GS Rajan was born in Calicut, Kerala, on June 17, 1962) the son of Gayathri and GS Srikrishnan. He had his early training in vocal music and Carnatic flute under his mother and father respectively. In his teens, inspired by the example of his parents who were active in performing, teaching and composing music, Rajan composed music and sang, and was a regular broadcaster on All India Radio. Later he moved to Madras where he worked as a keyboard player for mainstream cinema.
GS Rajan with Rukmini Devi ArundaleRajan’s serious interest in classical music led him to Kalakshetra, Madras, in 1978. There he had the good fortune not only of coming under the personal guidance of the inspiring founder-director, Rukmini Devi Arundale, but also of studying vocal music under the acclaimed masters MD Ramanathan and Pudukode Krishnamurthi and flute under H Ramachandra Sastri, one of the last representatives of the Sarabha Sastri baani.
On completing his studies at Kalakshetra, Rajan moved to Delhi and worked for some years as a freelance flutist. During this period he provided flute accompaniment to some of the foremost classical dancers of India and also gave numerous solo flute recitals.
Rajan is at present Programme Officer in the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy for music, dance and drama, where he has worked for the past twelve years. He is a Grade I composer and flutist of AIR and Doordarshan. He also contributes articles on art and culture to national journals.
Rajan conceived and designed the first dedicated Internet site on Indian Performing Arts, www.artindia.net, which was executed in association with Communicators and inaugurated by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in December 1998. This is a continuing project that aims to bring all Indian classical and related arts under one umbrella on the Internet, as well as to provide Internet and e-mail access to all artists. He has also designed other Internet web pages and launched ArtScape, the first on-line review magazine and discussion forum for the Indian arts.
In 2004, Rajan received the national award for best critic from the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India.
In 2005, Rajan received a special fellowship from the Government of France to compose raga-symphony and present these compositions with French musicians. Thus, Rajan lived almost a year in France to complete his compositions and presentations.
On October 30, 2011, Justice Ramamoorthy awarded GS Rajan the title ‘Venu Gana Nipuna’ from Astika Samajam in Delhi. In 2014, Rajan received the prestigious Akademi Award from the Government of Kerala for his global contributions to Indian music.
As Deputy Secretary at the National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama under the Government of India for 14 years, Rajan organized numerous Festivals of India and reciprocal festivals with other countries. He also served as the Officer-in-Charge of the yearlong German Festival in India SNA Cell.
In addition to his 2003 album, Colours of Krishna and his EP Another Day (2024), Rajan has released various singles such as “Longing,” “Contemplation,” “Breezes,” “Dynametrics” and “Seeking.”
Discography:
Colours of Krishna (Music Today, 2003)
Another Day (2024)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.