Yella Venkateswara Rao
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Yella Venkateswara Rao is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the leading exponents of Mridangam, an ancient Indian percussion instrument. He has performed as an accompanist to such renowned musicians as
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 ...
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Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...
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Chembai 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 ...
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, M. Balamuralikrishna, L. Subramaniam, K. J. Yesudas,
Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awar ...
,
Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (officially called Prayagraj) in the I ...
and
Bhimsen Joshi Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khay ...
. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the
Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
, in 2008, for his contributions to music.


Biography

Venkateswara Rao was born in 1947, in the south Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
in a family of musicians to Rama Murthy and Mahalaxmi. He started his music training at the age of 7 in vocals, violin and veena, apart from mridangam but, later, concentrated more on mridangam and trained under his uncle, Yella Somanna, a known mridangam guru, who later adopted the young Rao. On the academic front, he graduated in Arts (BA) and secured his master's degree in Public Administration (MA) and started his career by joining
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University The Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU) is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was established as "Telugu University" on 2 December 1985 through an Act of Legislation (Act No. 27 of 1985) by the State Legi ...
, Hyderabad, as a faculty member. He worked at the university for 27 years in various capacities such as the professor and head of the department of Music and, later, as the Dean of the ''School of Fine Arts'' during which time, he is reported to have started several new courses at the university. Concurrently, he was also associated with the
All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...
, from 1963 to 1989, in capacities as an instrumentalist, staff artist, composer and mridangam artist. In 1969, Rao, who is considered by many to have elevated Mridangam from its status of an accompaniment to the level of a solo instrument, founded ''Yella International Institute of Mridangam'', an institution for promoting mridangam where training is imparted free of cost; the institution is known to have trained over 1500 students under
gurukul Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Childre ...
system and has since been recognised by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is associated with ''Thakur Hariprasad Institute for the Mentally Handicapped'', a
non governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
for differently-abled children, and is researching the possibilities of music therapy, using mridangam. He is a former ''Asthana Vidwan'' (State Scholar) of the Government of Andhra Pradesh (1981–1985) and the incumbent state scholar at the
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent trust which manages the temples including the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The trust oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious cen ...
and the ''Datta Peetam'' of Sri Ganapathi Sachindananda Swami. He is a life member of the Thyagaraja Festival Committee and a member of several organizations such as South Zone Cultural Center,
Tanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
and Srisailam Culture Centre, and educational bodies such as Board for Degree and Diploma Courses, Syllabus Committee for Technical Education and Sangeetha Academy of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He chairs the Boards of Studies of
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University The Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU) is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was established as "Telugu University" on 2 December 1985 through an Act of Legislation (Act No. 27 of 1985) by the State Legi ...
, Sri Venkateswara University, and the Government College of Music and Dance. He also sits in the syndicate of
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University The Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU) is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was established as "Telugu University" on 2 December 1985 through an Act of Legislation (Act No. 27 of 1985) by the State Legi ...
and the senate of the
University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
and is a visiting professor of
Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
. Rao has composed music for three Telugu movies; ''Sapthapadi'', ''Viswamitra'' and ''Bhadram Koduko''. He is reported to have performed on several stages in India and abroad, including ''Marghazhi Festival'', a cultural festival of Andhra Pradesh. On 16 August 2011, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Andhra Pradesh organized an event at
Shanker Mutt Shanker Mutt is a neighbourhood in Nallakunta, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Commercial area The shopping area is good with corner grocery stores and others. Sringeri Sharadha Peetam The name Shanker Mutt is originated from the temple of Shankar ...
where Rao played mridangam continuously for 36 hours, which earned an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. ''Nava mridangam'', playing 9 mridangams at the same time, was another notable performance of Rao, which has been brought out as a video CD in 2011. He has accompanied the concerts of many renowned musicians on mridangam and has performed jugalbandis with musicians such as
Sivamani Sivamani (1 December 1959), commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam and kanjira. He performed drumming during the IPL Championship ...
,
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 * ...
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Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and ...
and T. H. Vinayakram. among others. A book written by him on the theory and practice of mridangam is a prescribed text for academic studies in Andhra Pradesh.


Awards and honours

Rao has won several awards and honours, starting from the ''Golden Lute'' he received from
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...
, then President of India, in 1961, for coming first in a music competition conducted nationwide by the
All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...
. The Jakarta chapter of the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU or APBU), formed in 1964, is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations. It currently has over 287 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching a potential audience of about 3 bil ...
awarded him ''Hosha Banka Award'', for his performance on multiple mridangams in connection with a program titles, ''Sivathandavam'', in 1979. He received the AIR Annual Award for a similar feat, ''Nava Mridanga Sammelanam'', held in New Delhi the same year. After he received the Gold Medal at the World Music Festival of Rome in 1981, the Telugu Association of Houston honoured him with ''Acharya Award'' and the Mayor of City of Temple, Texas, conferred honorary citizenship on him in 1985. Rao, who received the Thyagaraja Vamsi Award in 1993, was selected as the ''Best Teacher'' by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1994. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the
Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
in 2007; the same year as he received the ''Vishala Bharathi Gaurav Satkar'' of the Delhi Telugu Academy. He is a recipient of the DLitt ( honoris causa) from the
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University may refer to: * Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad * Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada * Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur * Jawaharlal Nehru Technolog ...
and several other honours such as Ugadi Puraskar Award, Visista Puraskar Award,
Kala Ratna The Kala Ratna ( te, కళారత్న) earlier Hamsa Award, is a civilian honour of the Andhra Pradesh state are conferred annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and is organised by the State Cultural Council and Department of Cultur ...
Award, Bharathamuni Award and Viswa Saahiti Award, besides others.


See also

*
Khol The khol is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music (''bhakti''). It is also known as a mridanga (<
Thavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana States of South India. It is used in temple, folk ...
*
Pakhawaj The pakhavaj is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, the oldest version of double sided drums and its descendants are mridangam of Southern India and kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South As ...
*
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 ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Yella Venkateswara Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Kala Ratna 1947 births Musicians from Andhra Pradesh Telugu people Indian classical composers Indian male classical musicians Indian percussionists Mridangam players All India Radio people Living people World record holders 20th-century Indian male classical singers Indian male composers 20th-century drummers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award