KOCHI: Society Dharani brings another musical extravaganza to Kochiites as Prince Rama Varma, the illustrious descendant of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, presents a carnatic music concert today 6 30 pm at Kerala Fine Arts Society Hall.
Prince Rama Varma, a member of the Royal Family of Travancore and a direct descendant of Swathi Thirunal and Raja Ravi Varma grew up listening to the music of the various maestros who performed regularly at the Navarathri Mandapam in Thiruvavanthapuram. He started formal lessons in music in 1982 from Prof. Vechoor Hariharasubramania Iyer, a senior disciple of Dr Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, who continued to teach him until his demise in 1994.
He also studied the Saraswathi Veena under Trivandrum R Venkataraman for five years and later under Sangeetha Kalanidhi Prof K S Narayanaswamy. At present he is undergoing training under Sangeethakalanidhi Dr M Balamuralikrishna and has gone on to become one of his foremost disciples. He has had the rare privilege of not only singing with his legendary guru but also of having Dr Balamuralikrishna accompany him on the violin.
Prince Varma has given concerts all over India and in other countries like USA, UK, France, Germany, Kuwait, Dubai and The Netherlands, to mention a few. His first CD was released at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and he has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in Europe.
He was invited to perform at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan by His Excellency The President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam who calls himself Prince Varma’s fan after listening to his CD, ‘Thaanam - The Pulse Of The Veena.’
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