A noteworthy achievement for vocalist from Tiruchi

Carnatic vocalist R. Kashyap Mahesh, who was named recipient of the Kalaimamani Award for 2023 by the State government this week, is happy that the honour has come his way just as he completes 25 years as an artiste.

Mr. Kashyap Mahesh is one of the eight artists chosen in the music category for 2023.

“The Kalaimamani award announcement came a day after my concert at the Rajarajeshwari Temple in Cholamanagar, where I received my very first prize for singing as a nine-year-old. I consider the Kalaimamani award to be a blessing from the Goddess herself,” Mr. Kashyap Mahesh, 34, told The Hindu on Thursday.

Mr. Kashyap Mahesh began learning music at the age of four, under the tutelage of Padma Bhushan award-winner T.V. Gopalakrishnan and later from Karaikudi M.S. Mani.

He was mentored by film music director M.S. Viswanathan in his early years. “It was MSV Sir who advised me to get formally trained in Carnatic music and become a vocalist,” says Kashyap Mahesh, who later cut an album of patriotic songs called Mazhalaiyum Methaikalum set to music by the veteran composer featuring him alongside S.P. Balasubramanian.

With over 5,000 live concerts in his repertoire, the singer said he was happy to have reached out to both lay and learned audiences. “When I began singing, there was no social media. Travelling to different venues in India and abroad has given me the privilege of meeting different people united in their love for music,” he said.

As a child, Mr. Kashyap Mahesh won the national award in the fields of vocal singing and computer painting, in 2004. He is a State Award-winner with the title of Kalai Ila Mani from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2004.

Mr. Kashyap Mahesh has been in the public eye not just for his singing, but also for computer-aided artwork of religious deities and places of worship. His drawing skills drew the attention of Microsoft’s Bill Gates, who gifted him a tablet PC and made him the brand ambassador of the MS Paint software in 2006.

The 2023 Kalaimamani award has underscored the importance of staying true to the art, said the artist. “Many of the vocalists who started out with me, have diversified to other things. I have been performing for 25 years without a break, thanks to the support and encouragement of my parents, my late father R. Raghunathan and my mother Rama. But for their sacrifice, I would not have come this far,” said Mr. Kashyap Mahesh.