| Dr.Omanakutty Nair and party |
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Dr. K. Omanakutty hails from a family of musicians and is one of the top ranking vocalists in the field of Carnatic music today. She is Professor and Head of the Department of Music at the University of Kerala, busy developing the postgraduate curriculum and the new research department at the University. She is also acting as Hon. Director of Sangeeta Bharati, a private musical organization promoting young talents in music. She put on the mantle of singing from her father, the late Shri.Malabar Gopalan Nair, noted harmonist cum vocalist, and her mother Sry. Kamalakshi Amma. Her talent was nurtured by Dr. Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam and Prof. Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, among others. Noted for her mellifluous, pure style of rendering of Carnatic music with crisp enunciation, she has won several awards including the Sangeeta Nataka Academy award. She has done extensive research on Swati Tirunal kritis leading to the publication of a three-volume set, 'Swati Madhuri'. Her research on Kathakali music has led to her doctorate. She has also given interpretations on Dikshitar's Navagraha Kritis with detailed meaning and explanation. She has a large number of talented disciples like M.G. Sreekumar who is her own younger brother, K.S.Chitra, B. Arundhati, Renjini Varma and several others.
K.S.Resmi is a disciple of Dr. Omanakutty. She passed M.A.Music in first class first rank from Kerala University. Currently, she is doing Ph.D under the guidance of Dr. Omanakutty. She has won several prizes in the state youth festivals, has released several cassettes, and recently released a cassette on Kathakali padams, the first of its kind by a female singer. Resmi is currently working as a lecturer in the Music and Research center, Sangeeta Bharati. She has done several concerts of her own and has accompanied her guru as a support singer throughout India including NCPA Mumbai, Sri Ramaseva Mandali Bangalore, Music EducationTrust in New Delhi, and Soorya India festival. She is also taking Hindustani music lessons from Shri.Ramesh Narayan, disciple of Pt.Jasraj, and Kathakali padams from Shri. Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboothiri. She has conducted many programs on AIR and Dooradarsan.
Attukal Balasubramaniam, hailing from a family of musicians, is a famous violin vidwan in the field of Carnatic music. He started his studies under his father, the late Krishnan Kutty Bhagavatar, and continued his studies under B.Sasikumar (AIR Staff, Trivandrum). He is a B+ artist in AIR, Trivandrum. He has played for several Malayalam Film songs, released devotional and other albums, has performed on private TV channels like Asianet, Surya, Kairali, and is National Programmer for Dooradarsan. He has also performed video solo concerts of Carnatic and Hidustani Music. He now accompanies renowned vidwans of Kerala and outside the state. He has accompanied artists like T.V.Sankaranarayanan, Neyveli Santana Gopalan, Smt.Nagamani Srinath, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, Tiruvankad Jayaraman, Radha Venkatachalam, Dr.Omanakutty and Hindustani vocalist Pt.Ramaesh Narayan.
P.M. Satheesan (popularly known as Vypeen Sateesh) started his mrudangam studies under Sri. Cochin Sreenivas, a great vidwan of old tradition. He continued his studies under the guidance of Prof. Mavelikkara V.Velukutty Nair and Prof. Parassala Ravi. He now accompanies renowned vidwans of Kerala and those outside the state. He has played for several Malayalam film songs, devotional albums and several TV channels. He has accompanied famous artists like T.R.Subramonian, Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, M.G.Radhakrishnan, Neyyattinkara Mohanachandran, Dr.K.Omanakutty and Prof. R.Prabhakara Varma, to name a few. He is also a B+ artist In AIR, Trivandrum, Kerala.
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