MYICMF 2025 Events

Prince Rama Varma

Prince Rama Varma, a direct descendent of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Raja Ravi Varma, commenced music lessons from Prof.Vechoor Hariharasubramania Iyer, a senior disciple of Dr.Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, in the year 1982 and continued to learn from him until Prof.Vechoor Hariharasubramania Iyer passed away in 1994.

 

He studied the Saraswathy Veena for five years from Trivandrum R.Venkataraman and later,  for more than a decade, from Padmabhushan Awardee, Sangita Kalanidhi Prof.K.S.Narayanaswamy.

 

He later continued to learn music from Dr.Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, with whom he spent more than eighteen years..

 

Gathering inspiration from a wide range of sources from all over the world, Prince Rama Varma has carved out his own distinct approach to music, giving utmost importance to alignment to the sruthi, clarity of enunciation of the lyrics, refinement of gamakams  and vocalization, perfect team work on stage and a deep connect with the spirit of the composers whose compositions he shares with his listeners during his concerts.

 

His music classes have become more and more in demand  and from 1994 onwards until now, he has taught more than 25000 students all over the world. Though he started to teach online quite recently by taking two day workshops once in a while, these have become a great source of guidance and inspiration to serious music students, teachers, performers and music lovers from all age groups, who wait eagerly for the next session. The young, talented Vidushi Amrutha Venkatesh is one of his prime disciples.

 

He has been in charge of organizing major music festivals in Kerala, exclusively featuring compositions of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal.

 

Believing more in action than in talk, Varma ji has been quietly breaking rules and changing unhealthy traditions in his own way. The most prominent among these, was when he succeeded in getting women to enter the hallowed premises of the Navarathri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram, both as performers and as listeners, breaking a tradition that banned them from entering the place, which went back several centuries.. In the process, he successfully managed to bring 82 year old veteran Prof.Parasala Ponnammal out of her retirement and she went on to enjoy a glowing run during the last decades of her long and fruitful life.

 

Following his illustrious ancestor Maharaja Swathi Thirunal's footsteps, Varma ji has always believed in encouraging artists with merit. Apart from the many artists of various age groups that he regularly features in his festivals, he has been one of the pioneers of sharing music online in his YouTube channels.

He was the first person to upload videos of veterans from the past like the great Kundan Lal Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Devika Rani, K.C.Dey and others from the 1930s on YouTube, followed by many artists from South Indian and North Indian Classical Music, like Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna, Prof.Parasala Ponnammal, Voleti Venkateshwarlu, Trivandrum R.S.Mani, Dr.M.L.Vasanthakumari, Vidushi M.S.Subbulakshmy, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and many many many more.

 

The YouTube channel featuring videos of Varma ji's own concerts, veena recitals, lessons and lectures, called Musiquebox,

https://www.youtube.com/@musiquebox/about

has gathered over 27 million views. Here, you can find videos of events that took place in a wide range of locations from small towns in India like Rajapalayam, Kaalady, Hanamkonda and Kakinada, to big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Los Angeles, Dubai, Sharjah, Melbourne, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Tokyo. He was one of the earliest Carnatic Musicians to be interviewed on BBC World Service Television, more than 20 years ago.

 

 

S.R. Vinu – Violinist

 

Avaneeswaram S. R. Vinu is a senior violinist from Kerala and an A-Top graded artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. He has performed both as a soloist and an accompanist on prestigious stages worldwide.

His achievements include numerous prestigious awards, Kerala Sangeet Nataka academy Award in 2024 ,Awards  from the Madras Music Academy, as well as honorary titles such as “Sangeetha Asthana Vidwan” from Kanchipuram and “Sangeetha Rathna” from the Sathya Sai Organization.

Vinu has had the privilege of sharing the stage with legendary musicians such as Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sri T. K. Govinda Rao, Sri N. Ramani, Prince Rama Varma, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Dr. K. J. Yesudas, Sri T. N. Seshagopalan, Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Sri Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, the Hyderabad Brothers, S. Sowmya , and many more.

He has performed at several prestigious music festivals, including Navaratri Mandapam in Trivandrum, the Sacred Music Festival in France, and the Sydney Music Festival.

Vinu has extensively traveled with eminent musicians, performing across India, the USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and so on.

 

 

Darmen Krisnan – Mridangist

 

Darmen as he is fondly known is a graduate of the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur. He started learning the Mridangam from the tender age of five. He hails from a family of musicians and his own uncles, Sri Hari Chandran Panjanathan and Sri Suresh Kumar Panjanathan were his initial gurus.

 

He then furthered his advance training under the tutelage of Guru Sri Bangalore K Ravishankar who is a pioneer disciple of the great mridangam legend Guru Karaikudi Mani. Darmen began working as a tutor at the Temple of Fine Arts after his Arangetram in the year 2013. His teaching journey started in the year 2005 in his family's school Nandi arts - Kelana Jaya then later at institutions such as Sugam Karnatika,Petaling Jaya,  and in addition he founded his own percussion school Avighna Laya Kendra since 2023.

 

Throughout his journey in teaching mridangam, he has also performed widely for various katcheris, music and dance productions, arangetrams, fusion concerts in both locally and abroad.

