Song : Jagajeeva Rakshagi (Mahishasuramardhini Mangalam)
Ragam: Nadanamakriya
Talam: Adi
Composer: Smt. Ganam
Ganasaraswathy known as Ganam is the daughter of the late V. Lakshminarayana Iyer & Seethalakshmi. Ganam studied music under the guidance of her highly respected father at a tender age of four. She has founded the Lakshminarayana School of Music in honor of her father.
Following in the footsteps of her father Ganam is widely recognized as a great vocalist & a versatile composer. Ganam has written & released South Indian Music Books No. I, II & III. Her daughter Sangeetha is also the editor, illustrator of South Indian Classical Music Book I , II & III and also created the musical word games in the book.
Ganam has composed over 1000 original songs with the signature Ganam, Ganapriya & Gana Rasigha. She has written the following composition forms: Jathisvaras, Swarajathi, Varnams, Padavarnam,Kritis, Kirthanas, Javalis, Viruththams, Slokas, Namavali kritis, Divya Nama kritis , