- Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, the legendary Bharatnatyam dancer is a rare combination of a dancer, research scholar, choreographer, music composer & musician, teacher and author. Padma Subramanyam enchants spectators with perfect movements and hand gestures, timing, original ideas and emotes beautifully with her face. She imparts her immense knowledge to others by teaching dance, conducting workshops, giving lectures, doing research and writing articles This multi-faceted and talented artist is famous in India as well as abroad, and several films and documentaries have been made in her honour by countries like Japan, Australia and Russia.
- This eminent Bharatnatyam Dancer was born on 4th February 1943 in Chennai. She was born to an internationally reputed famous filmmaker, freedom fighter and a parental personality in the cultural field father K. Subramanyam and a music composer, lyricist in Tamil and Sanskrit, dancer, and instrumentalist mother Meenakshi. Padma grew up in an environment where both her parents were artistically inclined.
- She started to learn dance at 'Nrutyodaya' under the guidance of a teacher named Kausalya. "Nrutyodaya" is a dance school that was founded by her father in the year 1942 of which she is the director presently. Later, she came under the wings of guru Vazhuvoor Ramaiah Pillai. Padma Subramanyam's first public performance known as "Arangetram" (first performance) was in the year 1956. After that, there was no looking back. She gave innumerable performances in concerts all over the world. She has had several gurus, especially during her research- Guru Dandayuthapani Pillai and the various Devadasis from whom she learned ' adavus', Gowri Ammal from whom she learnt 'abhinaya' being some of them. Padma has also trained in music under B.V. Lakshman and Salil Chaudhry.
- She also continued her education side by side. Dr. Padma Subramanyam has a Bachelor's degree in Music, a Master's in Ethno Musicology and a Ph.D. in dance from Annamalai University. She did her thesis on 'Karanas in Indian dance and sculpture' as a research scholar. Karanas are the basic units of dance. Her research highlighted the fact that the 108 Karanas are actually movements and not just static poses. As she asserts 'the twin arts of dance and sculpture developed together in close spiritual association with the concept of the Divine Being himself as a dancer in Tamilnad. The fusion of these two arts dates back to the dawn of our civilization. The figure of a dancer unearthed in Mohenja-daro of proto-historic India explains the genetic relationship between the various dance styles of India. The pose of this icon is still found in the varied dances of our country. Proper preservation of the dance sculptures in the country is an immediate necessity. Spoiling them by whitewashing and covering them by careless constructions should be ruthlessly prohibited'. She has also designed the sculptures of the 108 Karanas of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati in black granite for the Nataraja temple at Satara in Maharashtra.
- Dr. Padma Subramanyam has given several solo and group presentations such as ' Meenakshi Kalyanam', ' Viralimalai Kuravanji', 'Silappadikaram', ' Vande Mataram' etc. She has also composed music for most of her compositions and sung for a couple of albums. 'Pushpanjali' as a dance piece was introduced by her. Padma was the first dancer to use a 'Meera bhajan' to be scored to suit the grammar of 'Pada Varnam'. She has also composed the first Bengali Varnam, of which Salil Chaudhury was the lyricist. She has reactivated the mono-acting technique in her dance dramas. She has authored numerous articles, research papers, books and travelogues to her credit like 'Bharata's Art - then and Now', 'Bharatakkalai Kotpadu' in Tamil, 'Natya Sastra and National Unity' and 'Kanchi Mahaswami's Vision of Asian Culture'. She has written many articles that have been compiled as "Legacy of a Legend".
- This versatile dancer Padma Subramanyam has received many awards and honours to her credit including 'The Padma Bhushan' in 1983, 'Padmashri' in 1981, The 'Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1983, 'The Kalaimamani Award' from Govt. of Tamilnadu, 'Kalidas Samman' from Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 'Nada Brahmam' from Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai, 'Bharata Sastra Rakshamani' and Nehru Award in1983 of the Soviet Union so on. Padma Subramanyam has also received the prestigious 'Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize' from Japan for her contribution to development and harmony in Asia. She has served as a non-official member of the Indo-Sub Commission for Education and Culture.
CURATOR, TATWA-TANTU RETREAT
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Experience
• Curated and organised two iconic annual festivals since 2010- Gudiya Sambrahma - the Bengaluru Temple Festival conducted for 5 weekends across Heritage temples showcasing over 50 artists of renown from across the country and Srishti Sambhrama, the Earth Mother Festival for eco-sensitive young adults.
