The Sorcerer: Vikku Vinayakram's Mastery Over Rhythm
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Finding mention in the ancient Ramayana, the ghatam lived quietly in the background of Carnatic performances for millennia. Vikku Vinayakram changed that.
Born Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram in 1942 in Madras, Vikku came from a lineage of musicians. His father, T.R. Harihara Sharma, a mridangam artist and teacher, founded the Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya in Chennai - an institution now central to rhythm training in South India.
Though Vinayakram initially trained on the mridangam, he was drawn to the Ghatam for its tonal richness and raw physicality.
It wasn’t considered a lead instrument, but Vikku was never one for convention.
By 21, he had already accompanied nearly every major Carnatic vocalist - from M.S. Subbulakshmi and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer to G.N. Balasubramaniam and K.V. Narayanaswamy.
But Vikku was ready to push beyond tradition. In the early ’70s, he joined Shakti, the fusion group led by John McLaughlin and the late tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Their debut album, Shakti with John McLaughlin, presented the ghatam not as a novelty, but as a frontline instrument.
For the first time, the world witnessed an unassuming clay pot hold its own alongside guitars and drums.
Over the next four decades, Vikku toured extensively, collaborating with artists like L. Shankar, George Harrison, and Mickey Hart. He was a core member of Remember Shakti, the band’s later avatar, continuing to innovate well into his sixties and seventies.
In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2014. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award - India’s highest recognition for performing arts, and the Kalidas Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Equally significant is his legacy as a teacher. Vikku served as Principal of the Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya. Among his students is his son, V. Selvaganesh, who now carries the tradition forward.
Now in his eighties, Vikku Vinayakram remains an icon. Those who’ve met him describe him as unassuming and friendly—someone who carries his stature lightly.
His journey has redefined not just the ghatam, but the possibilities of Indian rhythm itself.
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