Erickavu N. Sunil
Erickavu N Sunil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 15 March Haripad, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Mridangam artist |
| Instrument | Mridangam |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Indu Sunil (2005 – present) |
| Website | indeevaram |
Erickavu N Sunil (Sunil Narayana) is an Indian Mridangam player.[1][2]
Early life and background
Erickavu N Sunil was born (on 15 March) to K. Narayana Panicker and Late V. Saraswathi Amma in Haripad, Kerala, India. He started learning the Mridangam at the age of four. His initial Gurus were Late Krishnappa Bhagavathar and M S Raju. He had his advanced studies in mridangam from the Legendary Maestro Sangeetha Kalacharya Late Professor Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair.[3]
Musical career
An A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Sunil has accompanied musicians including Padmabhushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Padmasri Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, Padmasri Prof. Parassala Ponnammal, Madhurai G S Mony, Prof: Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, Dr. K. Omanakutty, Prof. K. Venktaramanan, Dr. S. Sowmya, Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna, Dr. Sreevalsan J. Menon, Sankaran Namboothiri, Thiruvengadu Jayaraman, Sharreth, M. Jayachandran, Balabhaskar, etc. among many others. He teaches Mridangam online[4] through Skype, and has students in Germany, US & Middle East.[5] Sunil leads the team "Laya Vadya Sudha"[6]—the "Tala Vadya"—Percussion Ensemble—featuring Indian percussion instruments Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam, Morsing, Tabla, Mizhavu, etc. Sunil had scripted and directed Nadasanjeevani—a unique program on Music Therapy, which was telecasted in Asianet Cable Vision (ACV) as 9 episodes in 2006.
Awards, achievements, and titles
- He is an A Grade Mridangam artist in All India Radio and Doordarshan.
- He received the prestigious "Chembai Award" (the award given to outstanding young Mridangam Artist) by Chembai Memorial Trust, Trivandrum in 2006.
- He received the "Pathiramkulangara Devi Chaithanyashri" title in 2019 from Pathiramkulangara Devi Temple, a major temple in Alleppey District under Travancore Devaswom Board.
- He was awarded the Junior Research Fellowship by the Department of Culture, Government of India (2011-'12).
- He was awarded the Senior Scholarship by the Department of Culture, Government of India in (1996-'97).
- He won first prize and gold medal in Mridangam at the Inter-university National Youth Festival held at Gulburga, Karnataka, during January 1995.
- He was the winner in Mridangam at Kerala University Youth Festival for four consecutive years (from 1993 to 1997) representing Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum. While at school, he received several prizes.
- He was nominated as a member in the panel of judges for Mridangam in Kerala State Schools Youth Festival for several years.
Academic studies
He completed schooling from St. Thomas High School, Karthikappally (near Haripad) in 1992. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum in 1997. He also received a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) degree from College of Engineering, Trivandrum in 2002.
Indeevaram Cultural Trust[7]
Indeevaram[2] is a Trivandrum-based cultural trust founded by Sunil in 2018. Indeevaram[8] envisions bringing global talent in the field of classical art forms together to showcase the Indian powerhouse of talents. It is a confluence of art, artists, and the varied hues of India's culture. Indeevaram is aims at bringing together the prodigies and amateurs on the same platform as that of the legends and maestros. Indeevaram intends to do this through multiple approaches.
- To build a strong online presence to attract classical art talent from across the globe to make this event a one of larger reach.
- To conduct annual festivals that will bring all talents together.
- To provide a single platform for Music, Dance, Literature, Traditional Arts, Fine Arts, etc.
- To give access to Seminars, Talk-Shows, Workshops and Exhibitions.
- To provide financial assistance to young talents having financial crunch as a motivation to their higher studies in their respective talent area.
- To provide financial assistance to deserving senior artists.
- To deliver annual awards to young talents and senior artists.
Personal life
After spending 18 years with major IT firms including Ernst & Young, Sunil is now focusing more on music, though currently he is a non-working Director at an IT firm in Technopark, Trivandrum. His wife Indu Sunil is a Technical architect at a major IT firm in Technopark, Trivandrum. She is also an expert in Aksharaslokam.[9] The couple has two sons, Bhagath Sunand and Bharath Sunand.
References
- ^ Chris (2012-07-19). "Techie drummer". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ a b https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/indeevaram-is-a-performance-space-for-artistes/article28173140.ece
- ^ "Mridangam player Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair dies". Kaumudiglobal.com. 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ http://chandrakantha.com/teachers/teach_music_kerala.html
- ^ https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/musicians-and-dancers-in-technopark-who-turn-teachers/article29584271.ece
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiYzQ5x0P54&t=1354s
- ^ https://indeevaram.org/
- ^ https://epaper.thehindu.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=GT362JDR1.1
- ^ http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/waxing-lyrical-over-malayalam/article6708228.ece