Siva?s divine rhythm

Percussionist par excellence Sivamani used the Oriental Taiko drum sound for the Silk concert at the National Stadium.

The percussionist par excellence is a doting father at home. Sivamani’s disdain for convention often acts as a subterfuge to his versatile repertoire. He loves collecting new instruments and the pair of drums he bought on his last trip to Europe has been gifted to his 10-year-old son Kumaran. “He is ready to rock. Kumaran has already performed with AR Rehman for a concert,” announces the proud dad.

As for his five-year-old daughter, Sivamani has adopted a policy his dad pursued: Keep the child away from drumsticks! “But Varshika does have an ear for music,” he smiles.

The flamboyant musician was in town for the Olympic torch relay concert by Silk. Besides him, the band includes seasoned composer Louis Banks, bassist Karl Peters and mridangam maestro Sridhar Parathasarthy. The highlight of the concert was the electrifying Spread the light of freedom with unity as the central theme. “Louise composed the song more than a decade back when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. Along with Mile sur mera tumhara and Desh Raag, it inspired an entire generation of young musicians,” he adds.

Of course, Sivamani has added a dash of innovation to the tune. “I’ve used the Taiko sound with Oriental origins. This is close to what I did in AR Rehman’s new Chinese movie. It was a refreshing change from the sound of cycle bells that I introduced in Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities,” he elaborates.

Silk is planning a few new recordings in the near future and Sivamani himself is all revved up about his new album. “Now that Amma, a tribute to my mother, is on hold, I can come out with Siva’s. I am in communion with Lord Siva when I create a new sound. He thinks of it sitting on the Kailash and I execute it here.” And Siva’s rhythm can’t be anything but divine!

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Beat By Beat Sivamani’s father SM Anandan was a well-known percussionist His wife Krishani is a native of South Africa He carries upto 80 pieces of percussion instruments to concerts at times