Mridangam vidwan T K Murthy was presented with the Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar Award for Excellence in recognition of his services to Carnatic music. here on Monday. Murthy is the third recipient of the award, and follows eminent vocalist R K Srikantan and violin maestro V S Narasimhan.
The mridangam exponent was presented with the award, which comprises a citation, a cash prize of `25,000 and a shawl, at a function at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore organised by the Chennai Fine Arts. The award function coincided with the forum’s annual music festival.
Speaking on the occasion, Murthy reflected back on his career spanning over nine decades, 15,000 concerts and as many as five generations of musical artistes. He spoke about how his guru, Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, was responsible for moulding his career appropriately. Peppered with humorous anecdotes and witty quips, the artiste — who was a contemporary of the late mridangam exponent Palghat Mani Iyer — also recollected fondly the four instances when he performed alongside the veteran Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar.
Musicologist B M Sundaram noted that accompaniments such as the mridangam must heighten the quality of the song being rendered by the main artiste and not overshadow them. In this regard, he pointed out that Murthy’s performances were a highlight in that they were neither overbearing, yet vital to concerts.
Eminent vocalist and veena player Suguna Purushothaman, who was also present, in addition to striking a chord, said that learning newer concepts by way of experimentation was the hallmark of a good artiste.
Some of the artistes the mridangam vidwan has accompanied in concerts include doyens such as Harikesanallur Muthiah Bagavathar, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M S Subbulakshmi, D K Jayaraman, M Balamuralikrishna and Mandolin U Srinivas. Founder of Chennai Fine Arts P N Muralidharan was among those present.
The award was instituted in the name of the globally acclaimed musician K S Narayana Iyengar, renowned for his mastery over the Chitravina (also known as the Gotuvadyam). This was followed by a musical concert by noted violinist A Kanyakumari