Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam (or Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam) (born 25 November 1956) is a mridangam Vidwan from a family of traditional musicians in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. He is currently staying in Chennai.
Dr. Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam is a child prodigy born in the year 1956 in a family of traditional musicians of Thiruvaarur, Tanjore District, Tamil Nadu. He initially began vocal training under his mother Sangeetha Vidushi Smt. T. R. Anandavalli and eventually started playing the Mridangam under the guidance and tutelage of his maternal uncle Mridangam Maestro Thiruvaarur Sri Krishnamurthy in gurukulavasam style. He began accompanying his musician mother in concerts from the age of nine and at the age of sixteen, he moved to Chennai, the cultural hub of Carnatic Music, and started performing widely in all prestigious sabhas and organizations. As a young mridangist, he won a number of prizes in all the sabhas in Chennai. Due to his exceptional talent, the All India Radio gave a double promotion to him when he was promoted from 'B' to 'A' grade, bypassing the 'B high' grade. Soon after this rare achievement, he went on to attain the coveted Top grade from the All India Radio, making him one of the most celebrated artists at a very young age. He also had the rare privilege of playing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games held in Barcelona, Spain in 1992.
Though he belongs to the Tanjore style of playing, he developed his own individual style, which focuses on the overall up-gradation of the concert as a whole and not just the rhythm side alone. He is known for his vigorous and energetic playing and also his expertise in playing for varieties of kritis and compositions. This style makes the concert much more enjoyable to both the listeners and the performers themselves spreading cheer and enthusiasm to everyone, on and off the stage. His playing is admired all over the world by both the lay and the knowledgeable audience. In the year 1984, after hearing him play at the Music Academy in Chennai, Pt. Ravishankar, Sitar Maestro, invited him over to join his ensemble for an international tour.
He has trained an innumerable number of disciples all over the world in his Laya Madhuraa School of Percussion and many of his disciples are star performers accompanying all the top-ranking and popular artists of today. Some of them have their own schools in different parts of India and abroad (New Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Canada, USA, etc.). Many of his students are also teaching at schools and universities.
Dr. Bakthavathsalam holds a formidable achievement of playing for numerous yester-year artists and more importantly, has accompanied THREE generations of musicians in his career. With an illustrious career spanning over FIVE decades, he has accompanied a galaxy of musicians from across the world apart from encouraging and supporting aspiring vocalists and instrumentalists from the younger generation. Dr. Bakthavathsalam has represented the country in many cross-continent and cross-cultural festivals held across the globe as an ambassador of Indian Classical Music and performed alongside many veteran musicians, both from the Indian system as well as many Western and contemporary systems of music.
He has played in a number of fundraising concerts for different social and national issues like the Kargil Fund for the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for India, the Shankara Nethralaya, the Cancer Society, The Banyan, and many others. He has also given a lot of lecture demonstrations and concerts for the youth under the organization SPIC MACAY and has represented ICCR in many musical ventures across the country and around the world, to create awareness and interest in students for classical music.
Sri Bakthavathsalam was attracted to spirituality even as a child and this naturally drew him to all the religious ashrams and mutts in South India. Over the years, he became very close to the heads of several mutts, ashrams, and spiritual Gurus. Naturally, he felt very blessed to be conferred his first title, “Mridanga Vadya Mani” by Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekara Saraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Mutt. He was the youngest to receive this award among many other veterans.
He has been awarded the Sangeeth Natak Akademi award by the President of India and the Kalaimamani award by the Tamil Nadu government. Several Sabhas in Chennai and other places have honored him with Lifetime Achievement awards and titles. He has established a unique outfit of traditional Carnatic music – LAYA MADHURAA “Divine Ensemble” which features traditional instruments like the Nadaswaram, Flute, and other percussion instruments and is much sought after in all social functions.
He is the first classical artist in the South to have an exclusive fan club in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, where his fans conduct music festivals, awareness programs, and other social events in his honor. His contribution to classical Carnatic music in the last fifty years has been tremendous and he hopes to continue this worthy effort in the future for the benefit of society.
For over seven years, Dr. Bakthavathsalam also served as Secretary of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Mummoorthigal Jayanthi Vizha festival held at the Arulmigu Thyagarajaswamy Temple in Thiruvaarur every year, where numerous artists take part and pay their tribute to the great composers and to the great trinity by offering timeless compositions and renderings to thousands that gather inside the temple premises. The whole event is a week long affair of grandeur and celebration of the beauty of Tamizh culture, heritage, and art.