Padma Bhushan Shri. T.V Gopalakrishnan

An inimitable mridangam maestro, a veteran Carnatic and Hindustani vocalist, a Guru of Gurus, a pioneer of Carnatic Jazz and fusion music, a research scholar, a voice expert and last but not the least, a very noble human being—this is Guruji TVG in a nutshell.

A devout disciple of Legendary Shri. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhaghavathar, his accomplishments in the sphere of Indian Classical Music hardly needs any introduction. Guruji has achieved a rare feat of mastering both systems of Indian Classical Music. He is a mridangist nonpareil having taken the world by storm with his accompaniments for several doyens of Carnatic music like his guru, Balamuralikrishna, Dwaram Venkatasami Naidu, M.D.Ramanathan,to name a few. His interesting jugalbandhis with Pandit Samtha Prasad, Ustad Allah Rakha, Pandit Anokhelal and his whirlwind tour with Pandit Ravishankar in the 70’s puts him in a league that very few belong to.

He has cut several records both as a mridangist and a vocalist. He has published two books titled “Your Voice” and “Mridangam—The King of Percussion” sharing his expertise on the subjects.

His list of disciples comprise the who’s who of music – Isaignani Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, Kadri Gopalnath, Vidyabhushana, Rajkumar Bharathi, Sankaran Namboothiri, Madhu Balakrishnan, Ghatam Suresh, Violin Varadarajan, Vocal nightingale Devie Neithiyar to name a few.

He has been presented with several titles and awards like the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India, the Sangita Kalanidhi from The Music Academy Madras, The Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Arsha Kala Bhushnam to name a few.

Vijay is extremely fortunate to be a disciple of Guruji and considers him as a mentor in every walk of life.