T.R. Dhandapany is well known for his innovative approach and his talavadya performances. He has trained numerous students in the various south Indian percussion instruments, like mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, morsing, phakawaj, dholak.
With over five decades of experience in the percussion field and over three decades of teaching experience, he is a highly respected artist. He has toured all over the world featuring in numerous performances.
Shri. T.R.Dhandapany took his initial training in the art of mridangam from Sikkal Shri A.S. Natesa Iyer. Later, he specialized under the tutelage of Late Shri. Harihara Sharma, Principal of Jaya Ganesh Talavadya Vidyalaya of Chennai and the late Shri. K.M.Vaidyanathan. He has been performing for the last four decades and has accompanied many top ranking musicians.
As percussion instruments were always used as accompaniments, Shri. Dhandapany took the initiatives and started full-time talavadya programs to bring percussionists to the center stage. Getting an excellent response, he created ‘Laya Gana Madhura Lahiri’ in 1982. Since then he has given more than 250 performances at cultural events organized by many esteemed organizations like Sanskriti, Government of India, Rotary Club of India and I.C.C.R, Rashtrapati Bhawan.
He also participated in First South Asian Festival held in Dhaka in the year 1997. He also gave performances at various places in Nepal during the year 2006, and was featured at the 5th Annual Kathmandu Jazz Festival in Kathmandu. He also went on a European tour in the year 1999 along with his disciples for Talavadya Program to be included in the Re-Orient festival, which is a yearly cultural feature and received T.R.Dhandapany’s Imagea mass acclaim from the European audience as well.
In 2001, a new program titled Laya Gana Nritya Madhura Lahiri was started, which included classical dances also as part of the performance, with music and percussion instruments. It was featured at the Asia Pacific Week, held in Berlin in September of 2003. The group led by him, also performed at numerous other places in Germany and Austria, where the group was received exceptionally well.
Shri. Dhandapany has trained various students in the art of mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, morsing, dholak, and pakhawaj, some of whom are established performing artists. He is also a respected percussion teacher in the capital. His meticulous mathematical calculations in setting the ‘sollukatus’ ‘korvais’ etc. earned him commendable respect among the musicians, audiences, and the critics alike in the form of numerous press reports and excellent audience response. He was invited to give a lecture demonstration on the art of “mridangam playing” at the prestigious Musee Guimett de Paris. He also performed Talavadya Katcheri in Paris with his local disciples for which he was highly appreciated. He was also an honorary member of Elizabeth Theatre, Australia in the seventies. He has extensively toured entire Europe, South East Asia, Australia, U.S.S.R., Latin America, Gulf and almost all over the world.
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.
