Mysore/Mysuru: Raas Indian Art Foundation, Mysuru, in association with SPVGMC Trust, has organised ‘Sadhana Sessions’ by renowned mridangam artiste Vidwan Anantha R. Krishnan, grandson and disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Vidwan Palghat R. Raghu, on Mar. 31 from 9 am to 1 pm at Raasavrunda at 1095, Devaparthiva Road, Chamarajapuram, Mysore.

Interested artistes and students, may contact C.R. Himanshu (98455-01178) and Dr. Rohitha Eswer (98867-20924). Interested may also send a video sample to [email protected]

Anantha R. Krishnan (Anand) started his musical journey on the mridanga at very young age. The grandson and disciple of mridanga maestro, Palghat R. Raghu, Anantha started learning the fundamentals of mridanga under his uncle R. Ramkumar and then began an official tutelage under his grandfather at the age of five.

He performed his first concert at the age of seven and before the age of 20, he performed alongside a rare generation of Indian Classical musicians like, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Prof. T.N. Krishnan, Dr. K.J. Yesudas, Mandolin Srinivas, among many others.

During this period, he received many awards from traditional organisations of Karnatak Music in India, including the Best Mridangist Prize from the Music Academy, Madras, a record five times in six years.

Also, he was awarded the State of the Arts Award from the New Jersey Government twice in 1997-1998 as part of the National Endowment of the Arts’ effort to promote cultural awareness in the USA. He is the recipient of prestigious The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award in Contemporary Music awarded by Sangeet Natak Akademy, Government of India.

Anantha holds a Degree in Western Music and Philosophy from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Electronic Music and Percussion from Mills College, California. During this time he studied Western percussion under William Winant specialising in contemporary 20th century percussion music.

He is also a special interest student of tabla under Ustad Zakir Hussain.