Chitravina N. Ravikiran
Encyclopedia
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
musician and composer. He gives both vocal concerts and concerts in the instrument chitravina (gottuvadyam). He is the grandson of famous musician gottuvadyam Narayan Iyengar
Narayan Iyengar
Indian Carnatic musician K S Narayana Iyengar was a master of the South Indian instrument, the chitravina . He contributed heavily to the development of the instrument.-Early years:...
.
Ravikiran is the author of several books, Appreciating Carnatic Music and Perfecting Carnatic Music Level I and II. He is also the founder of the International Foundation for Carnatic Music.
Child Prodigy
Ravikiran was born in Mysore, KarnatakaKarnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. At the age of two, he impressed scholars with his knowledge in Carnatic music. In 1969, he made his first appearance in the Malleshwaram Sangeeta Sabha, Bangalore. Soon after that he was presented in The Madras Music Academy, Krishna Ghana Sabha he was able to identify and render about 325 ragas (melodic scales) and 175 talas (rhythmic cycles). He was quizzed by famous musicians such as Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer is considered to be one of the greatest Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century...
, Pandit Ravi Shankar, M S Subbulakshmi and others. The Music Academy, Madras, awarded the two-year-old, a monthly scholarship for the next few years. Ravikiran trained in Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
under the guidance of his father, Narasimhan. Ravikiran debuted as a vocalist in 1972, at Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
at the age of five years. At the age of 10, he switched over to the 21-stringed chitravina. However, he resumed his vocal recitals in 1999 and now presents both vocal and instrumental concerts.