarasambhava, Kalidasa says that
the wind, which blew from the mouths of the caves
and filled the holes of bamboos bored by bees
supplied the Tana or Sthana for the Kinnaras who
wanted to sing. Raghuvamsha gives more specific
description of the function of flute.

The poet Bana in his Kadambari tells

that the two flutes of the kinnara couple,
which hummed sweetly like bees provided
Tana or the sthana to the daughter of Narada
who was reading the Mahabharata musically
before Kadambari. Prof V.

Raghavan points out "the flute as an

accompaniment in drama and in vocal music is referred to in technical literature as well
as in the tradition of these arts as practiced right down to modern times. Although we
have stories of the independent music of the flute for instance, in the Krishna legend,
till very recently the flute played a subsidiary role. Flute is a keyless transverse
made of bamboo. The fingers of both hands are used to close and open the
holes. It has a blowing hole near one end, and eight closely placed finger holes.

The instrument comes in various sizes. Flute is associated with the Hindu god Krishna,
who is often depicted playing it. This kind of flute is mainly used in South India. The
Lord Vishnu is portrayed as Sri Venugopala - playing the flute of Creation. The venu is
capable of producing two and a half octaves with the help of overblowing and cross
fingering. The flute is like the human voice in that it is monophonous and also has the
two and half octaves sound reproduction. Sliding the fingers on and off the holes allows
for a great degree of ornamentation, important in the performance of raga-based
music.Qualities of a good flute playing are numbered as 12. Tumbakitaranyoonata,
Samdasta, Yamala, Stokakrusa, Skhalita, Kampita, Kaki, Avyavasthita are some of the
styles of blowing for flute playing. He further describes the merits and defects of
different flutes and their playing methods.

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 Famous Karnataka Musicians

Carlton Kitto
Carlton Kitto (c. 1942 – 28 November 2016) was
a bebop jazz guitarist from Kolkata, India. He was born
in Bangalore, where he started working in the railways
in his early days. Kitto later started his music career
in Chennai in the 1960s. He moved to Kolkata in 1973
and became a part of the band Jazz Ensemble in Moulin
Rogue, an upscale restaurant in Park Street, Kolkata.
After two years he started playing in another restaurant
named Mocambo in the same locality. He was a teacher
of jazz and classical guitar at the Calcutta School of
Music and also performed in some of the restaurants and
pubs, such as the Chowringhee Bar, Trincas, Blue Fox
and Someplace Else in Kolkata."All that jazz". The
Times of India. 10 February 2011. Archived from the
original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2012. Kitto had the distinction of
playing along with other legendary jazz musicians such as Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry,
David Leibman, Larry Coryell, Chico Freeman and Charlie Byrd.
The independent documentary film Finding Carlton -Uncovering the story of Jazz in
India completed in 2012, pays tribute to Carlton Kitto whilst telling the fascinating story
of how jazz came to India. Kitto died on 28 November 2016 at the age of 74 after a long
illness.

Rajeev Taranath
Rajeev Taranath (born 17 October 1932) is an Indian classical musician who plays
the sarod. Taranath is a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan.

Career
Rajeev Taranath was born in Bangalore on
17 October 1932. He received his initial
training in vocal music from his
father Pandit Taranath. He gave his first
public vocal performance when he was nine
years old. Rajeev was singing for the All
India Radio before he was twenty.
Although Rajeev held a PhD in literature, he
decided to give up his career as a Professor
and Head of English Literature at Regional
Engineering College,
Tiruchirappalli (REC-T), which was later
renamed as National Institute of
Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT-T), and then went to Calcutta, where he began his
musical training under the tutelage of Ali Akbar Khan. Rajeev continued to learn from
his Guru till Khan's demise in 2009. He has also had guidance from Ravi

11
Shankar, Annapurna Devi, Nikhil Banerjee and Aashish Khan. He has received some of
India's highest national honors including the 2019 Padma Sri award and the Sangeet
Natak Akademi in 1999-2000. He researched and published the Teaching Techniques
of the Maihar-Allauddin Gharana, as a Ford Foundation scholar (1989 to 1992).
He is respected for his in-depth understanding as he unfolds the raga, the tonal quality
and power of his strokes. His distinctive style shows technical excellence, imaginative
power and emotional range. According to the New York Times, "RAJEEV
TARANATH'S sarod improvisations Sunday at Soundscape mixed the spiritual and the
spirited". Rajeev performs extensively in India and the world. He has toured Australia,
Europe, Yemen, the United States, and Canada. He has composed the music for many
internationally acclaimed Indian films including Samskara, Kanchana Sita and Kadavu.
He has also served as the head of the Indian music program at the World Music
Department of the California Institute of the Arts from 1995 to 2005. He currently lives
and teaches in Mysore, Karnataka.Rajeev Taranth taught English literature at
the University of Aden in 1980s. He was the subject of a documentary made for the
television in Aden entitled "Fannan Min-Al-Hind" (Artist from India)

Awards and recognitions

• Basavashree Award, 2021

• S.V. Narayanarao Memorial National Award, 2020
• Padma Shri, 2019
• Nadoja Award from Kannada University, 2018
• Sangeet Vidhwan Award,2018
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1999–2000

Giridhar Udupa

Ghatam Giridhar Udupa (born 17 November

1979) is an Indian percussionist and a leading
exponent of the ghatam. He is one of the members
of Layatharanga, a team of Indian classical
musicians who have embarked on the task of
blending different forms of classical, folk and
world music.[2] In 2015 he founded and has since
served as the director of The Udupa Foundation, a
registered charitable trust with the aim of
promoting music, performing arts and culture.

