Mridangam vidwan V. Krishna who has been a regular for the past two decades, thinks it is the greatest thing going for discerning music lovers. “The sheer variety on offer, and pleasant ambience for kutcheries –– not to forget the delicacies served outside –– draw music lovers again and again.” The Hindu, December 8, 2011.
The first lecture-demonstration was on the ‘Role of Upa Pakka Vadyams in Concerts' by V. Krishna and his team from Bangalore. Krishna began his lec-dem with a general introduction of pakka vadyams and upa pakka vadyams. In the first part he dealt with each of the upa pakka vadyams - ganjira, ghatam and morsing, their independent stature, history, evolution, their names and their place and form in the various countries of the world. In the second part of the presentation, Krishna demonstrated the role of upa pakka vadyams in concerts. Experts Committee member Prof. Tiruchi Sankran complimented the speaker and mentioned the classification of musical instruments of Natya Sastra. He said sometimes ‘profound silence' is the best accompaniment. Prof. T.R. Subramaniam also complimented the speaker and his accompanists. The session ended with the complimentary remarks by Valayapatti Subramaniam. The HIndu, December 18, 2009.
In 1980, the well-known, late violinist Anoor S Ramakrishna brought together eight musicians — mostly mridangam players — with the idea of creating a percussion ensemble. Thus was born Laya Lahari, which is today a widely known and much-respected 17-member group of musicians which has played at all major Indian cities including prestigious platforms. They are Yashashwi (violin), Pranesh and Praveen Godkhindi (flute), A R D Sharma (mridangam), A V Kashinath (khanjari), T Shrinivas (maddale), A Somashekhar (ghatam), R Sathyakumar (dholki), Udairaj Karpur (tabla), B S Arunkumar (drums), Pramath Kiran (handpercussion), Harsha Samaga (chende), B R Ravikumar (dhol), B Dhruvaraj ((pakhwaj), G Guruprasanna (morching), V Krishna (Panchamashruti Mridangam), and A K Sharma (different percussion instruments). The ensemble plays for different thalas (rhythm cycles) and has successfully blended rhythm and melody to make music which has appeal for laypersons and connoisseurs alike. Bangalore Mirror.
Ninaada, the cultural forum of PESIT, is quite popular with the art and dance lovers in the college...The team is known for inviting veterans in the field of art and music for their performances. Ninaada team comprises 28 members and Prof V Krishna is the faculty co-ordinator. Krishna is also a mridangam artiste and guides the students in every way. Deccan Herald, December 14, 2011.