• Organized Divya Varna for four years, a Traditional Indian art exhibition in temple venues, displayed by over 35 artists of renown.
• Two decades in Bharatanatyam performances, created and produced dance productions, scripted themes for productions
• Two and half decades ran Chinmaya Yuva Kendra classes,
• Involved in philanthropic and social welfare-driven activities including the provision of a daily mid-day meal scheme for rural school
• Five Years: involved with Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s ( Arsha Vidya Peetha) work of organizing workshops and interactions with intellectuals and writers
• Two years: Member of the Central Board of Film Censors under Anupam Kher
• Four Years: Member of the National Advisory Board of Philately
• Has organized The Heritage Drive a unique motorsport event. A coming together of TSD Motorsport, heritage sites, culture and tree planting. Two 1000 km 3-day drives, one 300 km two-day drive and two 250 km one-day drives.
• Written and conceptualized short stories for children Katha Parampara, authored and published “Forever There” A historical fiction and presently writing yet another historical fiction
Qualifications and Positions Currently held
• Vijayalakshmi has learnt Bharathanatyam for decades. She is a graduate in Literature, Psychology and Economics.
• Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar is the founder secretary of Heritage a not-for-profit trust working in the field of cultural and natural heritage education and social welfare.
• Director of the Indica Centre for Soft Power
• Managing Director of Vigirom Pvt. Ltd., (Fragrance and Aroma Raw Material Company) Director of Madhavi Greens Pvt Ltd (Organic Farm)
• Member of the Commission for Sustainability under the Federation of Motorsport Club of India
Key skills and strengths:
• Cultural sensitivity and organizational leadership in the cultural space: Wide-ranging, multi-dimensional career in dance performance, and production, showing superior and versatile skills required to bring out meaningful cultural experiences for varied audiences. Student of Vedanta.
• Strategic Leadership and Communications: Vijayalakshmi’s leadership instincts and acumen were demonstrated in the several decade-long cultural events she has been organizing to great appreciation across India.
• Originality in the creation of cultural activities: Her unique interests include flying a powered aircraft (the first woman to do cross-country flight in Karnataka) playing state-level softball, being on the Central Film and Censor Board, The National Advisory Board for Philately, dabbling in freelance design and copyright, come together in organizing and curating many unique events that bring together several knowledge verticals.
Phone: +919845077999. Email: [email protected]
• Curated and organised two iconic annual festivals since 2010- Gudiya Sambrahma - the Bengaluru Temple Festival conducted for 5 weekends across Heritage temples showcasing over 50 artists of renown from across the country and Srishti Sambhrama, the Earth Mother Festival for eco-sensitive young adults.
• Organized Divya Varna for four years, a Traditional Indian art exhibition in temple venues, displayed by over 35 artists of renown.
• Two decades in Bharatanatyam performances, created and produced dance productions, scripted themes for productions
• Two and half decades ran Chinmaya Yuva Kendra classes,
• Involved in philanthropic and social welfare-driven activities including the provision of a daily mid-day meal scheme for rural school
• Five Years: involved with Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s ( Arsha Vidya Peetha) work of organizing workshops and interactions with intellectuals and writers
• Two years: Member of the Central Board of Film Censors under Anupam Kher
• Four Years: Member of the National Advisory Board of Philately
• Has organized The Heritage Drive a unique motorsport event. A coming together of TSD Motorsport, heritage sites, culture and tree planting. Two 1000 km 3-day drives, one 300 km two-day drive and two 250 km one-day drives.
• Written and conceptualized short stories for children Katha Parampara, authored and published “Forever There” A historical fiction and presently writing yet another historical fiction
Qualifications and Positions Currently held
• Vijayalakshmi has learnt Bharathanatyam for decades. She is a graduate in Literature, Psychology and Economics.
• Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar is the founder secretary of Heritage a not-for-profit trust working in the field of cultural and natural heritage education and social welfare.
• Director of the Indica Centre for Soft Power
• Managing Director of Vigirom Pvt. Ltd., (Fragrance and Aroma Raw Material Company) Director of Madhavi Greens Pvt Ltd (Organic Farm)
• Member of the Commission for Sustainability under the Federation of Motorsport Club of India
Key skills and strengths:
• Cultural sensitivity and organizational leadership in the cultural space: Wide-ranging, multi-dimensional career in dance performance, and production, showing superior and versatile skills required to bring out meaningful cultural experiences for varied audiences. Student of Vedanta.