Udupa was born into a family of artists and

was exposed to music and literature from a very young age. He began his musical
training at the age of four, under the guidance of his father and well known Mridangam
artist Vidwan Ullur Nagendra Udupa. He ventured into the world of Carnatic
music learning all the traditional percussion instruments (mridangam,
ghatam, kanjira and morsing), but it was the Ghatam that struck a chord with his musical
personality. He has since taken advanced lessons from Vidushi Ghatam Sukanya
Ramgopal and Vidwan Ghatam V.Suresh mastering the finer aspects of the fingering

12
techniques of the instrument. Udupa holds a graduate degree
in commerce from Bangalore University.

Performing career
For Carnatic music Udupa performs primarily on the ghatam, but for other genres he
incorporates varied South Indian percussion instruments into his performance, including
mridangam, kanjira and morsing. He is also adept at rendering Konnakol, the vocal
rendition of percussion syllables. He has accompanied artists of different styles of music
such as Carnatic, fusion, and jazz, including Sarvashree Dr. L. Subramaniam,
Dr. M.Balamuralikrishna, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, R. K. Srikantan, T. N. Krishnan, T. K.
Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, A.K.Palanivel, Ganesh and
Kumaresh, Mysore Nagaraj & Mysore Manjunath, Mandolin Srinivas, Malladi Brother
, N.Ramani, K. J. Yesudas, R. K. Padmanabha, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, T.V.
Sankaranarayanan, Madhurai T.N. Seshagopalan, Trichur V. Ramachandran,
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, R.K. Suryanarayana,Bombay Jayashree and Sudha
Raghunathan. He has undertaken several overseas musical tours, since 1998.

Awards and accolades

• Nadajyothi Puruskara from Nadajyothi Sri Thyagaraja Swamy Bhajana

Sabha, Bangalore – March 2015
• Best Upa Pakka Vadhyam Award from The Music Academy, Chennai – Jan
2015
• Madhura Murali Puraskar from the Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna at Chennai
during his 82nd birthday celebration – 29 July 2012
• Lions International Award – 2011.
• Asthana Vidwan of the Sri Matam of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam – 2010.
• Yuva Laya Prathibhamani title – 2009

H. K. Venkatram

H. K. Venkatram is an Indian classical

music violinist and Philanthropist. Venkatram
has been an active violinist for over 30 years in
India and abroad. He is known for his classical
style of play and maturity on the violin.

Career
H.K. Venkatram started learning violin from his
father, Prof H.V. Krishnamurthy at the age of 7. He gave his first concert at the age of
11 with his brother. Venkatram is one of the most sought after violinists and is frequently
seen in classical concerts in India and abroad. He is known for understanding the
nuances of Carnatic Music and stressing on strictly following the classical approach to
playing the violin. He has performed alongside renowned artistes like Balamurali
Krishna, Mandolin U. Srinivas, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, T.M. Krishna, Semmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer, RK Srikanthan, KV Narayanaswamy, DK Pattammal, Dr M L
Vasanthakumari, Kadri Gopalnath, Dr N Ramani, TN Seshagopalan, TV

13
Sankaranarayanan, Trichur V. Ramachandran, Chitravina N. Ravikiran among many
others. In 1999, Venkatram released a CD on Tyagaraja’s "Ghana Raga Pancharatnam"
during the Tyagaraja Festival held in Cleveland, USA. Venkatram has also published a
book called "Tyagaraja Vachanamrita" which is based on the compositions
of Thyagaraja. Venkatram is also part of a famous Veena Venu Violin trio which
consists of Ashwin Anand (Veena) and G. Ravikiran (Flute). The trio have performed
in many concerts and their music is very well received.

Shabda
Venkatram along with T.M. Krishna and R. K. Shriramkumar is the co-founder of a
project called "Shabda" which is aimed at creating an online archive of the various
aspects pertaining to the Indian Performing Arts. It was founded in 2010.

Awards
Venkatram has been awarded the "Best Violinist" award in the Annual Conference of
the prestigious Madras Music Academy, "Parur Sundaram Iyer Award for Senior
Violinist" in 2002 and "Ganakala Shree" by the Karnataka Ganakala Parishath for his
achievements in the field of Carnatic Music in 2004.

Famous Uttarakhand Musicians

Chander Singh Rahi

Chander Singh Rahi (born Chander Singh

Negi, 28 March 1942 – 10 January 2016) was a
prominent folk singer, balladeer, musician,
poet, storyteller, and cultural conservator
from Uttarakhand, India.In recognition of his
deep devotion to the music and culture of
Uttarakhand, he has been described as the
"Bhishma Pitamah of Uttarakhand folk
music".Rahi was born Chander Singh Negi to
Dilbar Singh Negi and Sundara Devi in a Giwali
village in Maudadsyun. He belonged to a
modest Ghadiyal family from the Nayar Valley
of Pauri in Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Rahi and his
brother, Dev Raj Rangeela, learned the tradition
of Pahari (originating from the hills) music from their father, a singer of
the jagar music of Uttarakhand.
Rahi learned the foundations of Pahari music, including age-old traditional songs,
musical instruments, and the cultural practices associated with the music of
the Himalayas, early in life. As a child, he accompanied his father on traditional musical
instruments, including the thakuli, the damru, and the huruki. Rahi learned Indian
classical music with Keshav Anuragi and his guru, Bachan Singh, much later in his adult

14
life.Rahi was born Chander Singh Negi to Dilbar Singh Negi and Sundara Devi in a
Giwali village in Maudadsyun. He belonged to a modest Ghadiyal family from the
Nayar Valley of Pauri in Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Rahi and his brother, Dev Raj
Rangeela, learned the tradition of Pahari (originating from the hills) music from their
father, a singer of the jagar music of Uttarakhand.
Rahi learned the foundations of Pahari music, including age-old traditional songs,
musical instruments, and the cultural practices associated with the music of
the Himalayas, early in life. As a child, he accompanied his father on traditional musical
instruments, including the thakuli, the damru, and the huruki. Rahi learned Indian
classical music with Keshav Anuragi and his guru, Bachan Singh, much later in his adult
life.Rahi sang more than 550 songs in the Garhwali and Kumaoni languages. His work
was available on more than 140 audio cassettes. He performed live in over 1,500 shows
across India.

