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 The strains of violin floated in the air as I entered Neyveli Radhakrishna’s house in Nanganallur. I was stunned to see a unique instrument which is said to be the first of its kind in Asia and third in the world.
What is peculiar about the instrument? It is a stereoscopic double-neck violin which has the range of 4 instruments – violin, viola, cello and double bass. What made him design this instrument? Before that let us catch a glimpse of his musical career.
His initial training in two allied streams, violin and vocal, under Neyveli Vimala Nagarajan, Ramanathapuram M N Ganesapillai and later on under M Chandrasekaran was a launchpad for his musical endeavours. After sometime he turned his attention towards the violin.
He wanted to explore the art and play contemporary music though he accompanies all leading musicians. Thus he started playing Asian fusion Jazz music, etc. His fort is Germany where he interacts with celebrated musicians.
Unaware of the fact that it was Vijayadasami (10th day of Navarathri festival) Radhakrishna, along with his friends, started ‘Ahimsa’, a group in Germany. The group consists of Radhakrishna, M.Muller, R Yogaraja, Udaimazumdar and Mustafa Hussain. What a strange coincidence! It is believed that any venture begun on that day will be successful. Ahimsa became world famous and the group participated in the World Human Rights festival in 2004 in Germany.
Radhakrishna also performed in the Jazz music festival in South Africa in 1996. A globetrotter, he has left an indelible imprint in the music world by his inimitable playing.
Ahimsa’s CD ‘7 Steps to Liberty - Step One’ won plaudits from the press and music lovers.
 Radhakrishna considers himself to be blessed as he was spotted by Bharath Ratna Pundit Ravishankar. He participated in Ravishankar’s Festival of India–1 in USA and Canada in 2005. A defining moment in his life was when he played in the Royal Carnegie Hall in New York. Pt Ravishankar has hailed the playing of Radhakrishna as poignant and fantastic.
Ahimsa performed in the renowned ‘Sufi Music Festival’ in New Delhi. Artistes from Iran, Palestine and Uzbekistan participated. Allahabad resonated with the soulful music of Ahimsa when the group staged a memorable performance last week.
In the Festival of India-III he is set to play with Anoushka Shankar in USA and Canada in May 2006. Radhakrishna is looking forward to this mega musical event which will be a milestone in his career.
Radhakrishna weaves magic with his violin by his impeccable style. To him, art has been greater than anything else.
The spur to achieve something loomed large in Radhakrishna and so was born the double-neck violin. Here are some salient features of his Nouveau double-neck violin:
The vibrational information of a string is gathered from two different points and then fused to provide an extra degree of clarity and power. This is termed as stereoscopic sound. This instrument is unique as it has the range of four instruments – violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Radhakrishna is ecstatic about the double-neck violin and is optimistic about its success. A trendsetter, he has done India proud by playing the double-neck violin.
Contact address:
Neyveli S. Radhakrishna
7/4, 14th Ram Ganesh Flats,
Nanganallur,
Chennai – 600 061.
Ph No: 2233 6332
Mobile No: 94449 57432
Email: violinradha@hotmail.com
website: www.doubleviolin.com
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Neyveli S Radhakrishna, a Nanganallurvasi
