Geethanjali – Violin Recital

Greentown Indian Cultural Society of Ipoh recently presented “Geethanjali” which means something like “an offering of devotional songs”, in the form of a violin recital by Kuala Lumpur-based violinist, S.Sriram. He was accompanied by two percussionists, Darmenthiran Krisnasamy on the miruthangam and Karthik Krishnasamy on the ghatham.

Sriram is an engineer by profession and plays the violin as a hobby. He used to perform as one half of a duo, with his brother, who is now a medical doctor. Since his maiden performance (arangetram) at the age of 14, Sriram, who dedicates his music to God, his Gurus and parents, has accompanied numerous artistes in dance and vocal performances both locally and abroad.

Darmenthiran Krisnasamy started learning the miruthangam at the tender age of four, under the tutelage of his father and uncle, who were well-known musicians in the Indian musical circle. This direct disciple of Guru Sri Karaikudi has performed in many concerts, although still only in his 20s.

Considered as the “new kid on the block”, Karthik Krishnasamy is actually a carnatic vocalist under the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur, where he is now also a vocal instructor. He subsequently took up the mridangam and ghatham, currently under the tutelage of Shri Bangalore Ravishanker.

Although I am rarely exposed to such music, I have to say that I still enjoyed the two-hour long recital. The nifty fingers of the musicians could be quite hypnotic! At the later part of the performance, Subain Singam, President of Greentown Indian Cultural Society joined the trio on stage with his ganjira, closing the night with an extravagant finale.

Greentown Indian Cultural Society is planning to make available to Ipoh folks, violin and vocal lessons through Skype. Online instructions of violin and vocals would be the first for the city, so there is no longer an excuse of not having access to a good instructor, right? For further information, call Subain Singam at 012-5056049.

Event: Geethanjali – Violin Recital
Venue: Multipurpose Hall, Bangunan SUK
Date: 18th May, 2012
Time: 8pm

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