 

Due to his outstanding abilities, hard work, practice and dedication, Darmen has been awarded the title “Layaanjali” by the Temple of Fine Arts. He was also given the title of “Layachudaroli” for his excellence in contribution towards Indian classical music by Sivananjaly Fine Arts Johor Bahru. He was also awarded “Isai Nadha Kalasikhamani“ by the Cholan Book of World Records for his invaluable services and contributions as a performer and teacher in the field of Indian Traditional Music. Darmen was also awarded the title of “Laya Chakravarthi” by Natya Rajyam for his excellent dance compositions. In addition "Laya Prabaava Nantheesan" for dedicated service in the field of indian performing arts by Visva Niruthyotayaa Dance Academy & "Laya Vinyasa Mani" in recognition for the service in the dance fraternity by Narthana Fine Arts & the Malaysian Bharatanatyam Dance Association.

 

Of late, Darmen has ventured into composing for dance and his most recent notable composition, a Thillana in Sangkeerna Chaapu Tāla is a first of its kind in the history of Malaysian Carnatic Dance and Music.

 

 

Karthik Krishnasamy - Ghatam

 

Karthik Krishnasamy began his musical journey at the age of 19, initially pursuing Carnatic Vocal under the guidance of Shri Madhavan Velayutham at the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur. His passion for rhythm led him to explore Mridangam, and he studied under several distinguished Gurus and in 2014, Karthik met his current guru, the legendary Ghatam Maestro, ‘Laya Vaadya Sironmani’ Shri Suresh Vaidyanathan from Chennai, India. Under Shri Suresh’s mentorship, Karthik has delved into the complex techniques of playing the Ghatam, with an emphasis on dynamic, mathematically intricate patterns while preserving the traditional essence of the instrument. Karthik was privileged to complete his Ghatam Arangetram in 2018, marking a significant milestone in his musical journey. Karthik is also the Director of Taalam Percussion & Solkattu Academy, better known as TAPAS Malaysia, a movement dedicated to propagating the art of Carnatic percussion and its essence to younger generations and beyond. TAPAS Malaysia is committed to fostering a deeper appreciation of this rich tradition, and in 2025, it successfully launched the inaugural Akhanda Music Festival, a 12-hour non-stop musical experience that celebrated the power and beauty of Carnatic music. A prominent figure in the Carnatic music scene in Malaysia, Karthik regularly participates in various events organized by Carnatic music institutions, such as Musical Arangetrams, Thyagaraja Aradhana, Navarathri Festivals, and other professional performances. He also performs at the prestigious Margazhi Music Festival in Chennai, India, accompanying renowned artists. In addition to his instrumental expertise, Karthik is a skilled Carnatic vocalist and is currently pursuing advanced lessons under the tutelage of Vidwan Balaji Shankar, a disciple of the esteemed Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri D.K. Jayaraman. Karthik is a Registered Professional Technologist with the Malaysian Board of Technologists and serves as a Consulting Manager at Delaware Malaysia.

 

 

 

Brahmashri JB Aravind Sharma - Khanjira

 

Born into a family with a rich musical heritage, Aravind Ji's path to embracing music as his life's passion. He began his formal music education at the tender age of five under the guidance of his father, Guru Shri TAJ Sharmaji, who guided him in the art of mridangam. Concurrently, his mother, Guru Shrimathi Bharathi Sharma, nurtured his vocal talents in Sangeetham. By the age of eight, Aravind was already making stage appearances, showcasing his remarkable skills on both the mridangam and in vocal performance.

 

As he entered his early teens, Aravind chose to specialize in the kanjira, under the tutelage of his father, Guru Sharmaji. Today, Aravind Ji is a distinguished Percussions (Mridangam & Kanjira) Teacher at Sruthi Laya Gaana Vidyalaya Music Academy. His extensive experience performing in kutcheries and bharathanatyam both in Malaysia and internationally has established him as a sought-after mridangam and kanjira artist. Aravind Ji has had the honor of accompanying esteemed and emerging Indian artists such as Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri B. Rajam Iyer, Charumathi Ramachandran, Trichur Ramachandran, Shri B.U. Ganesh Prasad, Shri Surya Prakash, Prince Rama Varma, Shrimathi Seetha Laxhmi, Kalaimamani Smt Jayalakshmi Sekhar, and Vishaal Sapuram.

 

His unique performance style burst with energy, blending diverse genres creating an atmosphere that captivates audiences with a unique and dynamic musical experience in Carnatic music concerts, Fusion music events, and Bharatanatyam programs. Among his notable projects is the Cultural Discovery Extravaganza, performed in conjunction with the visit of the Spanish Navy Ship “Juan Sebastian de Elcano”, “Venunadham A Carnatic Flute-Nathaswaram Jugalbandhi and, Nityataa Reimagined. He also served as a panel judge for the Malaysia International Music Festival, which featured participants from around the globe. Aravind Ji showcased his exceptional talent on the kanjira during the Carnatic Utsav, a captivating Carnatic music event held in May 2024 at The Temple of Fine Arts. The festival featured enthralling performances by renowned vocalist Unnikrishnan and his daughter, Uthara. Aravind Ji's intricate rhythms and masterful technique on the kanjira added a rich, percussive depth to the concert, enhancing the overall musical experience and leaving the

audience in awe of his artistry. In addition to his musical pursuits, Aravind Ji has achieved significant success in sports, particularly in Dodgeball leading the national team towards world cup. He formerly worked with Taylor's University under the Student Development Department, specializing in the

Sports and Recreational Division, where he played a pivotal role in fostering athletic talent

and sports event management. Aravind Ji is also a successful entrepreneur, managing a thriving marine services business. His ability to balance his passions for music, sports, and business exemplifies his multifaceted talent and drive.