Awards and recognition

• Mohan Upreti Lok Sanskriti Kala Samman
• Dr. Shivanand Nautiyal Smriti Puraskar
• Garh Bharati, Garhwal Sabha Samman Patra (1995)
• Monal Sanstha, Lucknow Samman Patra

Narendra Singh Negi

Narendra Singh Negi (born 12 August 1949), also referred
as 'Garh Ratan' and 'Bob Dylan of the hills' is one of the
most prominent folk singers, composer and a poet of
the Garhwal and Uttarakhand who prominently sings
in Garhwali language. Reportedly, he has sung more than
1000 songs. His unparalleled work in the field of folk music
of Uttarakhand is an inspiration for all the upcoming
singers of Uttarakhand.

Background
Negi was born in Pauri town in Pauri Garhwal
District (Uttarakhand) where he also completed his schooling. His father was a Naib
Subedar in the Indian army. For graduation he moved to Rampur with his cousin Ajit
Singh Negi who taught him Tabla. From his childhood he was fond of listening to
traditional folk singers in various cultural events. He wrote and composed his first song
in 1974 after getting inspired by the hard work done by his mother and other women of
the town.[9]

Music career
Negi recorded his first self-composed song in 1974. In 1976, Negi released his first
music album "Garhwali Geetmala." These Geetmalas were in 10 different parts. As
these Garhwali Geetmalas were from different companies he was finding it difficult to
manage them. So he finally switched to releasing his cassettes by giving them separate
titles. His first album came with the title called "Burans".
Negi is credited for introducing main melodic phrases of 12 beats and an irregular four-
beat rhythmic pattern (typical of the Jaunsari region) to contemporary songs.[10] He has

15
written songs on love, sorrow, historic events, social, political and environment issue.
He has sung in every genre of singing popular in Uttarakhand like "Jagar", "Mangal",
"Basanti", "Khuder", "Chhopati", Chounphula and Jhumeila. He has sung in different
local languages like Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari prevailing in the state.
He has also given his voice in Garhwali movies such as Chakrachal, Gharjawai,
and Meri Ganga Holi Ta Maima Aali. Bollywood singers including Udit Narayan, Lata
Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Poornima, Suresh Wadkar, Anuradha Paudwal, Jaspal also
sang in Garhwali films under his music direction. He also sang with fellow Garhwali
enthusiast Madhuri Barthwal.

Awards
Sangeet Natak Akademi 2022
Narendra Singh Negi has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Delhi on
9 April 2022. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has congratulated the state's folk
singer Narendra Singh Negi for being honored with the prestigious Sangeet Natak
Akademi Award at the national level. He said that the honor given to Narendra Singh
Negi in the field of traditional folk songs is also the honor of the state.
Awaaz Ratna Award On the occasion of Hindi Diwas (15 September 2021), the folk
singer of Uttarakhand, Narendra Singh Negi has been honored with the Awaaz Ratna
Award 2021.

Basanti Bisht

Dr. Basanti Bisht (born, 1953) is a well

known folk singer of Uttarakhand, famous
for being the first woman singer of
the Jagar folk-form of Uttarakhand. The
Jagar form of singing is a way of invoking
deities, which is traditionally done by men
but, Basanti Bisht broke the practice and
today is a well-known voice, and is trying
to preserve this traditional form of singing.
Basanti Bisht was awarded the Padma
Shri in 2017.

Lok Jaagar Gayika Dr.Basanti Bisht was born in Luwani village/dewal block
of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand in 1953. She married an artillery soldier at the age of
15 and remained a housewife for the large part of her life. Though her professional
singing began much later, when she learned music in Jalandhar, Punjab. But she has
been singing since her childhood. She says that grew up listening to her mother's jagar
songs.

Musical career
Her professional career began in her 40s as she was busy with her family till then. After
she moved to Jalandhar with her husband, Basanti Bisht was keen to learn music at the
Pracheen Kala Kendra in Jalandhar, but felt shy as she was an adult, and the other

16
students were young children. She took her first tentative step towards professional
musical training, when her daughter's teacher started teaching her how to play the
harmonium. She started singing in public after that with a focus on bhajans, film songs,
etc. After her husband retired, Basanti Bisht settled in Dehradun, and was empanelled
in 1996 as an Artist at All India Radio stationNajibabad. She is an "A" Grade Artist of
Aakashwani.
She had the blessings of people to be elected as the 1st Lady Pradhan in 1996 of her
village.
Over a period of time, she realised that the music that she had inherited, and absorbed
subliminally from her mother and other village elders in her childhood was unique;
“jaagar” singing, or all night singing by the village folk in praise of the Gods. The
ancient folk traditions of the hills of Uttarakhand were no longer being sung and Basanti
Bisht took it on herself to search for old lost songs and later render them in the same old
tunes.
Basanti Bisht's singing is known for its slightly nasal voice production, the sing song
style, and the slow pace of rhythm all of which are typical of the Garhwali singing style
of Uttarakhand.