• Strategic Leadership and Communications: Vijayalakshmi’s leadership instincts and acumen were demonstrated in the several decade-long cultural events she has been organizing to great appreciation across India.
• Originality in the creation of cultural activities: Her unique interests include flying a powered aircraft (the first woman to do cross-country flight in Karnataka) playing state-level softball, being on the Central Film and Censor Board, The National Advisory Board for Philately, dabbling in freelance design and copyright, come together in organizing and curating many unique events that bring together several knowledge verticals.
Phone: +919845077999. Email: [email protected]
- Architect Meera Natampally has worked on huge projects in the areas of Public and private projects, Culture and heritage projects and Research.
- She is an Adjunct faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), IISC and worked on DST’s India Digital Heritage project.
- She has extensively worked on research related to heritage and published papers at top conferences in the world. She is working as a Domain expert in the area of Heritage for the National Institute of Design (NID).
- She has been appointed as Heritage Architect for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and Consultant for TATA Projects Ltd, India.
- She has taught in various institutions for more than two decades. She has been on various committees related to Heritage and Art.
- “Dr Rangan teaches the essence of Dharma and the true vision of Dharmic life … wonderfully and engagingly...reawakening the soul of India in the modern age.” – Dr David Frawley, Founder, American Institute of Vedic Studies “Shri Ranganji has lived and experienced each verse and has touched the heart of the sage Valmiki.
- Hence, he is unlike those scholars who hold research alone as their focus of studies and who would have read the Ramayana only for the limited sake of their research.” – Shri Ramanacharana Thirtha Brahma Shri Nochur Venkataraman - Vedanta-exponent “Dr Rangan has taken upon himself the Bhagirathic task of taking Ramayana into all the people without in any way diminishing or diluting its values.
- With Dr Rangan, the deep scholarship of traditional texts along with a vast knowledge of modern narratives becomes an instrument of Bhakti that in no way compromises academic rigor.
- Scholar-saints soaked in Bhakti and traditional wisdom while being well aware of modern narratives are rare. Dr. Rangan is one such precious scholar of wisdom.
- Dr Vishwanath M V currently serves as a Guest Lecturer in the department of Alankara Shastra, Government Maharaja Sanskrit College, Mysuru. He is also serving as an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Heritage Sciences at IIT-Hyderabad. His thesis titled Śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇe Saṃvādavimarśaḥ was awarded a PhD from BHU, Varanasi in the year 2018.
- He has three MA degrees in the subjects Sanskrit, Alaṅkāraśāstra and Phalita Jyautiṣam. His research areas include Sanskrit literature, Rāmāyaṇa, Sāmkhya Philosophy, Arthaśāstram, Nimitta, Śakuna and Phalita Jyautiṣam. He is currently giving a series of lectures on ten principal Upanishads.
- He is currently the Principal Investigator of a research project titled Demarcation of Rāmakathā through Samvāda funded by the IKS division of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
- He has published four research papers in referred journals. He has also contributed four chapters in the Kannada translation of Mānasollāsa published by Karnataka Sanskrit University, Bangalore. He has presented research papers in many seminars and conferences.
- He has also delivered several talks on Sāṃkhya, Jyautiṣam and Bhagavadgītā. Series of talks on Kumārasambhavam and Śiśupālavadham in Sanskrit, Kuvalayānanda and Śrimadbhāgavatam in Kannada, Rasagaṅgādhara in Hindi are being made available on YouTube channel Guruguhalahari.
Dr Vishwanath-Email- [email protected]-mobile 9035500108
- Hailing from a traditional south Indian family
- Aerospace Engineer by profession having a master's degree(Electronics & Controls) from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
- Retired from HAL and consulting with Tata Consultancy Services.
- Developed interest in astrology and did the Jyothish Visharad course from the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences(founded by late Dr BVRaman), Bangalore.
- Teaching Vedic Astrology over the past 30 years under initially ICAS, and later, Bharativa Jvothisha Sansthan(late Dr S Krishna Kumar) at Bharativa Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore.
- Involved in creating syllabus and 3-year program of study of Jyothish for BJS.
- Participated in several seminars/conferences. Received several awards from ICAS and other organisations.
- Delivered talks on 'modern science and astrology' on several occasions.
- Written several articles for the Astrological Magazine and other publications(Star Teller)
- Part of the committee set up to create a uniform panchanga as there is confusion due to several Hindu calendars in different parts of the country.
