Kuldeep Pai

Kuldeep M. Pai
Born (1982-01-09) 9 January 1982 (age 42)
Thammanam, Kochin, Kerala, India
Occupation(s)Musician
Composer
Carnatic music vocalist
Music producer
YouTube personality
SpouseRoopa Revathi
Websitehttp://kuldeepmpai.com/

Kuldeep Muralidhar Pai (born 9 January 1982), best known as Kuldeep M Pai, is an Indian musician, composer, Carnatic music vocalist, and music producer. His videos are mainly performed by children and are released under his own recording label, Chith Studios.

Early life and education

Pai was born in the Thammanam neighborhood in the heart of Kochi city in Kerala state to V. S. Vijayakumari and G. Muralidhar Pai. His mother tongue is Konkani.[1] He has a younger sister.

Pai completed his schooling in St. Jude's school, CCPLM Anglo Indian High School and Pre-university course (PUC) at Cochin College, Kerala. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Applications in BPC College Piravom, Kochi. He won the 'Kala Pratibha' Award in the Mahatma Gandhi University Youth Festival in 1999.

He was a gold medalist in Masters of Indian Classical Music at University of Madras and also holds a Diploma in Sound Engineering.[2]

He was formally trained by N. P. Ramaswamy, Antony and O. S. Thiagarajan in Carnatic vocals;[3][4] Hariharan in Violin and Ramamurthy in Western Classical Piano. He learned Mridangam from four masters: Dennis, Vaikom S. Gopakumar, Kalamandalam Krishnankutty, and Mannargudi Easwaran. He is a self-taught[5] player of harmonium and flute.

Career

In 2002, Pai moved from Kochi to Chennai along with his family, to begin his career. His voice was praised by P. Vijayambika,[6] though T. T. Narendran said of one concert that "the image of the raga eluded him".[7]

He established a career as a singer of Carnatic music.[8][9][10] He has accompanied the singers O. S. Arun, S. Janaki, and Vani Jairam on harmonium for nearly 300 concerts since 2014. He has also sung for Indian classical dance performances[11] for almost eleven years. He has also provided vocal support for few Indian jingles. From 2015, he began performing online.

Pai is an Ashtavadhani,[12] His album Adviteeya is an experimental album in Carnatic genre[13] where he has sung to his own live accompaniments of violin, mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, tabla, harmonium and melodica. This album was released by his guru O. S. Thyagarajan on 22 November 2006 in Chennai,[13] and singer S. Janaki received the first copy.[14][15]

Music direction and composition

Pai has composed and rendered four songs for a Switzerland-based multi-lingual movie titled “Madly in Love.”[16] He has composed music for dance dramas like “ Janani Jagath Karani” and “Sri Krishna Vaibhavam” produced by Sri Devi Nrithyalaya. He has also had famous songs like Paluke Bangaramayena, Vaishnav Janato, Pibare Rama Rasam, Brahmamokate, Shivashtakam, Mahalakshmi Ashtakam & Ram Govind Hare sung by a young musical artist Rahul Vellal[1] and stotras for his YouTube spiritual music series, 'Vande Guru Paramparaam', including Ganesha Pancharatnam, Shivashtakam, Namo Namo Bharathambe, Shiva Panchaakshara Stotram, Mahalakshmi Ashtakam, Ashtalakshmi Stotram, Bhavani Ashtakam, Rama Ashtakam and other devotional songs. He is currently pursuing training in Western Classical music. He also has many Sanskrit songs including Ashtakam composed by Adiguru Shankaracharya etc.

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Pai received the D. K. Pattammal award of excellence from Karthik Fine Arts.[17][18] He has also received the “Yuvakalabharathi” award from Bharath Kalachar in 2007.[19] Pai also received the 'Social Harmony Award' in the field of music, arts and culture at the International Convention of Peacemakers for Universal Harmony in Goa.[20][21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kuldeep Pai, the Carnatic musician who found an audience on YouTube, talks spirituality, struggles and students". Firstpost. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. ^ Nambudiri, Sudha (19 August 2007). "Kuldeeply Passionate". Indian Express CityExpress Kochi.
  3. ^ "Wide repertoire". The Hindu. 24 August 2007. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Adviteeya, a unique album released".
  5. ^ "Plethora of swaras". The Hindu. 18 January 2008. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. ^ Vijayambika, P. (8 March 2012). "With consummate ease". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ Narendran, T. T. (1 January 2015). "Hits and misses". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. ^ Sivakumar, S. (23 December 2010). "Creative but not overdone". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. ^ Venkatraman, Lakshmi (25 December 2009). "Commendable effort". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  10. ^ Krishnaswamy, Uma; Krishnaswamy, Uma (16 December 2011). "Scoring as a team". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. ^ Nathan, Archana (22 January 2015). "Onus is on the dancer too". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Aesthetic blend of diction and bhava". The Hindu. 1 December 2006. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Adviteeya".
  14. ^ "Adviteeya- a unique album released".
  15. ^ Ramdev, Darshana (6 October 2018). "Rhythm divine: The 12-year-old whose bhajans broke the internet". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  16. ^ Sharanya, Bharathwaj. "Degree Kaapi with Kuldeep M Pai |". www.britishsouthindians.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  17. ^ ""Chennai sabhas need fool-proof security system"". The Hindu. 2 December 2008. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Kartik fine arts fest begins".
  19. ^ "YuvakalaBharathi award".
  20. ^ "ICPUH18 5th Feb Update.aspx". icpuh.pathofdivinelife.org. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  21. ^ prime media goa (5 February 2018), संवसारिक शांतीदूत संम्मेलनाचो समारोप जालो, retrieved 13 February 2018
  22. ^ Bureau, N. T. (2 November 2019). "Singers Sowmya, Kuldeep M Pai get excellence awards". News Today | First with the news. Retrieved 20 November 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)