Prof. K. Saraswati Vidyardhi M.A., Ph.D., (Music) is a 'Top' Grade Carnatic Vocalist of AIR & Doordarshan and has been performing vocal concerts extensively for more than three and a half decades in India & abroad. She is also a composer who has composed many Sankeerthanas, Krithis and Varnams. She has won critical acclaim for her intensive research in Anumandra sthayi. She is capable of singing notes below the mandra shadjam upto the anumandra shadjam. Several sabhas and organisations honoured her with awards, titles and accolades.
Born to 'Sangeetha Vidya Nidhi' Sri IVL Sastry & Smt Sita, Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi had her rudiments from her father, the founder of 'Sangeetha Janakulam', a music school where free coaching is offered. Later, she became the disciple of 'Sangita Kala Sagara' Sri Ivaturi Vijayeswara Rao. Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi received advanced training in Carnatic music from 'Sangita Kalanidhi' Dr Nedunuri Krishnamurthy for over two decades. Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi has been awarded the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music for the thesis submitted by her entitled "The Unique Style and Personality of Dr Sripada Pinakapani". During her research, Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi was very fortunate to have learnt the intricacies and finer aspects of Carnatic music from Dr Sripada Pinakapani.
At present, she is a Professor, Chairperson Board of Studies in the Dept. of Music & Dance, Chairman - Faculty of Fine Arts and Member of the Academic Senate of Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. She is a Selection Committee Member and Expert Committee Member for several major Universities in India. She has also authored several Research Papers which were published in reputed music journals like Journal of The Music Academy, Madras. She has been guiding research scholars for more than a decade. Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi brought out CDs entitled 'Varnamritham' (2006), 'Karnamritham' (2006) 'Nadamritham' (2009) & 'Annamayya Sangita Sourabham' (2012). TTD assigned to her a project to compose, conduct and to sing select sankeerthanas of Annamacharya, the CD of which was released by TTD in 2016 entitled 'Annamayya Govinda Pranuthi'. Dr Saraswati Vidyardhi's published works include 2 books which she co-authored with her father Sri IV L Sastry entitled 'Sri Tyagaraja Ghanaraga Pancharatna Krithimala' and 'Sankeerthana Ratnavali', Another book entitled 'Taana Deepika' was published by Sivananda Supatha Foundation in 2019. Her unpublished works include 3 books entitled 'Apurupa Varnamritham', 'Sankeerthana Ratnakaram' and 'Simhagiri Sankeerthanalu'.
Music is an experience, divine one in particular as it can lead you to divinity. It is generally said that experience has no language and just the language cannot give you the experience. But the life and mission of Padma Bhushan Sripada Pinakapani garu has proved the statement wrong. With great effort, dedication and love for the music and for those who practise it, he could gather so much of knowledge about the texts and recordings of so many kinds of music practised in our country and he could transmit them to those who seek it through the language of appropriate notation.
"The unique style and personality of Padma Bhushan and Sangita Kalanidhi Dr Sripada Pinakapani" is the topic for my thesis of Ph.D. In this thesis I tried to throw light on the several aspects of Dr Pinakapani's personality and his music. Dr Pinakapani moulded an intricate style of his own after intensively studying the music performances of eminent carnatic legends like Sarvasree Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer, Rajaratnam Pillai, Govinda Swamy Pillai, Ranga Ramanuja Iyengar, Veena Dhanammal, GN Balasubramaniam, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer etc.
The Indian music being essentially melodic in character, the musical genius of a musician finds a comprehensive expression exclusively through his individual performance as a vocalist or an instrumentalist. He/she is happily free from the need to depend upon a large number of assistants or instruments to achieve musical heights in performance. A singer assisted only by two or three instrumentalists can cast a spell on thousands of listeners by singing extempore. To attend a music concert of South Indian Music is highly aesthetic and spiritual experience for any rasagna. But very few realise that over a hundred years ago the concert was not probably what it is today.
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