Erickavu N. Sunil

Erickavu N Sunil (Sunil Narayana) is an Indian Mridangam player.[1][2]

Erickavu N Sunil
Background information
Born15 March
Haripad, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India
Occupation(s)Mridangam artist
InstrumentsMridangam
Years active1987–present
Websiteindeevaram.org

Early life and background

Erickavu N Sunil was born (on 15 March) to K. Narayana Panicker and Late V. Saraswathi Amma in Haripad, Kerala, India. He started learning the Mridangam at the age of four. His initial Gurus were Late Krishnappa Bhagavathar and M S Raju. He had his advanced studies in mridangam from the Legendary Maestro Sangeetha Kalacharya Late Professor Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair.[3]

Musical career

An A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Sunil has accompanied musicians including Padmabhushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Padmasri Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, Padmasri Prof. Parassala Ponnammal, Madhurai G S Mony, Prof: Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, Dr. K. Omanakutty, Prof. K. Venktaramanan, Dr. S. Sowmya, Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna, Dr. Sreevalsan J. Menon, Sankaran Namboothiri, Thiruvengadu Jayaraman, Sharreth, M. Jayachandran, Balabhaskar, etc. among many others. He teaches Mridangam online[4] through Skype, and has students in Germany, US & Middle East.[5] Sunil leads the team "Laya Vadya Sudha"[6]—the "Tala Vadya"—Percussion Ensemble—featuring Indian percussion instruments Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam, Morsing, Tabla, Mizhavu, etc. Sunil had scripted and directed Nadasanjeevani—a unique program on Music Therapy, which was telecasted in Asianet Cable Vision (ACV) as 9 episodes in 2006.

Erickavu N Sunil accompanying Prof. Parassala B. Ponnammal at Doordarshan National Program of Music in 2009
Accompanying T. V. Sankaranarayanan as part of Onam celebrations organized by Government of Kerala in 1995
Performing 'Laya Vadya Sudha' - the percussion ensemble concert at SVBC TV Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in 2019
Accompanying Neyyattinkara Vasudevan in 1996
Accompanying Dr. S. Sowmya at Nishagandhi Music Festival, Trivandrum in 2019

Awards, achievements, and titles
  • He is an A Grade Mridangam artist in All India Radio and Doordarshan.
  • He received the prestigious "Chembai Award" (the award given to outstanding young Mridangam Artist) by Chembai Memorial Trust, Trivandrum in 2006.
  • He received the "Pathiramkulangara Devi Chaithanyashri" title in 2019 from Pathiramkulangara Devi Temple, a major temple in Alleppey District under Travancore Devaswom Board.
  • He was awarded the Junior Research Fellowship by the Department of Culture, Government of India (2011-'12).
  • He was awarded the Senior Scholarship by the Department of Culture, Government of India in (1996-'97).
  • He won first prize and gold medal in Mridangam at the Inter-university National Youth Festival held at Gulburga, Karnataka, during January 1995.
  • He was the winner in Mridangam at Kerala University Youth Festival for four consecutive years (from 1993 to 1997) representing Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum. While at school, he received several prizes.
  • He was nominated as a member in the panel of judges for Mridangam in Kerala State Schools Youth Festival for several years.

Academic studies

He completed schooling from St. Thomas High School, Karthikappally (near Haripad). He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum. He also received a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) degree from College of Engineering, Trivandrum.

Indeevaram Cultural Trust[7]

Indeevaram[2] is a Trivandrum-based cultural trust founded by Sunil in 2018. Indeevaram[8] envisions bringing global talent in the field of classical art forms together to showcase the Indian powerhouse of talents. It is a confluence of art, artists, and the varied hues of India's culture. Indeevaram is aims at bringing together the prodigies and amateurs on the same platform as that of the legends and maestros. Indeevaram intends to do this through multiple approaches.

  • To build a strong online presence to attract classical art talent from across the globe to make this event a one of larger reach.
  • To conduct annual festivals that will bring all talents together.
  • To provide a single platform for Music, Dance, Literature, Traditional Arts, Fine Arts, etc.
  • To give access to Seminars, Talk-Shows, Workshops and Exhibitions.
  • To provide financial assistance to young talents having financial crunch as a motivation to their higher studies in their respective talent area.
  • To provide financial assistance to deserving senior artists.
  • To deliver annual awards to young talents and senior artists.

Personal life

Sunil is a senior IT Professional with more than 18 years of working experience with major IT firms including Ernst & Young in Technopark, Trivandrum. His wife Indu Sunil is a Technical architect at a major IT firm in Technopark, Trivandrum. She is an expert in Aksharaslokam.[9] The couple has two sons, Bhagath Sunand and Bharath Sunand.

References
  1. Chris (19 July 2012). "Techie drummer". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  2. https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/indeevaram-is-a-performance-space-for-artistes/article28173140.ece
  3. "Mridangam player Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair dies". Kaumudiglobal.com. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  4. http://chandrakantha.com/teachers/teach_music_kerala.html
  5. https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/musicians-and-dancers-in-technopark-who-turn-teachers/article29584271.ece
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiYzQ5x0P54&t=1354s
  7. https://indeevaram.org/
  8. https://epaper.thehindu.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=GT362JDR1.1
  9. M., Athira (19 December 2014). "Waxing lyrical over Malayalam". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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