Velukkudi Krishnan Son (also known as VK) is a master of Canta, Pallavi and Tappu. He began singing when he was five years old and soon gave his first Carnatic concert with the accompaniment of his father. His songs have been performed by various artists including K.J Yesudas, Lakshmi Rajagopalan, Bombay Jayashri, Sudha Raghunathan, T N Seshagopalan and others.The world has been pouring over the recent claims of a retired Tamil professor and his family, who say they are the original owners of Velukkudi Krishnan’s paintings and sculptures. This is in stark contrast to what was previously believed – namely that these works belonged to an unknown German painter. Professor Maliyairavelu maintains he bought the artworks from Krishnan’s widow on their marriage, 60 years ago.
VK did not learn his music at school; he learned it from listening to cassettes of Carnatic musicians that were played in the house. Velukkudi Krishnan son is also an avid student of mathematics and is known to solve hard mathematical problems in his free time. He is also a part-time teacher of math at “Akshara”, a school in Madras.
VK has been awarded the Kalaimamani award by the Tamil Nadu government. In 1999, he was honored with the title ‘Voice of Youth’ by The Music Academy and in the same year, he was awarded ‘Best Newcomer’ at the “Chennai Fine Arts Club Awards”.
Common Myths About Velukkudi Krishnan Son :
1. He is the brother of T.M. Krishna.
He is often confused with Melkote Manjunath. He is a Carnatic musician and also a recipient of various awards including the Padma Bhushan and the Grammy Award,USA. According to some posters, he is a part of a family that comprises two brothers, who are both named TK (one being the older and one the younger) and two sisters, who are named Mala Ramamurthy and Kala Ramamurthy respectively. However, the “Chennai Times” states that he is the son of Veppur Krishnan and that his siblings are Kala Ramamurthy, Mala Ramamurthy and Veena Venkataraman.
2. He has faced discrimination for his caste and religion.
VK has faced a lot of criticism because of his caste and religion (Konar) who is a part of the Vanniyar community. His caste is considered as untouchable in some parts because he is part of the Vanniyar community.
3. He is a part of the music industry.
He doesn’t use photo-shoots or does any publicity for his music. He does his own operation, without helping a doctor and he has a very good control over his stomach problems and can sing in between which makes him an expert singer. He was also selected to represent India when the national band was formed in 1985 by Sangeetha Kalaimani during Dr. Rajkumar’s birthday.
4. He is a part of the Kalaimamani award.
He was given the award by the Tamil Nadu government in 1999 and he was honored with it by Muthaih Bhagavathar, who is an acclaimed singer in the Tamil film industry.
Velukudi Krishnan son has been a legendary singer since his childhood and has performed concerts all over India, including Chennai, Bangalore and Kerala. His recordings are popular among connoisseurs of Carnatic music. Some of his popular songs include “Pallavi”, “Keeravani” (Shanmukhapriya) and “Sara Sibai”. His rendition of “Nee daya pookkal” is a popular recording.
VK’s singing has been praised by several leading Carnatic musicians. Carnatic violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman has said “We have T.M.Krishna and V K Son, who are successful in the international arena”. K. J. Yesudas described him as “a classic among classics” and said that he was “Inspired by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan” and that VK was his “ideal singer” .
5. He is taught by Sangeetha Kala Nilayam director Kalaimamani Sangeetha Kalanidhi Pazhanivasan.
He is a part of the music industry. He has been teaching music for the past 19 years and has taught more than 2000 people in singing, carnatic music and mathematics. He is called as “Sangeetha Kalanidhi” and he runs his own school named “Akshara”. Pallavi Music School which is run by VK was inaugurated by PadmaShri Dr M L Vasanthakumari on October 23, 2016 at Vadapalani in Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
6. He was born in a village named Velukkudi which is in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.
He was given the award by the Tamil Nadu government in 1999 and he was honored with it by Muthaih Bhagavathar, who is an acclaimed singer in the Tamil film industry.
7. He had given his first performance at five years of age.
VK is a great teacher and has introduced many singers in the industry. He has also inspired many students to become singers. Some of his famous students are Monisha, Jeevan and many others. Melkote Manjunath (born 1971) is a Carnatic vocalist from Karnataka who specializes in the Cauyākathā (story telling) style of singing.
