Between talent and visibility there is a gulf. While some think public relations can bridge the gap, others feel it is all about luck. But for 52-year-old Venkatesan Vedakrishnaram, belief in his passion and his effort to make a mark as a mridangam artist for Bharatanatyam are what matters. He began pusuing the art, after his 10th standard, and it eventually became his profession.
“Playing the mridangam was part of growing up. I picked up the basics by watching my father C. Venkatesan, a supervisor in a mill, play at home especially during bhajans. My mother, who worked in the shipping industry, was also keen on music. My father would ask me to keep the rhythm on the mridangam,” he says.
His formal training began in his early teens under D. Bhakthavatchalam, a senior disciple of legendary Mangudi Durai Raj Iyer. He used to accompany his brother to the mridangam class, and the teacher began to realise how curious and interested young Veda was. He asked Vedakrishnaram to take it up seriously and join the class. “I enjoyed playing the instrument but did not know much about the rhythm,” he shares.
The year 1984 was a turning point in his life when he was 20. His guru asked Veda to play for various concerts. Although he earned some money from these programmes, his father was not happy about it. Veda quips, “I would earn Rs.75 per programme. But my father felt only a regular job would offer security.”
Interestingly, his first job was in a printing press. He recollects, “This job would pay Rs. 30 per week.” And then one day, during a night shift the person in-charge ordered him to pull out 3000 printed sheets nonstop, that was when he made a tough decision. “I finished the task and quit my job,” he says
Since then there was no looking back. He has travelled across the globe for the past three decades. His first international tour was to Moscow in 1987 and U.S. in 1992, he, thereafter, became a regular mridangam player for Shakti Dance company, Los Angeles, directed by the dance exponent Viji Prakash.
Although, a career in the art field is fraught with risks, Veda feels, “We have to look forward and never give up. I am glad that I am my own boss.”
Is he choosy when it comes to taking up a project? “Little bit,” he says with a grin. He continues, “I have worked with many artists, but working with The Dhananjayans and Lakshmi Ramaswamy give me joy in terms of challenge and creativity.”
Veda has also performed at Carnegie Hall, New York, in 1997 with Pt. Ravi Shankar for India’s 50th Independence Day celebrations. Among the awards he has received includes the Best Dance Accompanist Award from VDS Arts Academy in 2009 and Naatya Sangeetha Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar in 2013.
On how the scenario, in terms of opportunities has changed, he says, “It is our profession, so we do get the opportunity to play. But foreigners and those living abroad have to work hard for it. One cannot become a dancer without money because dancers initially rarely get paid. They also have to pay the accompanying artists from their pocket. This is a sad situation. ”
On why he accompanies dancers and is not a soloist, he explains, “Bharatanatyam with its moods and rasas offers ample scope to an artist to be creative. The song must be audible and the mridangam must not overwhelm it but provide subtle accompaniment. A mridangam player should become a dancer through his rhythm.”
