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''. He plays Carnatic music with the '' ghatam'', an earthen pot, and is credited with popularising the ghatam. He was awarded the Padma Shri, given by Government of India 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 festival in 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 was soon accompanying many vocalists in Carnatic music at the time, including

Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...

, M K Thiagaraja Bagavathar,

Dr Sirkazhi S.Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...

, 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 Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

and Maharajapuram Santhanam. 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 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 John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

's group, '' Remember Shakti''.

Discography

* '' A Handful of Beauty (Shakti Album)'' (1976) * '' Natural Elements'' (1977) *''

Planet Drum ''Planet Drum'' is a world music album by Mickey Hart, a musician and musicologist who was a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead. Hart's concept for ''Planet Drum'' was to play drum music with percussionists from around the world, and i ...

'' (1991) –

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

*''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 ...

'' (2012) – Mickey Hart Band

Awards

Vinayakram was nominated for the 1996

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

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 Lakshminarayana Shankar (born 26 April 1950), better known as L. Shankar, Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian violinist, singer and composer. Early life, family and education Shankar was born in Madras, India, and raised in Ceylon (current- ...

on the ten string double violin and

on the tabla (the piece is set in the

tala Tala may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics *''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral *Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music * "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo ...

cycle of 4¾ beats). The Indian Government decorated him with the Padma Shri 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 Government of India 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