M. Chandrasekaran Biography 
M. Chandrasekaran is a leading violin artist from Tamil Nadu. Belonged to a traditional family of musicians, he has spent more than 6 decades in the field of music and is a violin artist in Carnatic music tradition. This acclaimed violinist is visually impaired. But he creates great wonders on the music instrument – violin. He was the first recipient of the M. S. Subbulakshmi Award instituted by The Hindu in December 2005. Known as an excellent composer, he also served as faculty in music in Palakkad Music College and has served as a Visiting professor too. The artist feels that he achieved more than what he could have with eye sight.
He was born on 11 December 1937. He was born in Kolkata and his early days were spent in Kanpur. lHe was struck by a severe form of jaundice before he turned two and his mother was forced to remove his eyes to avoid further damages. He started recognizing ragas at the age of three. His mother Charubala Mohan, a talented carnatic musician taught him violin. Before long she learnt Braille script and taught him also. Most surprisingly his mother is his only guru in this music instrument. His mother took extra effort to teach him how to place violin and balance it. Within a short time span he learnt the essence of music though he had initial days of hard work. He lost his father at the age of 7.
He gave his first public performance at the age of 11, where he performed at Thiagaraja Vidwath Samajam, Mylapore in 1949. The following year he earned the best young violinist prize from the prestigious Madras academy. Since then he has performed live as a solo artist and accompanist. Ariyakudi, Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer, GNB, Madurai Mani, flute Mahalingam, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, N. Ramani etc are the leading names of Carnatic music whom he has accompanied.
Published: N/A
Updated: March 20, 2016