Awards

• Rashtriya Matoshri Ahilya Devi Samman by the Government of Madhya

Pradesh (2017)
• Padma Shri (2017)
• Teelu Rauteli Nari Shakti Samman by the Government of Uttarakhand
• "First Ladies" by Ministry of Women & Child Development Govt. of India
2018

Jeet Singh Negi

Jeet Singh Negi (2 February 1925 – 21 June 2020)
was a music composer, singer, lyricist, writer and
director from the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand,
India.[1] He is considered to be the father of modern
Garhwali folk music.Jeet Singh Negi was born on 2
February 1925 in Ayal village in Paidalsyun in Pauri
Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India to Sultan Singh Negi and
Roopdeyi Negi.[3] He received his education at
various places like Pauri Garhwal
(India), Maymyo (present day Pyin Oo
Lwin, Myanmar) and Lahore (Pakistan).

Music career
Negi began his career in the late 1940s. Negi is the first Garhwali singer whose
compilation of six Garhwali folk songs was recorded on gramophone by the Young
India Gramophone Company of Bombay in 1949.[4] He was the first to give voice
to Garhwali language and sentiments as far back as the 1940s and became a Garhwali

17
institution in Dehradun in the post-independence period.[5] Negi also worked as a deputy
music director at National Gramophone Company, Mumbai.
His play Bhari Bhool was first staged in 1952, at Damodar Hall, Mumbai in the
program of Garhwal Bhratri Mandal. The play was instant hit and the drama stirred not
only the mindset of migrated Garhwali Mumbaikars but across India, migrated Garhwali
became aware about the importance of drama in their cultural programs. The dialogues
are in Hindi and Garhwali and that was the unique experiencing point, Singh Negi was
conceptualized, wrote, directed and stage managed Bhari Bhool.[6] Bhari Bhool is a
milestone in the history of Garhwali stage and cultural programs. Himalaya Kala
Sangam, Delhi staged this drama in 1954-55. Later on this drama was staged in many
places and many times. Sudharani a research scholar of Garhwali drama writes, " Is
natak ko dekhne sabhi jagah darshak toot pade and this was the reason that Lalit Mohan
thapliyal entered in Garhwal drama taking leave from Hindi drama.
Maletha Ki Kool: This is historical drama and based on the Maletha Canal built by
Chief of army staff of Garhwali a sovereign kingdom, the winning warrior of Tibet and
father of brave bhud Gajendra Singh Madho singh Bhandari. The drama has been staged
18 (eighteen) times in Dehradun, Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Mussorie, Tihri and
many places. Singh Negi wrote and directed this drama.
Jeetu Bagdwal: Jitu Bagdwal is famous in the folklore of Garhwal. Jeetu Bagdwal was
a brilliant flutist. Singh wrote the musical drama of this folklore and more than eight
times this melodious drama was staged at various places under his direction and stage
administration.
Pativrata Rami: Parvatiya Munch Delhi staged the Hindi drama Rami Baurani
conceived and created by Singh Negi in 1956 and it was staged many more times.
Rami: On the occasion of Tagore centenary year, Rami a Garhwali musical drama (geet
natika ) was staged first in Narendra Nagar in 1961. Later on more than one hundred
stage shows have been staged all across India.
Raju Postman: This is a Dhabadi Garhwali drama and dialogues are mixed Hindi and
Garhwali. Raju Poastman Garhwal Sabha Chandigarh staged this dhabadi drama first
and more than ten times this drama has been staged.
Relays from Akashvani : His first Garhwali song was relayed from Akashvani in 1954.
His dramas and songs were relayed more than 600 times and it is great achievement for
any regional language artist. Jeetu Bagdwal and Maletha ki Koo the radio-geet-natika
were also relayed more than 50 times from Akashvani.
Relays from Doordarshan: The Hindi version of Rami was relayed by Delhi
Doordarshan.

18
 World Famous Musicians with famous Karnataka and Uttarkhand
Instruments

Veena - Zia Mohiuddin Dagar

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28

September 1990), popularly known as Z. M.
Dagar, was a North Indian (Hindustani)
classical musician, one of the 19th generation
of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was
largely responsible for the revival of the rudra
vina as a solo concert instrument.

Early life and the choice of veena

Z. M. Dagar was born in the town

of Udaipur, Rajasthan on 14 March 1929 and began musical study with his father,
Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar, court musician for the Maharana of Udaipur.[1][2] He was
trained both in vocals and in the rudra veena, an instrument used by vocalists to practice
melodies. The veena was traditionally not played in public, but the young Zia
Mohiuddin adopted it as his primary instrument, giving his first recital at age 16.
Although he was discouraged by his father from experimenting with the structure of the
veena, he nevertheless modified the instrument after his father's death to better equip it
for solo performance, transforming it into a larger bass instrument (sometimes called a
'Dagar veena'): With the help of the instrument house Kanailal & Brother, he enlarged
the tumbas (gourds) and dhandhi (hollow neck) to create greater resonance and to allow
the notes to sustain longer and so better reproduce the techniques used in dhrupad
singing. Because of these modifications, the instrument was too heavy to be held in the
standard Northern posture (with one tumba on the left shoulder), so he played instead
in the Southern posture, with one tumba on the ground and one on the left knee.Z. M.
Dagar was known particularly for his slow development of ragas, typically performed
only with tanpura accompaniment (he rarely played with pakhawaj), and for his
meticulous attention to microtonal inflections.

