Giridhar Udupa literally grew up surrounded by the sound of percussion. His father, Ullur Nagendra Udupa, was a mridangist who taught extensively. Giridhar began training in mridangam at age four, switched to ghatam at nine and subsequently, began accompanying his father at his concerts.
When he saw T.H. Vinayakram in action, he was fascinated, finding the technique unlike anything he had seen before. In 1998, at age 17, a friend connected him to Bengaluru-based Sukanya Ramgopal, Vinayakram’s senior-most student.
“Then began my life,” he says. “She taught me every technique and nuance I know today. It was complete relearning. It took me over six months to just get the sound right in the Manamadurai ghatam.”
Rigorous practice
The biggest challenge was switching to that ghatam from the Bangalore ghatam he had used earlier. “The Manamadurai ghatam (industry standard now) weighs between 6-12 kg while the Bangalore ghatam is hardly 2-3 kg.” He would practice for about seven hours daily to get used to it and to elicit the necessary tonal quality.
His parents were fine with his taking up music as a career. “In fact, my father wanted me to take it up professionally.” Around 2001, he received a CCRT scholarship through which he learned from V. Suresh, who offered more dimension and perspective to Giridhar’s training, drawing his attention to immense possibilities in sound texture.
Giridhar’s playing for the Mysore Brothers (in 2001) proved a turning point. “They looked at music very differently from what I had been exposed to until then.” Says Mysore Manjunath, “Our most memorable concerts have usually included Udupa. His creative approach and sense of laya are outstanding, assuring the greater success of a concert. It does not take long to establish rapport on stage with him.”
In 2002, Giridhar played with L. Subramaniam for the first time. He has played at many shows with him since. In 2003, he went on his first tour to the U.S., with Jayanthi Kumaresh, Ganesh and Kumaresh. Jayanthi notes his sensitivity in playing for instrumental concerts, “acquired from his father”.
Giridhar admits that on-stage dynamics differ significantly based on whether co-artistes are seniors, contemporaries or juniors. “I don’t compromise on what I play, no matter who is on stage, but I always respect elders and maintain vadhya dharma. While playing, it is important to keep in mind the audience and the overall music.”
Playing for Hindustani artistes
Giridhar has performed with many Hindustani musicians. “I grab a challenge with both hands.” He mentions the 2018 concert with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan at the Gateway of India, Mumbai. There was no tabla in the concert that had percussion solos in between. . Another concert he remembers is that with Anantha R. Krishnan and Subhankar Banerjee. “I truly enjoy these explorations. Anything that you enjoy becomes easier.” He credits his interest in Hindustani to playing with Dr. L. Subramaniam in jugalbandis.
He engages in a lot of cross-genre collaborative music too. Giridhar has played for flamenco in Andalusia and started a band called IndiaLucia featuring flamenco dancers, the cajon, the bass guitar and, occasionally, the flute. He is part of another band called Saagara in Europe and the Bengaluru-based Layatharanga that features five core and four guest musicians.
Giridhar’s father stopped performing in 2012 due to deteriorating health. In 2015, Giridhar started the Udupa Foundation to take music to people like his father who are unable to attend concerts. Carefully curated, the Udupa Festival features top artistes and the money he raises from this event defrays the costs of the free concerts that Giridhar organises every month for the differently-abled, the aged and others.
Says Jayanthi Kumaresh, “What Udupa plays is not what he has learned but what he has absorbed in his journey, the many patterns, sound textures, climaxes. He knows how to play to reach out to the audience.”