Young Voices

Conversations with emerging artists.

With his illustrious lineage, it was inevitable that Chandrasekara Sharma would take to the ghatam as his calling with passion. His career choice will not surprise anyone who knows that he grew up with his uncles, the legendary ghatam maestros T.H. ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram and T.H. Subash Chandran.

Speaking of his earliest memories, he fondly recalls sitting on stage at the tender age of four and listening to his eldest uncle Vinayakram play. Chandru may be just 25 now, but his musical aesthetics and depth of knowledge speak of years of experience.

Excerpts from a recent conversation with him:

When did you start learning the ghatam?

I was very young. My uncle T.H. Subash Chandran has been my first and only guru. As I was always surrounded by music from the time I was born, it is hard for me to recall when my learning truly started. I do not know if there has ever been a time when the ghatam was not part of my life.

With such an early introduction to the ghatam, your first stage performance must have been when you were still a child.

My first stage performance was curated by Sulochana Pattabhiraman for a young Pancharatnam group. It was an unforgettable learning experience not just for me, but also for many other young musicians including vocalists Rithvik Raja and Dharini Kalyanaraman, violinist Parur M.S. Ananthakrishnan and many more.

What is special about the ghatam?