View source for Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma

{{for|other people with the same name|Rama Varma (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name         = Prince Rama Varma
| image        = Prince Ashwathi Thirunal Rama Varma.jpg
| caption      = Prince Rama Varma playing the [[Saraswati veena|Veena]]
| image_size   =
| birth_name   = Sree Padmanabhadasa Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1968|8|13}}
| birth_place  = [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| death_date   =
| origin       =
| genre        = [[Carnatic classical music]]
| occupation   = Singer, [[Saraswati Veena|veena player]], writer.
| years_active = 1990 – present
| label        =
| website      = [http://ramavarma.yolasite.com/ ramavarma]
}}
'''Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma''' (born 13 August 1968), known colloquially as '''Prince Rama Varma''', is an [[Indian classical music]]ian and a member of the erstwhile [[Travancore Royal Family|Royal Family of Travancore]].<ref name="hindu200502262">{{cite news |last=Ramakrishnan |first=Deepa H. |date=26 February 2005 |title=Royalty's humble face |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/02/26/stories/2005022600190100.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529224649/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/02/26/stories/2005022600190100.htm |archive-date=29 May 2005}}</ref> He is a [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] vocalist as well as an exponent of the [[Saraswati veena|Saraswati Veena]]. He is also recognized as a music teacher, musicologist, writer and orator. He has performed at concerts and conducted music workshops all over [[India]] and in several other countries including United States, [[UK]], [[Netherlands]], [[France]], [[UAE]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]]. YouTube videos of his concerts, classes and lecture-demonstrations are popular among music lovers, music students and professional musicians alike, and have exceeded 20 million views<ref>{{Cite web |title=musiquebox - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/musiquebox |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> as of July 2022.

==Early life==

Rama Varma was born on 13 August 1968 and is a member of the [[Travancore Royal Family|Royal Family of Travancore]]. He is a direct descendant of [[Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma|Maharaja Swathi Thirunal]].<ref name="hindu20020502" />

He started formal vocal music lessons in 1982 under Prof. Vechoor Harihara Subramania Iyer, a senior disciple of [[Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer|Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer]], who continued to be his Guru until his demise in 1994. Later, Varma went on to become a senior disciple of [[M. Balamuralikrishna|Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna]].<ref name="hindu20020502">{{cite news |title=Jamming at a jugalbandi |url=http://hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/05/02/stories/2002050200420200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030704023219/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/05/02/stories/2002050200420200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 July 2003 |date=2 May 2002 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=4 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="hindu20050408">{{cite news|title=A new experience|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/04/08/stories/2005040801860200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206052029/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/04/08/stories/2005040801860200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 December 2007|date=8 August 2005|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=27 March 2014}}</ref> He also studied the Saraswathi Veena under [[Trivandrum R. Venkataraman|Sri Trivandrum R. Venkataraman]] and [[K. S. Narayanaswamy|Prof.K. S. Narayanaswamy]].

==Music career==
Prince Rama Varma gave his maiden public performance in 1990, and released his first CD at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] in [[London]].  Since then, he has given concerts and talks in several notable venues across the globe including [[Arsenal de Metz]], France; Zuiderpershuis, Belgium; the [[Royal Tropical Institute]] and The [[Waag]], Amsterdam; the Korzo Theatre in The Hague; The Hindu Lit for Life Literary festival; Alliance Francaise and the Madras Music Academy.  He was invited to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the then president of India, Dr. [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]].<ref name="web123">{{cite web |url=http://webindia123.com/personal/music/princerama.htm |title=Prince Rama Varma |publisher=Webindia123 |access-date=4 December 2013}}</ref>

Varma is recognized for his pioneering efforts to make classical music in its purest form appealing to the masses, by explaining the lyrics and background of every song during his concerts. His renditions are marked by purity of notes and clarity in enunciation of lyrics in any language.  Through his concerts, he propagates rare compositions of well-known composers such as the Trinity ([[Tyagaraja|Saint Tyagaraja]], [[Muthuswami Dikshitar]], [[Shyama Shastri|Syama Shastri]]), Maharaja Swati Thirunal, [[Annamacharya]] and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, as well as compositions of lesser-known composers such as Etla Ramadasa, Kaiwara Amara Nareyana, Prayaga Rangadasa and Mallekonda Ramadasa. [http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/the-forgotten-composers/article3527789.ece]

A fan of world music, Varma is inspired by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, [[Kishore Kumar]], K.L. Saigal, M.D. Ramanathan, Madurai Mani Iyer, [[Jacques Brel]] and Eartha Kitt among others.

He is the subject of a [[festschrift]], ''Prince Rama Varma: Breaking Barriers, Building Bonds'' written by Lakshmy Menon on the occasion of his 50th birthday.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42849436-prince-rama-varma|title = Prince Rama Varma: Breaking Barriers, Building Bonds}}</ref>

==Teaching==
Rama Varma's music classes and workshops are popular among music students ranging from beginners to professional musicians in India and abroad. He taught Indian music at the [[Codarts|Rotterdam Conservatory, Codarts]] for many years. The [[Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel]] (SVBC) telecast over 200 episodes of his music lessons held at [[Hyderabad]] and at [[Perla, Kasaragod|Perla]], a small village in North [[Kerala]].  Varma attempts to transcend language barriers in music through his workshops by teaching, for instance, [[Rabindra Sangeet]] to [[Kannada]]-speaking students and Malayalam compositions to students in [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]]

==Music festivals==
[[File:Rama Varma performing at Swathi Sangeethotsavam.jpg|thumb|right|Rama Varma performing at Swathi Sangeethotsavam]]
Prince Rama Varma organises the [[Swathi Sangeethotsavam]], a 10-day annual festival held at the [[Kuthira Malika]] Palace in [[Thiruvananthapuram]] from 4–13 January. The festival, dedicated exclusively to the compositions of [[Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma|Maharaja Swathi Thirunal]], features maestros of Carnatic and [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] music, and attracts music aficionados from all over the globe.

Varma also organises the annual Navarathri Mandapam concerts held in Trivandrum in connection with the [[Navaratri]] festival. In 2006, he got veteran vocalist [[Parassala B. Ponnammal|Parassala Ponnammal]] to perform there, and permitted women to attend the concerts, thus breaking a 300-year-old tradition of not allowing women inside the [[Mandapa]]m. [http://www.deccanherald.com/content/224569/royal-musician.html]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://video.webindia123.com/interviews/singers/ramavarma/index.htm Video interview from webindia123.com]
* [http://video.webindia123.com/music/veena/ramavarma/perf1/index.htm Veena Concert Videos]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rama Varma}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Carnatic instrumentalists]]
[[Category:Male Carnatic singers]]
[[Category:Carnatic singers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:Performers of Hindu music]]
[[Category:Travancore royal family]]
[[Category:Saraswati veena players]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male classical singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian male classical singers]]