Erickavu N. Sunil

Erickavu N Sunil
Born	(1976-03-15) 15 March 1976 (age 48) Haripad, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India
Occupation(s)	Mridangam artist, Author, Columnist
Instrument	Mridangam
Years active	1985–present

Erickavu N Sunil, aka Sunil Narayana, is an A-Grade [1] South-Indian percussion artist in mridangam at the All India Radio, the national public radio broadcaster of India. He is the author of the award winning [2] [3] book ‘Resounding Mridangam'.[4] As a knowledge disseminator, he has delivered seminars at universities,[5] as well as workshops, lecture demonstrations, and scholarly paper presentations.

Early life and background

He started learning the mridangam at the age of four. His initial teachers were Krishnappa Bhagavathar and M.S. Raju. He had his advanced studies in mridangam from Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair.[6]

Musical career

An A-grade artist[7][8][9] of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Sunil has performed alongside Padmabhushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. V. Sankaranarayanan,[10] Padmasri Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, Padmasri Parassala Ponnammal, Madhurai G.S. Mony, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, K. Omanakutty, K. Venktaramanan, S. Sowmya, Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna, Sreevalsan J. Menon, Sankaran Namboothiri, Thiruvengadu Jayaraman, Sharreth, M. Jayachandran, and Balabhaskar. Sunil teaches Mridangam online[11] and has students in Germany, the US, the UK, Italy and the Middle East.[12]

Indeevaram Cultural Trust

Indeevaram[10] is a Trivandrum-based cultural trust founded by Sunil in 2018.[13]

Resounding Mridangam

Resounding Mridangam: The Majestic South-Indian Drum[14] was formally released in India on 18 April 2021 by K. S. Chithra.[15]. The book received the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam 'Kalagrandham Award' (the best book for art literature) for the year 2023.[16] [17] [18]

References

1. "Kerala author's efforts to popularise mridangam among global audience". The New Indian Express. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
2. "Kalamandalam declares awards, fellowships". The Hindu. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
3. "Kerala Kalamandalam Declares 2023 Awards". India Art Review. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
4. "A first-of-its-kind book on the anatomy of mridangam". The Hindu. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
5. "NATIONAL SEMINAR on INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES OF MUSIC EDUCATION and RESEARCH" (PDF). Official Web=site of Government Women's College, Trivandrum. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
6. "Erickavu N Sunil, Mridangam Artist". Haripad, Alappuzha. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
7. "Kerala author's efforts to popularise mridangam among global audience". The New Indian Express. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
8. "നാലു പതിറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ ഹൃദയതാളം, എരിക്കാവ്സു നിലിന്ജ ന്മനിയോഗം" (in Malayalam). കേരള കൗമുദി. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
9. "'റിസൗണ്ടിങ് മൃദംഗം' – മൃദംഗത്തിനു സമ്പൂർണ റഫറൻസ് ഗ്രന്ഥവുമായി ഐടി വിദഗ്ധൻ" (in Malayalam). മലയാള മനോരമ. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
10. M, Athira (27 June 2019). "Indeevaram, a performance space for prodigies and amateurs". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2021 – via www.thehindu.com.
11. "Teachers and Performers of Indian Music and Dance in Kerala". chandrakantha.com. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
12. M, Athira (3 October 2019). "Musicians and dancers of Technopark step out as tutors". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2021 – via www.thehindu.com.
13. "Art house". epaper.thehindu.com. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
14. "A first-of-its-kind book on the anatomy of mridangam". The Hindu. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
15. Sreevalsan Thiyyadi (28 May 2021). "Anatomy of a drum". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
16. "Kalamandalam declares awards, fellowships". The Hindu. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
17. "Kerala Kalamandalam Declares 2023 Awards". India Art Review. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
18. "Kalamandalam Awards and Fellowships - Press Release" (PDF). Kerala Kalamandalam Official Web-site. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.