- Offered workshops and courses on Tarot, Numerology, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Qualifications and professional details
1. B.E. (Electrical Engineering), M.E.(Electronics ), Member Aeronautical Society of India
2.Qualifications in astrology: Iyothish Praveen, Iyothish Visharad
3. Family associations with astrology: From a traditional family with a strong belief in astrology.
4. Awards and recognition: Jyothish Kovida, Ivothish Bhanu, Jyothir Diggaia, Jyothir Inana Acharya.
5. Books published: Edited 3 books, Bhaja Govindam, Sadhana Panchakam. &Ashtanga Yoga
6. Articles written: Number of articles in Astrological Magazine, Vedic Astrology, Star Teller, etc. on Nadi, natal chart financial analysis, astrology and modern science, Past Life Regression, Data Science and Astrology etc.
7. Subiects handled with favourites if any: Astronomy, Shadbalas, Composite Techniques, Marriage Matching, Dasha Systems, Counseling, Tarot etc.
8. Current research interests: Esoteric astrology, NLP, Counseling
9.Other interesting information/ remarkable success stories: Conducted a one-day workshop on applications of shad balls. Conducted workshops on Tarot and Numerology. Active participation in several conferences, seminars and workshops.
10. Contact details: 71706, Nikoo Homes, Bhartiya City, Thanisandra Main Road, Bangalore- 560064
- Rajeev hailing from a Musical family started his early initial training under Vidushi R. A. Chingamani and proceeded for further training under Ganakalabhushana Vidushi Dr. R. A. Ramamani.
- With additional guidance from his uncle Ganakalabhushana Vidwan. T. A.S. Mani, has taken part in state-level competitions and has been honoured with the Prathibha Karanji State Award and Veena Sheshanna Youth Artist Award.
- He has performed at various prestigious places such as Madras Music Academy, Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Mylapore Fine Arts, etc.
- Inquisitive to explore different genres of music such as Jazz, Fusion of Carnatic progressive Rock and delivering performances at Hard Rock Cafe, Fandom, Strawberry Fields etc.
- Completing experimental research in ‘Complex ragas in a Cozy way’ , He has inculcated the same into many Musical academies’ curricula.
Dr. Vinayachandra BanavathyAssociate Professor
Specialisation: Psychological insights in the Vedas, Sanskrit, English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology.
Specialisation: Psychological insights in the Vedas, Sanskrit, English, Yogic Science and Applied Psychology.
- Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy, being one of the members of the Founding Team of the Chanakya University, currently holds the position of the Director – Communications and as the Director -Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems at the University. He is also a Co-founder of Indica Yoga, a platform that offers authentic, immersive and transformative yoga experiences across the world. Recently, he has set up Ritambhara Retreat, an idyllic space for contemplation and learning close to Bengaluru city.
- Dr.Vinayachandra is a dedicated teacher who has been traveling across the world conducting courses, lectures and workshops with a unique blend of Yoga, Psychology and Sanskrit.
- He has had the privilege of being a tutor at the European Union of Yoga Congress, Zinal, Switzerland during the years 2013 and 2014. He was also the Guest of Honour at the same event in 2017. He has also served as a visiting faculty at the Department of Contemplative and Behavioural Sciences at Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Orissa
- Vinayachandra brings with him nearly two decades of rich experience in the domains of research, teaching and policy formulation owing to his varied engagements. He has served as a Senior Consultant to the Committee – to Draft the National Educational Policy (NEP) under the chairmanship of Dr. K. Kasturirangan – set up by Ministry of Education, Govt. of India;
- He has also served as the Director of Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, a Bengaluru-based research centre dedicated to Sanskrit and Shastric studies; Research Associate at Development Foundation, Bengaluru; Research Associate and Head of Centre for Indian Psychology, Jain University, Bengaluru and Research Associate at Karnataka Knowledge Commission, Govt. of Karnataka. Lecturer, Dept. of Sanskrit, Jain College, Bengaluru and Lecturer, Dept. of Yoga and Spirituality, SVYASA Yoga University, Bengaluru.
- His publications include a report on Standardization of Yoga Terminologies for WHO; a book co-edited with Dr. Anuradha Choudry titled ‘Perspectives on Indian Psychology’, published by Jain University Press. Another book co-authored titled ‘Happiness: Indic Perspectives’ was published by Development Foundation – besides a few articles, papers, booklets on Yoga, Indian Psychology, Culture and Spirituality.
