Mannarkoil J.Balaji
Born on 6th October 1965 to Shri.D.Jagannathan and Mrs.Bhuma Jagannathan, I took to music very early on at the tender age of 11. My mother learnt music and could not pursue it seriously due to domestic pressures. But she wanted me to learn Mridhangam as I was basically interested in rhythm based instruments. My mother used to tell me that as a young boy of 6 I used to tap on the dining tables and other wooden articles to make some rhythmic sounds. Academically I hold a Post Graduate Degree in English Literature, a Post graduate Diploma in Journalism, a Diploma in Computer Applications and a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) besides a Degree Equivalent in Hindi offered by Dakshin Bharath Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai.
About My Gurus
I started learning the art of playing Mridhangam at the age of 11 under the able tutelage of Tanjore Shri.R.Ramadoss and later under Late Ramanathapuram Shri.M.N.Kandaswamy who were disciples of the great Palghat Mani Iyer and Palani M.Subramania Pillai respectively. Hence I possess the unique advantage of having learnt this art under two giant traditions viz., the Tanjore tradition and the Pudukkottai tradition.
My Style
My style is a happy blend of "Sunaadham" ie., beautiful vibrant sound with aesthetically carved technical brilliance.
My Experience
Performing concerts since 1981 and has accompanied all the leading vidwans like Shri.T.N.Seshagopalan, Shri.T.V.Sankaranarayanan, Smt.Sudha Raghunathan, Shri.O.S.Thiagarajan, Neyveli Shri.R.Santhanagopalan, Shri.Sanjay Subrahmanian, Shri.O.S.Arun, Shri.S.Rajam, Smt.Mani Krishnaswami, Smt.R.Vedavalli, Shri.P.Unnikrishnan, Shri.N.Vijay Siva, Bombay Jaishree, S.Sowmya, Shri.R.Suryaprakash, Shriram Gangadharan, Shri.T.M.Krishna, Dr.Ganesh, Sikkil Gurucharan and others. Have performed at all the major sabhas in the city of Chennai and other parts of India like Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Trivandrum and other places. During 1995 for a period of 4 months I went on a tour to the USA and Canada alongwith Smt.Nirmala Sundararajan and Kalpana Venkat for Bhairavi organisation.During 1999 for a period of 1 1/2 months visited USA on a concert tour alongwith Shri.R.Suryaprakash (Disciple of Shri.T.V.Sankaranarayanan) with Shri.R.K.Shriramkumar on the Violin. In May 2000 alongwith a renowned vocal artiste Sangitha Kalanidhi Smt.Mani Krishnaswamy and M.A.Krishnaswamy on the violin I went to Hongkong to perform under the Banner of "GANANJALI". In the year 2001 I visited South Africa under the ageis of Carnatic Music Association of South Africa to conduct exclusive workshop, lecture demonstrations and concerts at Johannesburg and Durban. In the same year during May 2001, I visited Estonia and Germany for concerts alongwith a renowned veena artiste Smt.Jayalakshmi Sekhar. In September 2002 alongwith Smt.Revathi Krishna (a great Veena Artiste) I went to Fukuoka, Japan to take part in the Prestigious "13th Asian Month Festival" organised by the Mayor, City of Fukuoka. Later on I gave a concert in the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society.During August 2003 along with Veena Vidwan Karaikudi Subramanian I went to London to teach in the University of Leeds for two weeks. There i gave a presentation for the benefit of the participants on the rhythmic structures of Carnatic Tala and it was widely appreciated. In 2008 I went on a tour to Indonesia and Singapore alongwith Kalaimamani Dr.Sundar alongwith V.V.Ravi on violin.
Organisational Activities
I was deeply interested in the development of Youth Music and to achieve this ideal, while I was studying in Vivekananda College, Chennai, I alongwith Shri.N.Vijay Siva, Shri.R.K.Shriramkumar, Shri.V.Karthikeyan started an association called "Youth Association for Classical Music" in August 1985. We were instrumental in creating an awareness about Classical Carnatic Music amongst the youth through various Lecture-Demonstrations and Competitions. The "YACM", as it is being called, also provided platform for young and aspiring musicians for many of them for the First Time. It won't be an exaggeration to mention here that only after the advent of "YACM", the "Youth Music Festivals" were conducted by all the other Sabhas/Organisations in the City of Chennai. Moreover, the Youth were included in the Concert Schedule for the Annual December Music Seasons, since then being allotted only to the senior musicians who had atleast put in some 30 years of service. I was later its Secretary for two years. Still I am active with the activities of the Association.
