About Layavinyas
Layavinyas, Kolkata’s very own and only carnatic fusion ensemble was formed in the year 1990 by mridangam maestro N.Shankar ,one of the senior most mridangam artiste of kolkata, Shankar has been playing this wonderful classical percussion instrument the reverberating Mridangam for more than three decades and is very popular as an accompanist as well as for his innovative ideas with percussion music by experimenting percussion with melody and juxtaposing these with hindustani and other musical systems. Shankar who is a disciple of late Sri L.V.Vaidyanathan and late Sri Velukutty Nair, has accompanied with senior carnatic vocalists and instrumentalist and has also participated in many taalvadya kutcheris with eminent hindustani tabla players .He has toured extensively all over the world with numerous groups and also as solo percussionist and has won accolades as a fine mridangam artiste of this generation.
Shankar's love for carnatic percussion instruments and to make them popular to the music loving people of kolkata (where he is settled since childhood) ,mainly the south indian rhythm instruments like mridanagm/ghatam/kanjira and the morsing which were not often heard apart from classical carnatic music soirees and to the cross section audiences of Kolkata ,prompted him to form Layavinyas (or exploration of rhythm) in the year 1990 with some very talented young musicians from Kolkata, but his constant endeavour to make it more interesting and easy to understand and enjoy listening too he added in his composition the interesting passages of hindustani music by including sitar /sarode /mandolin in the melody section and in the percussion section he included tabla/tabla taraang / pakhawaj and even sri khol and for the carnatic section he used the carnatic violin and vocals as melodic support and in the percussion he used mridangam/ghatam/kanjira/morsing and even chendaa and edakaa.
Shankar later started a separate section of layavinyas which was pure fusion by incorporating the western musical elements like jazz/hard funk style/bluesy and samba into his compositions which made Layavinays more interesting and enjoyed by cross section of audience both young and old .
Shankar's interest in classical dance due to his interaction with eminent dancers of all forms he experimented with the six classical dance forms of india(viz bharat natyam/kathak/oddissi/kathakali/manipuri and mohiniattam) choreographed to Layavinyas's inimitable music composition’s based on the six seasons or ritus by showcasing the very pristine form of these six classical dance forms on the same platform to their unique music and named it “Laya Ritu Mala”.this presentation is a treat to one and all for both its music and dance concept and presentation.
Layavinyas has three sections in their repertoire now which they can perform as per the taste and requirements of the audience and the organizers preference the first concept of theirs is Layavinyas "CLASSICAL FUSION" incorporating the finest and purest of the carnatic and hindustani music systems with rhythmic permutations and combinations which is a hall mark of their music & the second concept is fusion "ACROSS THE VINDHYAS" at its very best juxtaposing the carnatic/hindustani music with the western musical elements intermingling their compositions with the jazz/bluesy and hard funk, making it very popular amongst all sections of the music loving audiences for its sheer groovy and avant-garde music showcasing the best of carnatic /hindustani and the western sections and finally Layavinyas has dedicated a section to classical dance forms "LAYA RITU MALA" where the six classical dance forms viz Bharat Natyam /Kathak/Oddissi/Kathakali /Manipuri and Mohini Attam are presented on the same platform and choreographed to the six different ritus or the six seasons or climates, composed typically to the music of Layavinyas in different raagas and talas and culminating in a grand finale.
Layavinya's has been performing at almost all the major sabhas and musical organizations and corporate programs all over Kolkata and India for the past 23 years since its inception in 1990 they have also performed in A.I.R and Doordarshan and has an album released titled WAVES which was well received by the music loving people. all their concerts have been huge success and has got good reviews too in the media. Layavinyas under Shankar’s constant endeavor to develop and create new vistas in the realms of percussive music and melody have been constantly thriving to do interesting projects in the near future and make Layavinyas a pleasure to hear and enjoy by each and everyone !