Sakharam Rao
Encyclopedia
Sakha Rama Rao is an India
n musician credited with having re-introduced the south Indian chitravina (or "gotuvadyam") to the concert scene. However, it was his father, Srinivasa Rao, who made the pioneering effort towards the reincarnation of the chitravina in modern times. He was an ardent music lover and an amateur artiste himself. He started experimenting with a slide on the tanpura (a four-stringed instrument, usually used as a reference drone
in Indian music
). Sakha Rama Rao was drawn to this instrument since childhood. He was able to perceive its tremendous potential to produce high-class music. He re-designed this instrument as a fretless veena
with its usual set of seven strings - four strings on the top and three in the side for drone and rhythm. He put in arduous practice on this instrument and gave occasional performances. Since he was not aware of the history of the instrument, he gave it a new name - gotuvadyam. This is because, he used to casually refer to the slide as 'gotu'. 'Vadyam', in Sanskrit
and many other Indian languages, means instrument. Thus, 'gotuvadyam' was a literal name for an instrument played with a slide. Several decades later, Ravikiran, along with a few other scholars, studied about the origins of the instrument and eventually restored the more traditional name, chitravina. Sakha Rama Rao was a "musicians' musician" and trained many great artists like Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
. Soon there were several others who started performing on the chitravina (gotuvadyam).
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n musician credited with having re-introduced the south Indian chitravina (or "gotuvadyam") to the concert scene. However, it was his father, Srinivasa Rao, who made the pioneering effort towards the reincarnation of the chitravina in modern times. He was an ardent music lover and an amateur artiste himself. He started experimenting with a slide on the tanpura (a four-stringed instrument, usually used as a reference drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
in Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
). Sakha Rama Rao was drawn to this instrument since childhood. He was able to perceive its tremendous potential to produce high-class music. He re-designed this instrument as a fretless veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
with its usual set of seven strings - four strings on the top and three in the side for drone and rhythm. He put in arduous practice on this instrument and gave occasional performances. Since he was not aware of the history of the instrument, he gave it a new name - gotuvadyam. This is because, he used to casually refer to the slide as 'gotu'. 'Vadyam', in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and many other Indian languages, means instrument. Thus, 'gotuvadyam' was a literal name for an instrument played with a slide. Several decades later, Ravikiran, along with a few other scholars, studied about the origins of the instrument and eventually restored the more traditional name, chitravina. Sakha Rama Rao was a "musicians' musician" and trained many great artists like Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer is considered to be one of the greatest Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century...
. Soon there were several others who started performing on the chitravina (gotuvadyam).