Here's a preview of the self-learning DVDs - Mridanga Cintamanih

I thought I will share with you a sneak preview of the self-learning DVDs that was released earlier this month. It has had a rousing response during the ongoing Chennai Music Season and I would like to thank all my well-wishers, disciples and the Swathi Soft Solutions team for having made this a memorable launch for me.

The making of my new self-learning DVDs - Mridanga Cintamanih

It's been my long cherished dream to share the nuances of mridangam playing and techniques that I had learnt from the great masters to the future generation.

I have always felt the audio medium( normal music CDs) is necessarily not the best suited for this, for the simple reason that unlike vocal music, the students of mridangam have to see and understand fingering techniques which is a very key aspect of perfecting the art of mridangam playing. I strongly felt they have to see and learn, rather than just hear or read from books. It is with this objective and intent, I have been waiting for the right opportunity to create learning DVDs. Very recently, the opportunity presented itself and I agreed to do a project with Swathi Soft Solutions.

It's been a mega project as I wanted to cover all aspects of mridangam techniques and playing. We started with putting down in paper every aspect that everybody needed to know - right from basic lessons to accompaniment to concerts. The effort required was huge. We almost recorded for over 120 hours, day and night, with technicians, my disciples and the director S.B. Khanthan. The editing in the studio of all the relevant portions that subsequently we did, was indeed a brilliant team work.The rain in Chennai over the last 15 days did not stop us from working 24x7 in getting this project right in time for the 2008 music season.


This project called Mridanga Cintamanih( A treasure trove of Rhythmic Lessons) is over 22 Hrs long! It has been captured in 7 DVDs. I have broken it into 4 levels - Level1 - Beginner's guide, Level 2 - Advanced exercises and techniques for proficiency, Level 3 - Gaining expertise for solo renditions, Level 4 - Road to success in concerts( Vocal & instrumental music).

I believe I have included in these DVDs almost everything that I have learnt from my great masters who I have seen, learnt and experienced all through my career over the last 60 years.

The launch of the DVD is being held at the Music Academy on Dec 8th 2008 and it's one of the most fulfilling moments of my career. You are most welcome to attend this event if you are in Chennai for the season. I have also agreed to present an unique concert during the launch where I present the art of mridangam playing for Namasankeerthanam, Harikatha, Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, use of mridangam techniques in western drums and finally am playing with Roland Rhythm box, which is a road to perfect the art of playing the mridangam with a machine.

I would like to thank the Swathi team K.S. Sudhakar, my disciples who have worked on this project diligently, musicians who participated in the project - Sri. Saketaraman and Sri. M.A. Sundereswaran, Director S.B. Khanthan and many other well wishers who helped me in getting this vision of mine off-the-ground.

This I believe is my humble contribution to the World of Carnatic music, the music fraternity at large and World of Rhythm.

Some of the best moments of my musical career

Here are some best moments of my musical career. These are moments that I will cherish all through my life. With Ariyakudi, Dwaram, Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi, MDR, Nedanuri, Lalgudi( Violin-Venu-Veena) with Sri. T.K.Murthy, Ramnad Krishnan, T.N. Seshagopalan, Pt. Ravishankar, Amajad Ali Khan & Zakir Hussain amongst many others.

Bonding with the new generation

It has been quite a journey for me for the last 60 years. Starting at the age of 10, it has been a fulfilling career for me. As I continue to perform with the same zest and energy, the internet is a new platform for me to interact with my fans and audience. I am told this is a very interactive medium and am learning this new medium. Over the next couple of months, I wish to share my experience and chat with all of you.

Being the month of Navaratri, there can't be an better time to start blogging.