| Venmani Haridas | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Venmani Haridas |
| Genres | Kathakali |
| Occupations | Singer |
Kalamandalam Haridas, more popularly known as Venmani Haridas, (1946–2005) was a renowned Kathakali musician noted for his evocative rendition of songs for the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India.[1]
Born on 15 September 1946 in Venmani Mana, a Namboodiri mansion of literary repute in Vellarappilly village east of Aluva off Kochi, Haridas developed interest in Kathakali by watching performances of the classical dance-drama in the neighbouring Akavoor Mana. He was taught the basics in music by Mundakkal Sankara Varrier.
In 1960, he joined the famous Kerala Kalamandalam and learned music under leading Kathakali musicians like Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, Sivaraman Nair and Kalamandalam Gangadharan. In 1968, he joined Darpana, a noted performing arts institute set up the famous danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai in Ahmedabad, as a music teacher. This stint beyond the Vindhyas exposed him to various styles of north Indian renditions, including classical Hindustani music, but made him a rather obscure Kathakali musician back in Kerala.[2]
A decade later, in 1978, Haridas fulfilled his ambition to get back to his home state for good when he was offered the post of music teacher at Margi in Thiruvanathapuram, where subsequently worked for three decades.
Haridas, on his return to the world of Kathakali, began as shinkiti (accompanist singer) on stage, primarily under star musician Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri who groomed him. But eventually his melodious voice, clear enunciation of lyrics and support from friends and senior colleagues like Kalamandalam Hyderali brought out his potential of rising to an eminent lead singer. He retained the essential emotion-laden Sopanam style of Kathakali music rendition even while infusing in it the microtone-heavy voice culture of the south Indian classical Carnatic music.[3]
In his heyday, Haridas was one of the favourite vocal accompanists of masters like Kalamandalam Gopi, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kottakkal Sivaraman [4] and Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody.
Haridas has acted in two Malayalam feature films, Swaham and Vanaprastham,[5] both directed by Shaji N. Karun. He has also appeared in a few television serials.
On 17 September 2005, Haridas died of an acute liver problem in a hospital in Thiruvanathapuram.[6]
A biography of Haridas, titled "Bhava Gayakan", has been published by Rainbow Books. Dr. N.P. Vijayakrishnan is the author.[7] Haridas is survived by his wife Saraswathi and two sons—actor Sharath and Harith.