Honours

• In 1986, Ustad ji was awarded the Kalidas Samman Award, one of India's
most prestigious awards, by the Madhya Pradesh government.[1]
• He also received the Sangeet Natak Academi Award in 1981, the Rajasthan
Sangeet Natak Academi award, and the Maharana Kumbha award, to name
a few.

Family
His younger brother, Ustad Zia Fariddudin Dagar, was a vocalist and teacher, and his
son, Mohi Baha'ud-din, is a veena player.

19
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz (February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1901 – December 10, 1987) was a
Russian-born American violinist. Born in Vilnius, he moved while still a teenager to the
United States, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He was a
virtuoso since childhood. Fritz
Kreisler, another leading violinist of
the twentieth century, said after
hearing Heifetz's debut, "We might
as well take our fiddles and break
them across our knees." He had a
long and successful performing
career; however, after an injury to his
right (bowing) arm, he switched his
focus to teaching.
Late in life, Heifetz became a dedicated teacher and a champion of socio-political
causes. He publicly advocated to establish 9-1-1 as an emergency phone number, and
crusaded for clean air. He and his students at the University of Southern
California protested smog by wearing gas masks, and in 1967, he converted his Renault
passenger car into an electric vehicle.
Heifetz was born into a Lithuanian-Jewish family in Vilnius (Russian Empire,
now Lithuania).
His father, Reuven Heifetz, was a local violin teacher and served as the concertmaster
of the Vilnius Theatre Orchestra for one season before the theatre closed down. While
Jascha was an infant, his father did a series of tests, observing how his son responded to
his violin playing. This convinced him that Jascha had great potential, and before Jascha
was two years old, his father bought him a small violin, and taught him bowing and
simple fingering.
At four years old, he started lessons with Elias Malkin. He was a child prodigy, making
his public debut at seven, in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania) playing the Violin
Concerto in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn. In 1910, he entered the Saint Petersburg
Conservatory to study under Ovanes Nalbandian and later under Leopold Auer.
He played in Germany and Scandinavia, and met Fritz Kreisler for the first time in a
Berlin private house, in a "private press matinee on May 20, 1912. The home was that
of Arthur Abell, the pre-eminent Berlin music critic for the American
magazine, Musical Courier. Among other noted violinists in attendance was Fritz
Kreisler. After the 12-year-old Heifetz performed the Mendelssohn violin concerto,
Abell reported that Kreisler said to all present, 'We may as well break our fiddles across
our knees.'"
Heifetz visited much of Europe while still in his teens. In April 1911, he performed in
an outdoor concert in St. Petersburg before 25,000 spectators; there was such a reaction
that police officers needed to protect the young violinist after the concert. In 1914, he
performed with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Arthur Nikisch. The conductor
said he had never heard such an excellent violinist.

20
Technique and timbre
Heifetz was "regarded as the greatest violin virtuoso since Paganini", wrote Lois
Timnick of the Los Angeles Times. "He set all standards for 20th-century violin
playing...everything about him conspired to create a sense of awe", wrote music
critic Harold Schonberg of The New York Times. "The goals he set still remain, and for
violinists today it's rather depressing that they may never really be attained again", wrote
violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Virgil Thomson called Heifetz's style of playing "silk underwear music", a term he did
not intend as a compliment. Other critics argue that he infused his playing with feeling
and reverence for the composer's intentions. His style of playing was highly influential
in defining the way modern violinists approached the instrument. His use of
rapid vibrato, emotionally charged portamento, fast tempi, and superb bow control
coalesced to create a highly distinctive sound that makes Heifetz's playing instantly
recognizable to aficionados. Itzhak Perlman, who himself is known for his rich warm
tone and expressive use of portamento, described Heifetz's tone as like "a tornado"
because of its emotional intensity. Perlman said that Heifetz preferred to record
relatively close to the microphone—and as a result, one would perceive a somewhat
different tone quality when listening to Heifetz during a concert hall performance.
Heifetz was very particular about his choice of strings. He used a silver-wound
Tricolore gut G string, plain unvarnished gut D and A strings, and a Goldbrokat medium
steel E string, and employed clear Hill-brand rosin sparingly. Heifetz believed that
playing on gut strings was important in rendering an individual sound.

Gottuvadyam- Savitri Ammal

The world of Carnatic music has seen many great
practitioners of the gottuvadyam. Abraham
Pandithar’s Karunamruta Sagaram mentions that the
famous composer and Harikatha artiste Harikesanallur
Muthiah Bhagavatar was a skilled gottuvadyam artiste as
well. Thiruvidaimarudur Sakharama Rao is credited with
bringing the string instrument back into concerts. While
artistes ‘Gottuvadyam’ Narayana Iyengar, Budalur
Krishnamurthy Sastrigal, ‘Gottuvadyam’ Narayana Iyer,
and Thanjavur Duraiyappa Bhagavatar are known to have
carried forward Sakharama Rao’s legacy, their
contemporary, Mannargudi K. Savitri Ammal, is often
overlooked.Between 1940 and 1950, it was only four
times that a gottuvadyam concert got featured during the
December Music Season at the Madras Music Academy.
The fact that three of these featured Savitri Ammal, who
was only in her twenties then, is proof of her talent.

