Wednesday, March 5, 2008

When the violin speaks. Mid Day article 5/March/2008

He’s no different from a teenager who loves hanging out with friends. But give him a fiddle and stick, Aneesh transforms into a mature musician

I’d never met a “prodigy” before. I didn’t know if they’re supposed to exude some kind of an aura that makes everyone around them think that they’re special.

So when I heard of Aneesh, a 17-year-old “prodigy”, a genius at the violin with super control over the strings and so on, I was perhaps expecting more than what met the eye.

He is, after all just 17 — loves his computer, cars, racing, and the usual things one would identify with a boy his age.

Aneesh has his father LSR Vidyashankar as his guru and under his tutelage, performed solo for the first time at the age of eight.

Since then, he’s had several concerts to his credit — with solo performances at ISKCON, Mysore Music Association, Ramanavami festivals, Bangalore Gayana Samaj, Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore Club, Devnandan Ubhayaker Yuva Sangeet Utsav, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, SVN Music Academy, Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat, Percussive Arts Centre, Indian Institute of World Culture, Art festival sponsored by Toursim Dept, Govt of Karnataka amongst others.

With accolades and appreciations under his belt, Aneesh has launched his first album “Pure Expressions” recently; it has some very fashionable tunes such as Vathapi, Jagada Nanda Karaka, Om Jai Jagadeesh and Raghupati Raghava.

Ask him and he’ll tell you that music comes to him naturally. “I wasn’t influenced by my father’s playing or anything. Yes, it’s true that I was inspired by him but I just picked up the instrument by instinct,” says Aneesh. “People say they’ve been moved by my playing.”

Aneesh wants what every musician wants — to impress people with his music, to charm them, make them wonder how a boy his age can play complex tunes with ease. And along with all this, he surely wants the recognition and fame.

A life of a musician can’t be easy — what starts of as an easy achievement gets tougher with time as more and more competition sets in. Aneesh has surely had fortune on his side.

With very little negative feedback to bog him down, he’s found himself at a spot where everyone appreciates him and that, he’ll tell you himself. We just hope it continues to stay that way!

Monday, March 3, 2008

World renowned "YOGA LEGEND" Dr.Bks Iyengar with Prodigy Aneesh Vidyshankar

Belur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Belur, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 89 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.He just turned 90yrs this december.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.Here with Prodigy Aneesh Vidyashankar ,guru Vidyashankar and mother Jyothi after a concert at the fecilitation of Dr Bks iyengar at the Ramatheertha seva forum and the Nirmala Yoga Kuteeram at Bangalore on the 28th Feb 2008.