One of my favourite musical instruments, Veena – my mother used to play it. Close your eyes and listen to the songs on Veena, you can feel its divinity. I am presenting to you one of India’s famous Veena artist Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh and her live Veena Concert today.
Dr. Jayanthi belongs to the lineage of Carnatic musicians for six generations. She started playing the Saraswathi Veena at the age of three. Her first teacher was her mother, Smt. Lalgudi Rajalakshmi. She underwent further training from Smt. Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, her maternal aunt. Dr. Jayanthi is the niece of the legendary Violinist Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman. Dr.Jayanthi is married to Vidwan Kumaresh Rajagopalan a famous violinist and the younger of the Ganesh-Kumaresh Violinist duo.
Collaborations and Initiatives
Dr. Jayanthi has collaborated and performed with many great musicians and artists like Ustad Zakir Hussain – Tabla Maestro, Ronu Majumdar – a Hindustani Flautist etc. There are many others with who she has performed on various occasions.
She has done research and holds a Doctorate for her work on “Styles and Playing Techniques of the Saraswathi Veena”. Dr. Jayanthi has conducted many workshops and lectures around the world. She is the founder of “Indian National Orchestra”. Indian National Orchestra is a group of artists from Carnatic and Hindustani Genres. They have formed this to demonstrate the rich musical and cultural heritage of India.
Dr. Jayanthi has also released an Album named “Mysterious Duality”, which is one of its kind. She has played 7 tracks of music using the Saraswathi Veena in this album.
Awards and Accolades
She has received the Award for Veena from the Musical Academy in Chennai ten times. Dr. Jayanthi is the recipient of the Kalaimamani Award from the Tamil Nadu Government. She has received fellowship from the Department of Culture for “Ragam Tanam Pallavi” rendering on Veena. There are many other awards and accolades she has won.
Now let us listen to her magical touch on Saraswathi Veena. Accompanying her – R. Ramesh on Mridangam and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan on Ghatam.