Savitri Ammal’s musical training

Born on June 19, 1922, Savitri Ammal belonged to the Isai Vellalar community. She
began learning vocal music from Srirangam Iyengar, but it was gottuvadyam that

21
enamoured her, and she went on to learn the intricacies of playing the instrument from
Kambangudi Narayana Rao. She also underwent special training to master the rhythmic
aspects of Carnatic music under konnakkol stalwart Mannargudi Vaidyalingam
Pillai.Such intense training helped her gain confidence and proficiency to perform
concerts at the age of 13. According to her son Gandhi, “She was a sought-after artiste,
who performed in and around Thanjavur. For better access and mobility, she moved
out of Mannargudi and settled down in Kumbakonam.” She used to share the concert
platform with her husband, violin vidwan Krishnamurti Pillai. A review of her radio
performance that appeared in Kalki in 1947, declares her as one of the foremost
exponents of the instrument at that time. The archives of ‘Indian Listener’ reveal that
she was a regular performer at AIR Tiruchi, and that she also performed several times
in the National Programme relayed from Delhi.In the 1960s, she joined the Padmavati
College of Arts in Tirupati as faculty and worked with two other renowned women
instrumentalists, Pudukottai Ranganayaki Ammal and Dwaram Mangathayaru.
Gottuvadyam exponent and retired staff artiste of AIR Calicut vidushi Usha
Vijayakumar learnt from Savitri Ammal at the Tirupati college. “Savitri Ammal quite
enjoyed teaching and shared her abundant knowledge with students. She would never
touch the instrument while teaching. She would sing and expect us to reproduce it
exactly the way she had sung. Kind and patient, she didn’t mind singing till we got it
right. When I began to show promise, she let me play along with her at concerts. When
she played ragas like Bhairavi and Thodi, every phrase was a gem,” says Usha.

Mandolin-Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an
American country music singer, songwriter and
musician. He has achieved commercial success
and fame both as frontman of the country
rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and
as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his
talents as a vocalist and musician have placed
him in high demand as a guest vocalist and
a duet partner.
He has recorded more than 20 studio albums, charted over 40 singles on the
U.S. Billboard charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold more than 26 million albums.
He has been honored by the Country Music Association with 18 CMA Awards,
including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. As of
2022, Gill has also earned 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other male country music
artist. In 2007 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, Gill was
inducted into the Guitar Center Rock Walk by Joe Walsh of the Eagles.[1] In 2017, he
and Deacon Frey were hired by the Eagles in place of the late Glenn Frey.

Career
Gill debuted on the national scene with the country rock band Pure Prairie
League in 1979, appearing on that band's album Can't Hold Back. He is the lead singer
on their song "Let Me Love You Tonight". Mark Knopfler once invited him to join Dire
Straits, but he declined the offer (although he sang backup on the Dire Straits' album On
Every Street).

22
Gill left Pure Prairie League in 1981 to join Cherry Bombs, the stage band that
backed Rodney Crowell. There he worked with Tony Brown and Emory Gordy Jr., both
of whom would later produce many of his albums.[5] He recorded a bluegrass
album, Here Today, with David Grisman and friends before signing a solo deal
with RCA with whom he achieved some success including the singles, "Victim of Life's
Circumstance" (U.S. Country Top 40) and Country Top Ten with "If It Weren't for
Him", "Oklahoma Borderline" and "Cinderella". However his albums achieved only
moderate sales and in 1989, Gill left RCA to sign with MCA Records. Here, reunited
with Tony Brown as producer, he sold over a million copies of his label debut,
1989's When I Call Your Name, of which several songs, including the title track, made
the U.S. Country charts' Top Ten / Top Twenty.[6] This was followed by the similarly
successful albums, Pocket Full of Gold (1991) and I Still Believe in You, of which the
title track went to U.S. Country No. 1.
Studio albums

• The Things That Matter (1985)

• The Way Back Home (1987)
• When I Call Your Name (1989)
• Bakersfield (2013)
• Down to My Last Bad Habit (2016)
• Okie (2019)
o Academy of Country Music
• 1984 Top New Male Vocalist
• 1992 Song of the Year with John Barlow Jarvis – "I Still Believe in You"
• 1992 Top Male Vocalist
• 1993 Top Male Vocalist
• 1999 Vocal Event of the Year with Patty Loveless – "My Kind of Woman, My
Kind of Man"
• 2014 Award of Excellence
• 2017 Humanitarian Award

World Famous Uttarkhand Musicians

Dhol- Rani Taj Rani Taj

Dhol- Rani Taj Rani Taj (born 3 October 1993) is a British Pakistani dhol player
from Birmingham, United Kingdom. Although already well known in the Midlands, she
rose to international fame in 2010 when she appeared in a viral video playing live in the
street along with a recording of Rihanna's song "Rude Boy".

Early life

23
The youngest of two children, from very early on her
mother always called her 'Rani.' The nickname not
only stuck but automatically became her stage
name.[2]
In an interview with the BBC Asian Network, she
states that both of her parents were born in Mirpur,
Pakistan. During the construction of The Mangla
Dam, like most other British Pakistanis, her family
were also displaced from their home. One of those
was Rani's maternal grandfather who left for
Birmingham to look for work in the 1960s. After
establishing himself he sent for his wife and children.
Rani's mother was four years old when she joined her
father in Britain along with her own mother and
siblings. Rani's father joined her mother in Britain after they married in 1990. Rani Taj
was born in Birmingham in 1993.

