Sikkil Gurucharan

Sikkil C. Gurucharan (born 21 June 1982) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He is the grandson of Sikkil Kunjumani, elder of the internationally acclaimed flautists the Sikkil Sisters. Gurucharan has been under the tutelage of Vaigal S. Gnanaskandan and is currently being mentored by Shri B. Krishnamurthy. He is an A grade All India Radio artist. The magazine India Today featured him among 35 Game Changers Under (the age of) 35 in India, a list of young achievers from different walks of life.

In 2020, he acted in a Tamil anthology film, Putham Pudhu Kaalai.

Early life Gurucharan's tonal perfection (sruti suddham) as a five-year-old led to him learning vocal music, despite being born to a family of flautists. He received initial lessons in music from his mother Mythili, and later received advanced training from S. Gnanaskandan, a disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

Education and initial career Sikkil Gurucharan was a student of Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School and was adjudged Best Outgoing Student. He received a master's degree in Financial Management from Loyola College in 2004.

Music as a profession

Sikkil Gurucharan's first concert was held at the Music Academy, under the aegis of the Gnanaskandan Trust in the year 1994. From the time he decided to devote himself to Carnatic music as a full-time professional, there has been no looking back. In a span of close to 13 years, Gurucharan has performed extensively in India and abroad, spanning prestigious venues such as the Music Academy (Chennai), Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha (Mumbai), Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay (Singapore), Riverside Theatres (Sydney), Korean Arts Management Centre (Seoul), the Sangeet Natak Akademi (New Delhi), Chowdiah Memorial Hall (Bangalore) and also at popular festivals like the Tyagaraja Aradhana (Tiruvaiyaru), Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival (USA), Rabindra Utsav (Kolkata), to name a few.

Apart from performing the traditional Carnatic music concerts conforming to the Paddathi style, Sikkil Gurucharan and pianist Anil Srinivasan, have brought together the classical piano and Carnatic vocal music to create a format which has been termed as "devastatingly beautiful" by the guitarist John McLaughlin. Their music which has gathered followers in India, Singapore, Australia, USA and Europe in a short span of time, presents and preserves classical music in a way that reaches out to the younger listeners of music but at the same time, satisfies the puritans who look out for the aesthetic value. They have several albums to their credit. The duo has performed with renowned artists like the Dhananjayans, Anita Ratnam, Anandavalli, Ramli Ibrahim and Muraad Ali among others.

Awards & recognition Title / Award Presented By Year Kala Rathna Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival 2014 Vocational Excellence Award Rotary Club of Madras Downtown 2012 Isai Peroli Kartik Fine Arts 2012 Ritz Youth Icon Award Ritz Magazine 2012 Thandava Sangeetha Bharathi Gopalakrishna Bharathi Festival Committee 2012 Nedunuri Krishnamurthi Puraskar Visakha Music Academy 2011 Yagnaraman Award of Excellence Sri Krishna Gana Sabha 2010 CMANA MLV Award for Best young Musician Narada Gana Sabha 2008 Nada Sri Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Foundation 2008 Best Concert of the Season Indian Fine Arts Society 2008 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Sangeet Natak Akademi 2007 Shanmukha Sironmani Award Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai 2007 Tchaikovsky Award for the best young musician of the year Russian Cultural Center 2006 Yuva Kala Bharathi Bharat Kalachar 2005 Isai Chudar Kartik Fine Arts 2005 Naada Oli Naada Inbam 2005 Best Vocalist proficient in all aspects of Music Indian Fine Arts 2005 TAG corporation's Ramabhadran Centenary Award for most promising young artiste of the year TAG Corporation 2005 Kalki Memorial Award Kalki Memorial Trust 2005 Dharmatma memorial Award Raja Annamalaipuram Sabha 2005 Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar award Music Academy Conference 2004, 2003, 2002 Best Concert Music Academy Conference 2003 Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer award for best raga renditions Sri Krishna Gana Sabha 2002 Best Performer in Sub Senior Category during Music Season Indian Fine Arts Society 2002 Best Vocalist Award Sri Krishna Gana Sabha 2000 Special Talent Award Thyaga Bramha Gana Sabha 1997 Special Talent Award Thyaga Bramha Gana Sabha 1997 Sangeetha Bhaskara Gnanaskandan Trust 1994 He has also won several prizes in the competitions held at Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts etc. during the years 1995–1999

Albums & discography Sikkil Gurucharan is a Carnatic musician known for his efforts to engage both students and wider audiences with the tradition. He has participated in youth festivals and lecture-demonstrations, and has recorded several theme-based albums. His approach incorporates innovation while remaining rooted in established Carnatic music practices, contributing to the art form's accessibility and appeal among diverse listeners.

Gurucharan has worked on an album with John McLaughlin, Mandolin U. Srinivas, Louis Banks called "Miles from India" which was nominated for the Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the 51st Grammy Awards.

His album "Ramayana" is a musical dramatisation of the epic, drawing on ragas and kritis to portray the various episodes. This album has been the underlying theme in Gurucharan's concerts in Singapore and Indonesia and received critical acclaim. On the other hand, his album "Madhirakshi", together with Anil Srinivasan, is the first of many a contemporary experiment with piano and voice. The album "Parama", has recently received a nomination for the category 'Best Carnatic Classical Album – Vocal' at the Global Indian Music Awards 2011.

Here is a comprehensive list of his albums. Genre Title Released By Year More Details Carnatic Kaveri Pattinam Rajalakshmi Audio 2004 Ramayana, The Story of Rama 2005 Peraanandam 2006 The Lilting Neelambari 2006 Shadanane, The Six-faced Lord 2007 Trinetram, The Three-eyed Shiva 2008 December Season Live Concerts Charsur Records 2004 200520062007200820092010 Ganapatyam 2005 Govindam Iha 2006 Saarupyam 2010 Parama 2010 Emerging Masters Amutham Records 2007 The Concert (DVD) 2008 Kamala Charane 2008 Sri Krishna Kamalam 2008 Chidanandam, Live Concert at Chidambaram Sanskriti Records 2009 Sarvam Bramha Mayam, Live Concert (DVD) 2010 Devotional Tiruppavai Giri Trading Company 2005 Tiruvembaavai 2006 Bhajan Sangrah 2007 Contemporary Madhirakshi Charsur Records 2007 Maayaa, The Color of Rain 2008 The Blue Divine Sanskriti Records 2009 Tarunam Sanskriti Records 2010 Kannamma (DVD) Sanskriti Records 2010 The Story of Silk Silkworm Boutique 2012 Miles from India EMI Records 2008 Raaga Expressions EMI Records 2010

Personal life Sikkil Gurucharan's mother Mythili, the daughter of Sikkil Kunjumani, is a retired flute teacher from the Government Music College, Chennai. His father Chandrasekaran, a consultant with a leading pharmaceutical distribution firm, is a popular Tamil theatre artist who has also done cameo roles in films like Sivaji. Gurucharan married Janani Lakshminarayan on 23 May 2010 and the couple resides in Chennai. They have two children. His maternal aunt Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar is an acclaimed flautist and is married to Chandrasekar, grandson of the singer M. S. Subbulakshmi.