Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma
| Prince Rama Varma | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 13, 1968 Kerala, India |
| Genres | Carnatic classical music |
| Occupations | singer, Veena player, writer. |
| Years active | 1990 - present |
Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma,[1] also known as Prince Rama Varma, is a South Indian classical musician, a performing vocalist, veena player and writer.
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[edit] Early life and background
Rama Varma, a scion of the Travancore Royal Family, was born in Kerala to Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvathi Bayi and Chembrol Raja Raja Varma. Varma is a direct descendent of HH Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Raja Ravi Varma. His great grandmother Sethu Parvathi Bayi, was the grand daughter of Raja Ravi Varma. He is often described as 'Prince among musicians and a Musician among Princes'. He is a post graduate in Commerce.
His early exposure to music came from the performances he used to watch at the Navarathri Mandapam as a child. He is an admirer of M. D. Ramanathan and a fan of Kishore Kumar.
He started receiving music lessons from Professor Vechoor Harihara Subrahmania Iyer in 1983. Shortly after, he started learning veena under Trivandrum R Venkataraman for 5 years and continued his lessons under the tutelage of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Prof. K S Narayanaswamy for another 10 years. After the demise of Prof. Vechoor Harihara Subrahmania Iyer, he became a disciple of musician, Dr.Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna in 1994. He is now his senior disciple.
[edit] Music career
Rama Varma gave his maiden public performance in 1990 on the insistence of Prof T. V. Gopalakrishnan.
He has given vocal and Veena concerts all over India and in Europe, Middle East and the USA . He has performed at various venues in Europe, including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, the Tropentheater, and the Korzo Theater, Netherlands. For many years he had associated with the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music offering vocal classes in Indian Classical Music and also voice training sessions.
He frequently gives lecture demonstrations in South Indian Classical Music particularly on Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna's compositions. Varma is regarded as an expert authority in the compositions by both Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna. He has a repertoire of Swathi compositions which is unmatched by anyone else.
He was invited to perform at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan by the then President of India, Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. Dr. Abdul Kalam became a fan of Varma after listening to his CD, ‘Thaanam - The Pulse Of The Veena.’
He regularly contributes articles on Indian Music to news papers like The Hindu and others.
[edit] Music Festivals
Varma organises Swathi Sangeethotsavam conducted in the premises of Kuthira Malika, Thiruvananthapuram every year from 6 to 12 January. The Navarathri Mandapam Concerts held every year in connection with the Navarathri Festival at Trivandrum is also organised by Varma.[2]
In 2006, he picked veteran Parasala Ponnammal to perform at the Navarathri Mandapam, breaking the 300 year old tradition of not allowing women inside the Mandapam.
[edit] References
- ^ Note: all members of the Travancore Royal Family receive two names, a star name associated with the star under which they are born, followed by the official personal name. The star name has usually the suffix Thirunal (which means "Star" in Hindu). See: [1]. Rama Varma's star name is Aswathi Thirunal, named after Aswathi or Ashvini, the first Nakshatra in Hindu astrology.
- ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo9811/98110220.htm
- A royal love for music: The Hindu January 2009
- Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and Rama Varma sharing experiences.
- Biography
- A Legend in the Making - Prince Rama Varma
- Website dedicated to Rama Varma
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma |
- Total Harmony: The Hindu, September 2009
- Stress on Sahitya: The Hindu April, 2009
- My Favourite Raga: The Hindu February 2009
- When music reigns: The Hindu, January 2009
- Slender silhouettes of ragas: The Hindu, May 2008
- Rama Varma on Swathi Sangeethotsavam The Hindu January 2008
- Swathi Sangeethotsavam 2006: The Hindu, January 2006
- Facets of Music: The Hindu, May 2006
- Veena and Vocal Concert Reviews: The Hindu, April 2005
- An ear for world music: The Hindu, February 2005
- Jamming at a Jugalbandi: The Hindu, May 2002
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