Musical influences
Although, Rani played the dhol since the age of nine, her first instrument was the viola,
which she picked up when she was only six whilst at primary school. Towards the end
of her primary school career she attended a Vaisakhi Mela, where she saw the Dhol
Blasters playing dhol. She immediately fell in love with the Dhol and asked her mum to
buy her one so she could learn to play it.
Subsequently, after leaving school she decided to receive professional training. She
spent the first couple of years being taught by Gurcharan Mall of the Dhol Blasters and
was later also taught by Harjit Singh of the Azaad Dhol Group. Gurcharan Mall had
been a dholak player with the group Apna Sangeet and Harjit Singh had been a tabla
player with the Azaad Group. Both groups were pioneers in their own right and were
part of the first generation of bhangra music to hit the Midlands. As part of the Dhol
Blasters Rani also learned to dance bhangra. To gain further experience and provide a
service Rani started to play at all kinds of public events such as festivals, parties and
weddings. She initially just wanted to be a regular dhol player like many others but this
all changed after her YouTube video went viral.

Notable sessions
In the summer of 2010 Rani stood in a street in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, dressed
in full Punjabi dress and candidly mixed to this and Tinie Tempah's 'Pass Out'.[3] This
spontaneous mix was recorded and put on YouTube by a friend. People all across the
world began watching this video and were shocked as well as pleasantly surprised not
only to see a female playing a traditionally male instrument but effortlessly.
Traditionally, a male domain Rani Taj has challenged the idea that certain instruments
can be played by men only.

Dholis Got Talent

At the United Kingdom's biggest dhol competition held in Smethwick,
near Birmingham and organised by Gurcharan Mall, she was invited to become one of

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the judges of the tournament. Not only was she the only female judge in the final she
was also the youngest judge on the senior panel that day.

Bagpie- Bill Millin

William Millin (July 14, 1922 – August 18,
2010),[1] commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian
musician who played bagpipes, and was personal piper
to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of the
British 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day.

Early life
Millin was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on July 14,
1922, to a father of Scottish origin who moved the family
to the Prairies, but returned to Glasgow as a policeman
when William was three. He grew up and went to school
in the Shettleston area of the city. He joined
the Territorial Army in Fort William, where his family had moved, and played in the
pipe bands of the Highland Light Infantry and the Queen's Own Cameron
Highlanders before volunteering as a commando and training with Lovat
at Achnacarry along with French, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, and
Czechoslovak troops.Millin saw further action with 1 SSB in the Netherlands and
Germany before being demobilised in 1946 and going to work on Lord Lovat's highland
estate. In the 1950s he became a registered psychiatric nurse in Glasgow, moving south
to a hospital in Devon in the late '60s until he retired in the Devon town of Dawlish in
1988.[6] He made regular trips back to Normandy for commemoration ceremonies.
France awarded him a Légion d’honneur for gallantry in June 2009.[10] In 2006, a Devon
folk singer, Sheelagh Allen, wrote a song about him, "The Highland Piper".

Popular culture and legacy

Millin's action on D-Day was portrayed in the 1962 film The Longest Day. Millin was
played by Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961.
One set of Millin's bagpipes are exhibited at the Memorial Museum of Pegasus
Bridge in Ranville, France.[14] Another set of his bagpipes are now displayed at Dawlish
Museum.[15] Millin presented his pipes to Dawlish Museum prior to the 60th
anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 2004, along with his kilt, bonnet and dirk. These
items are still shown at the museum library with photographic archives and looped video
telling of Millin’s exploits.Dawlish Museum officials have written testimony from
Millin that the set on display in Dawlish is the genuine set which he played during the
D-Day landings at Sword. The ones on show at the Pegasus Bridge Museum are a
second set that were used by him later in the campaign, after the capture of Pegasus
Bridge. Pegasus Museum says that it lays no claim to its set being the originals. Andrew
Wright, vice chairman of Dawlish Museum, said:The genuine pipes are here in Dawlish
and not at Pegasus Bridge Museum in France, as everyone always seems to believe. I
have tried to correct this many times but the myth continues and is always quoted in the
media. The confusion arose many years ago when Bill's pipes were damaged a few days
after D-Day and he had a spare set sent in which he called his campaign pipes. Those

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were given to Benouville Museum in 1974 and people assumed these were the original
pipes. With the help of son John Millin and the Dawlish Royal British Legion, a bronze
life-size statue of Piper Bill Millin was unveiled on 8 June 2013 at Colleville-
Montgomery, near Sword, in France. On 7 August 2013, BBC's The One Show featured
a film about Bill's son John Millin and his playing of the bagpipes in memory of his
father at the unveiling of the statue to Piper Bill at Colleville-Montgomery in
Normandy. Broadcast live, from Weston-super-Mare, Larry Lamb explained that Bill
Millin's pipes and uniform are on display at Dawlish Museum in Devon. The film also
showed scenes of more than 500 pipers from 21 countries taking part in the unveiling
of the £50,000 statue by French sculptor Gaetan Ader which took more than four years
of fund raising by the D-Day Piper Bill Millin Association to complete.Canadian Celtic-
punk band The Real McKenzies recorded a song about Bill Millin ("My Head Is Filled
with Music") on their 2012 album Westwinds. British folk band Police Dog Hogan refer
to him in their song "Fraserburgh Train", from the 2012 album "From the Land of
Miracles".