HEMAVATHI BHATT
An M.Sc in Chemistry, has been working in Vigirom Pvt Ltd a fragrance and aroma raw material company as Production Head for a decade. Email: [email protected] |
SWAMI SADATMANANDA SARASWATI
Swamiji was born in 1962 in Gujarat state. His spiritual pursuit started at a young age which finally led him to Vedanta. After completing his education in engineering, he joined a three year course at Baroda in 1986 under Swami Brahmatmananda, a student of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He got his brahmacarya-diksha in 1989 and later continued his studies with Swami Visharadanandaji at Swami Dayananda Ashram at Rishikesh. During this period, he was privileged to study under Pujya Swamiji. He was initiated into sannyasa in 1997 by Pujya Swamiji and given the name Swami Sadatmananda. |
Swamiji was the acarya at Arsha Vidya Kendra, Bangalore from 1994 to April 2014. The center was later registered as Arsha Vidya Kendra Trust with Pujya Swamiji as the paramount trustee and Swamiji as the chairman. He conducted classes at the Kendra on Upanishads, Brahmasutra, BhagavadgIta, Puranas, Sanskrit and other texts. He also conducted weekly classes for children and young adults. His love for studying the sastra and understanding it in-depth, is a quality that all his students value and strive to imbibe. A lot of people were benefited from his teaching and from the various social activities initiated by him in the span of 20 years.
From 2011 to 2013, at the invitation of the Mahamandaleswar of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh, he annually visited Rishikesh and taught Upanishad and other vedantic texts there, in Hindi with Bhashyam and Tika.
In 2013, Pujya Swamiji suggested that he conduct the next course at Coimbatore. Accordingly, in May 2014, under the guidance of Pujya Swamiji, a three month course followed by a three year residential course in Vedanta and Sanskrit was started at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore with Swamiji as the Chief Acarya. Swamiji conducted daily classes in Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahmasutra and other texts. The course was completed in 2017.
After the completion of the long term course, he conducted some retreats and regular classes on Bṛhadāraṇyaka-Upaniṣad bhāṣyam for about two years.
Later in 2020, Swamiji started a 108 day residential course on Tattvabodha and Bhagavad Gītā which was followed by a two year residential course on Vedanta which concluded in Mar 2022.
Since then, Swamiji has been conducting short term residential retreats, and also daily classes on Vedanta texts at the Gurukulam. In addition, Swamiji is presently conducting an informal course in the traditional gurukulam-style, involving an in-depth study of Vedanta and related texts, for a few brahmacharis selected from the previous course.
Swamiji has been teaching for over 3 decades. He is a very versatile teacher who can reach out to a wide variety of audience both young and old. He is well-versed in Sanskrit and applies it in the study of Bhashyam. He is committed to convey the message of the sastra to his students with depth and clarity. His teaching style is simple, clear and with a lot of examples. He can teach with ease in English, Sanskrit, Hindi and Gujarati. He is a caring teacher, always ready to help. He is a great inspiration to his students for living a life in keeping with śāstra.
From 2011 to 2013, at the invitation of the Mahamandaleswar of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh, he annually visited Rishikesh and taught Upanishad and other vedantic texts there, in Hindi with Bhashyam and Tika.
In 2013, Pujya Swamiji suggested that he conduct the next course at Coimbatore. Accordingly, in May 2014, under the guidance of Pujya Swamiji, a three month course followed by a three year residential course in Vedanta and Sanskrit was started at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore with Swamiji as the Chief Acarya. Swamiji conducted daily classes in Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahmasutra and other texts. The course was completed in 2017.
After the completion of the long term course, he conducted some retreats and regular classes on Bṛhadāraṇyaka-Upaniṣad bhāṣyam for about two years.
Later in 2020, Swamiji started a 108 day residential course on Tattvabodha and Bhagavad Gītā which was followed by a two year residential course on Vedanta which concluded in Mar 2022.
Since then, Swamiji has been conducting short term residential retreats, and also daily classes on Vedanta texts at the Gurukulam. In addition, Swamiji is presently conducting an informal course in the traditional gurukulam-style, involving an in-depth study of Vedanta and related texts, for a few brahmacharis selected from the previous course.
Swamiji has been teaching for over 3 decades. He is a very versatile teacher who can reach out to a wide variety of audience both young and old. He is well-versed in Sanskrit and applies it in the study of Bhashyam. He is committed to convey the message of the sastra to his students with depth and clarity. His teaching style is simple, clear and with a lot of examples. He can teach with ease in English, Sanskrit, Hindi and Gujarati. He is a caring teacher, always ready to help. He is a great inspiration to his students for living a life in keeping with śāstra.
