Tirupanithurai Viswanatha Gopalakrishnan (born 11 June 1932 in Thripunithura, Kerala) is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Chennai.[1]
Gopalakrishnan hails from a family of musicians, spanning over two centuries;[2] his father was a court musician for the Cochin Royal Family.[3] He is a vocalist, plays the violin and is also an exponent of the mridangam.[4] Gopalakrishnan started playing the mridangam at the age of four and had his arangetram at the Cochin palace at the age of six.[5] He is a disciple of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.[5]
His students include Yesudas, Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, Rajkumar Bharati, and Kadri Gopalnath.[5][6] He has also collaborated with drummer/composer Franklin Kiermyer on live performances.[7]
Gopalakrishnan was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990.