Vikku Vinayakram

Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (born

1942), also known as Vikku Vinayakram is
a Grammy Award–winning Indian
percussionist. Vinayakram plays Carnatic
music with the ghatam, an earthen pot.
Vinayakram is credit for the progress and
development as well as popularizing of the
ghatam.
Vikku Vinayakram was born to
Kalaimaamani T. R. Harihara Sharma, a
talented musician and superlative teacher,
"Vikku" took up playing at a very young
age.
Vikku Vinayakram was a child prodigy, with his concert career beginning at the age of
13. The year of birth of the Ghatam Maestro is 1942 & his arangetram was on March 5,
1955, when he was just 13 at the Sri Rama Navami festival - Thoothukudi.While
proceeding for the arangetram 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 established his right to be on the stage by playing with
such dexterity that he was soon accompanying many famous vocalists in Carnatic music
at the time, including Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, G. N. Balasubramaniam,
Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi and
Maharajapuram Santhanam, among others. His brother, T. H. Subhash Chandran, also
excelled in the field. The Ghatam followed the master by rising to fame as a percussion
instrument that required nimble fingers and strong stomach muscles to control the mouth
of the pot.
Vikku's tryst with the international music platform came in the early 70's when he joined
Shakti to play along with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. The showman that he is,
his long hair and nimble fingers had Shakti catapult to fame.

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He has also performed at Basant Utsav, the annual fund raiser for the Banyan.
Vikku 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 is a world-
famous percussionist in his own right.
How did T H Vinayakram get the name of Vikku? The Western bands of which
T.H.Vinayakaram was a part found it easy to refer to him as Vikku — a name suggested
by MS’s daughter Radha Viswanathan during the 1966 tour of the US when MS sang
the memorable & historic concert at the United Nations.
Vikku Vinayakram was conferred the Hafiz Ali Khan Award for “unmatched
contribution in the field of music” in 2000. T. H. Vinakayaram is also the first South
Indian musician to be awarded the Grammy for Best World Music Album for his
participation in Mickey Hart's Planet Drum in which he played ghatam and morsing. He
donated all the proceeds from the award to a charity organization in south India. He was
also nominated for the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best World Music Album for his
participation in 'Raga Aberi' along with L. Shankar on the ten string double violin and
Zakir Hussain on the tabla (the piece is set in the tala cycle of 4¾ beats). The Indian
Government decorated him with the Padma Shri award.

James Galway

Sir James Galway OBE (born 8 December 1939) is

an Irish[1][2] virtuoso flute player from Belfast,
nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He
established an international career as a solo flute
player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for
Outstanding Contribution to Music at the Classic
Brit Awards

Early life
Galway was born in North Belfast as one of two
brothers. His father, who played the flute, was employed at the Harland and
Wolff shipyard until the end of the Second World War and spent night-shifts cleaning
buses after the war, while his mother, a pianist, was a winder in a flax-spinning mill.
Raised as a Presbyterian and surrounded by a tradition of flute bands and many friends
and family members who played the instrument, he was taught the flute by his uncle at
the age of nine and joined his fife and drum corps. At the age of eleven Galway won the
junior, senior, and open Belfast flute Championships in a single day. His first instrument
was a five-key Irish flute, and at the age of twelve or thirteen, he received
a Boehm instrument.

Education and career

Galway was educated at Mountcollyer Secondary Modern School in Belfast. He left
school at the age of fourteen and worked as an apprentice to a piano repairer for two
years. He subsequently studied the flute at the Royal College of Music under John
Francis and at the Guildhall School of Music under Geoffrey Gilbert. He then briefly

27
studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Gaston Crunelle. While in Paris, he asked for
lessons from the celebrated French flute player Jean-Pierre Rampal, who offered him
advice on his playing, but felt he was already too good a flute player to need lessons
from either Rampal or the conservatory. He left Paris to take up his first orchestral flute-
playing job at Sadler's Wells Opera in London. He went on to spend fifteen years as an
orchestral player. In addition to Sadler's Wells, he played with Covent Garden Opera,
the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He auditioned
for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan and was principal
flute in the orchestra from 1969 to 1975. To Karajan's surprise and dismay, after a period
of some disagreement, Galway decided that he would leave to pursue a solo career.
In addition to his performances of the standard classical repertoire, he features
contemporary music in his programmes, including new flute works commissioned by
and for him by composers including David Amram, Malcolm Arnold, William
Bolcom, John Corigliano, John Wolf Brennan, Dave Heath, Lowell
Liebermann and Joaquín Rodrigo. The album James Galway and The Chieftains in
Ireland by Galway and The Chieftains reached number 32 in the UK Albums Chart in
1987. Galway still performs regularly and is one of the world's best-known flute players.
His recordings have sold over 30 million copies.[14]
In 1990, he was invited by Roger Waters to play at The Wall – Live in Berlin concert,
held in Potsdamer Platz; he played Pink Floyd's songs "Goodbye Blue Sky" and "Is
There Anybody Out There?". Galway performed for the Academy Award-winning
ensemble recording the soundtracks of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film
trilogy, composed by Howard Shore. In June 2008, he was inducted into the Hollywood
Bowl Hall of Fame along with Liza Minnelli and B. B. King. He performs on Nagahara
flutes, as well as some Muramatsu Flutes. Conn-Selmer produces his line of flutes,
"Galway Spirit Flutes".Galway is president of Flutewise, a global charitable
organisation that supports young flute players, run by Liz Goodwin. In 2003 he formed
the Music Education Consortium together with Julian Lloyd Webber, Evelyn Glennie,
and Michael Kamen to pressure the British Government into providing better music
education in schools. He is an Ambassador for the National Foundation for Youth
Music, a UK charity. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
in 1977, and was knighted in 2001, the first wind player ever to receive that honour. He
is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. In
December 2013 Galway launched First Flute, an online interactive series of lessons for
beginning flute students of all ages.
He received the 2014 Gramophone Lifetime Achievement Award.

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