Scholar Reviews About the Art Centre  


                        


“I appreciate the excellent work done in the field of Taala”

- Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, Bombay

“The Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore, under the able direction of Sri Bangalore K. Venkataram deserves all compliments, for having undertaken to print and publish Taala Sangraha. I am sure that this will be a very valuable contribution to the field of music.”

- Padmabhushan Dr. V. Doreswamy Iyengar

“The Percussive Arts Centre formed some years back to make people better informed about this area of music. This Centre through series of programmes including papers, demonstrations etc., has highlighted the manifold aspects of Taala and Laya as to inform even lay people. Some of them have been published in the forms of monographs. But the major event is Annual Thaalavaadyotsavas where emphasis is on Taala and Laya. Perhaps, this is the only such Festival held in the country”.

- Justice E.S. Venkataramiah.

“As I see from Delhi, This conference has a significance and a validity beyond what has been discussed here. I can say so with some authority as I am here, presently chairing a Committee in UNESCO, which is having very knowledgeable discussions on cultural dimensions of development. It would also be appropriate to me that the establishment of Percussive Arts Centre itself has been an important event. The development of the Centre within a short time to the present status, we owe to Venkataram. Bangalore and Venkataram have become inseparable. Institutions like the Percussive Arts Centre, Seminars and Conferences such as of today, I am sure contributing a great deal towards these objectives”.

- J. Veeraraghavan, Delhi

It is noticed that the Percussive Art Centre has been striving to enlighten the general public on the proper appreciation of the art of Laya and highlight the contribution of Layavaadyakaras. I wish well in their sincere efforts to promote the interest in Laya”.

- Padma Vibhushan Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna

“To my knowledge, there does not appear to be any periodical exclusively devoted to these (pursuance of the cause of promotion of Laya and Taala) aspects of music and your venture will go a logn way in bridging this gap and in giving emphasis to the Laya and Taala, which are so essential in perception, preservation and propagation of music”.

- H. Kamalanath, President, Bangalore Gayana Samaja.

“The Percussive Arts Centre has been doing Yeomen services in the promotion and dissemination of greater awareness and the knowledge of various aspects of percussive arts and instruments”

- Sangeetha Kalanidhi R.K. Srikantan

“Percussive Arts Centre who have been organizing planned programmes to highlight the role of Laya in music have been doing remarkable service in this direction and I wish the Centre an precedented success in there efforts. I here by record my deep singe of appreciation of your venture of promoting the cause of performing arts and artistes.

- Dr. K.N. Bhowmick, Prof. Dept of Applied Mathematics,

Institute of Technology, B.H.U, Varanasi

“The object of the Percussive Arts Centre is to highlight these distinct characters and the fascinating world opened up by these instruments and make the people really conscious of the vast potentialities of these instruments and the beauty they reveal. Through numerous programmes, the Centre has highlighted interesting features and landmarks of this fascinating rhythmic world during these past several years. Even the range and quantum of the present collections itself is an achievement which is certainly a valuable contribution in the realm of rhythm in Indian music.  Seminars where different Taalavadyas are taken up as the main subjects, is a gray area not only to music enthusiasts but also musicians themselves. The instruments are studied from different angles like the Historical, Technical, Scientific, and Aesthetic etc. These seminars, not only enlighten the public but also enrich knowledge available about these instruments and this leads to further improvements”.

- Sangeetha Kalarathna B.V.K. Sastry

“Quarterly Newsletter of the Percussive Arts Centre is really good and fine that such a newsletter comes out from Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore”.

- Padmasree Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman

“All in all, Thaalavaadyotsavas was a very useful festival, one which has made the need and presence of an institution devoted to Taalavadya felt emphatically. There is no doubt that it has attracted the attention of fresh blood which should augur well both for our classical music and the Centre in particular, which means the purpose of the festival has been served. The musical tree in India has tow basic divisions – Raga and Taala, while raga governs its melodic element, Taala helps to maintain the balance. Yet taa has not received as much attention on the academic level. It is to fill these lacunae that the Percussive Arts Centre was founded. In a short span, the Centre, which is only one of its kind in the country, has done pioneering work in creating awareness on the various aspects of the system as also the characteristics of the different percussion instruments or Taalavadyas”.

- Karnataka Kalaathilaka S.N. Chandrasekhar

“The cause you are trying to promote is admirable. I have the greatest regard for the art of rhythm Yours is the only institution of its kind in the country, at best there is no parallel of it in North India”.

- Prof. S.K. Saxena, Roopnagar, Delhi

Services rendered by the Percussive Arts Centre, to the fulfillment of the percussive arts of India is unparalleled in India. During these years the Centre has placed the Maestros of the Mridangam in equal status with the Vocalist, honored their art and dedication with awards and public acclaim. Along with the practice of the art, the Science of the art and the synthesizer of Laya and Taala have been the topics of Lec-dems, helping deeper understanding and appreciation of this art.

The Centre remains very active through the year, as one can ee from the number of programmes organized in a year. It covers a wide span of artistic and education oriented events.

- Prof. R.C. Mehta
Indian Musicological Society, Baroda

The Centre has already done well in the cause of Percussive art and its research. My best wishes to the Art Centre, with fond hope that its progress would be better and higher still with march of time.

- Gana Kala Bhushana A. Subba Rao

Your Centre for percussion arts has been doing yeoman service to the appreciation of music for several years. It is clear from the dedication if hard working people like you in Bangalore, that the Centre is recognized as a premier institution for Taala Vaadya. The list of publications from the Centre and the galaxy of worthy awardees that have been recognized by the Centre are very impressive indeed

- A. Madhav, Pittsburgh, USA

I observed that the whole team of PAC is fully devoted for up-keep of Indian Percussive art with disciplined zeal, positive spirit, modesty and creative mind. To the best of my knowledge PAC, Bangalore is the only institution think and work in support of Percussive arts and Percussionists of Indian music

- Pandit L.D. Dixit
Former Director of Programmes (Music)
Directorate General, All India Radio, New Delhi

K. Venkataram through the PAC has been doing a great contribution to the understanding and propagation of the Percussive Arts, Instruments, and concepts relating to Taala and Laya. I am all admiration for the activities of the Centre and am only too happy to associate myself with its academic projects.

- Prof. Dr. N. Ramanathan
Head, Dept of Music, University of Madras

I am astounded at your energy and drive. Your day appears to have 48 hours. By concentrating on one subject viz. Percussion; you have placed it on the musical map of the world. To my knowledge there is no institution like the percussive Arts Centre anywhere in the world, not a periodical exclusively devoted to percussion. You have beaten hollow Buddy Rich, the American percussion king who collected 400 different kinds of drum from all over the world.

- Sangeetha Kala Acharya T.S. Parthasarathy.

National and state level awards are instituted for percussion masters. Biographies of the maestros of yester years are being published. The work being done by the Percussive Arts Centre of Bangalore in this direction deserves a special mention.

- Prof. Dr. R. Sathyanarayana