Vinay VaranasiVinay Varanasi is an immersive storyteller who compels you to listen as he tells stories of God and Goddess. He tells the tales in English, and it's like seeing them come alive through a fresh pair of eyes. Hailing from Bengaluru, Vinay straddles many worlds with aplomb. He is an architect and design researcher by profession (hes the co-founder of Unbind, a design education startup), a classical music lyricist, a painter, and a storyteller. As a self-taught artist, Vinay also found that the most powerful way to tell stories is through art. Having learnt to play the veena from his Guru Smt Kashi Vishalakshi, who introduced him to the power of lyrics and started writing lyrics for musicians. He mainly writes pallavis predominantly in Sanskrit, but also in Telugu and Kannada.
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B VIJAY GOPAL
B.Vijayagopal started learning flute at the tender age of four after displaying prodigious talent in music by being able to sing ragas in any given scale and swaraprastharas in various talas for any composition he heard. His talent was propitiously nurtured by his family deeply steeped in music. His early tutelage started at home from his aunt Smt. G.K. Rajeshwari, a presidential award-winning vocalist, and grandfather Sri GV Krishnamoorthy. Vijay gave his first flute recital at the age of six. He was at first trained in flute by Smt.T.R. Navaneetham for seven years. |
He later continued learning from Sri T .S. Sankaran and thereafter from Sri K.V. Ramanujam . It was his great fortune that he came under the guidance of Padma Vibushan Sri Umayalpuram Sivaraman in 2002 and has been blessed with the opportunity of being accompanied by the legend in over fifty concerts. Having begun his initial training in vocal music, Vijayagopal remains true to the gayaki style of Carnatic music and brings about an authentic vocalised style of flute playing. An accomplished singer, he seamlessly blends the intricacies of both vocal and instrumental patterns in flute playing.
His special finger and transposition techniques allow him to explore a range above and below the two and half octaves a normal flute permits. Vijayagopal is an A-grade artiste of All India Radio, Chennai and an impaneled artist on the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) . Apart from being a musician, he also excels in academics. Vijay is a doctor, a post-graduate university topper and a gold medalist in the field of orthodontics from SRM university (ranked among top ten Indian dental colleges) .
Notable Concerts:
Awards:
His special finger and transposition techniques allow him to explore a range above and below the two and half octaves a normal flute permits. Vijayagopal is an A-grade artiste of All India Radio, Chennai and an impaneled artist on the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) . Apart from being a musician, he also excels in academics. Vijay is a doctor, a post-graduate university topper and a gold medalist in the field of orthodontics from SRM university (ranked among top ten Indian dental colleges) .
Notable Concerts:
- National Programme broadcast from the Thirivaiyaru Thyagaraja Utsavam-2014
- Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelan- 2012, Bangalore
- Cleveland music festival
- Swara and Dakshinayan festivals by Banyan Tree Organisation
- Kalasangam, Mumbai
- ICCR Chennai and Bangalore centres
- Sur Banaras - Sangeet Natak Akademi, 2016
Awards:
- Best Flautist - Mylapore fine arts - Awarded by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer - 1998
- Flute Mali award from Sri Ragam Fine Arts - 2002
- Mali award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha for the best artiste in the December season - 2004
- Asthana vidwan of Kanchi Sankara Mutt - 2009
- Youth Award for Excellence - Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Trust - 2010
- KALAIMAMANI Award by the State Government of Tamilnadu - 2016
- Master's in Chemistry from BPGC from KSOU in the year 2013-2014
- Currently, Principal Perfumer & Evaluator at Vigirom Pvt Ltd
Mobile No: 7204486146 Email: [email protected]
- Dr Ramkumar is a lifelong student of Ayurveda and other traditional Indian knowledge systems. Over the last 2 decades, he has given talks and conducted workshops in the Americas, Africa, Europe, Australia and many parts of Asia, propagating health and happiness through Ayurveda.
- Ramkumar is a Founder-Director of Punarnava Ayurveda, an institution committed to “Authentic Ayurveda for Universal Well Being”.
- Punarnava Ayurveda is currently engaged in the creation of vaidyagrama - an experimental green self-sustaining authentic Ayurveda healing community on the outskirts of Coimbatore in SouthIndia. (VaidyaGrama.Com).
- Ramkumar is also on the Board of Directors of The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore), an institution engaged in all round promotion of Ayurveda for 75 years