Ganakala Vidya Nilayam at the request of family members of  Late Shri.Vamanan, renouned Senior Music Guru in Mumbai set up a Endowment Memorial Fund to promot classical music and  encourage young artists by providing a platform for their performance.   At the inaugural program on 6th April 2014,  there was a confluence of different emotions at play at Gana Kala. The aura of respect for the guru mentioned by the guests of honour, the joy of listening to classical music, the sadness caused  by the departed soul and the hope of nurturing Carnatic music by the next generation with the support of institutions devoted to it – all merged in to  one making the concert by Govind  Balakrishnan and team a memorably lasting  one. It was therefore a spectacular show of many parts that was endearing.   

The audience was warmly welcomed by Shri C.B. Ramamurthy, President of Gana Kala Vidya Nilayam. He lauded the late Vamanan’s efforts for the cause and promotion of classical music He mentioned the Gana Kala Vidya Nilayam felt privileged to host the delightful musical evening as a tribute to Sangeetha Vidwaan V.Vamanan, at the behest of his mother Smt. K.S. Rajalakshmi and other family members. That one year had passed by, added more to the void left by Vamanan, who died young at 49 years, making the loss to music fraternity all the more intense, he said. 

This indelible Musical Homage – The Sangeetha   Shraddhaanjali  – was rendered by Swargeeya V. Vamanan’s  dear disciple Shri Govind Balakrishnan,  who gave a mellifluous Carnatic vocal recital, accompanied by the veteran percussionist  Mumbai Shri Rajesh Srinivasan on the  resounding Mridangam and by versatile Shri Shivakumar Anantharaman on the vibrant Violin.

 

The Guest of Honors at the function were Shri Tiruppugazh G. Balasubramaniam, renouned musician, Shri V. Sivaramakrishman Iyer, Scholar & research guide, Smt Seethamani Krishnan, ardent student of Late Sangeetha Bhushanam Shri Pallavur Mani Iyer, who also was Vamanan’s Guru.

Shri C.B. Ramamurthy, President  thanked Shri Vamanan’s family and gave the letter of consent from Gana Kala Vidya Nilayam for hosting an annual endowment memorial concert in honour of Sangeetha Vidwaan V.Vamanan on his birth date (August 31) at Sabha premises, with their accepting the initial corpus of  Rs.1.5 Lakh. More patrons, students and well wishers have committed to add to the corpus in his honour.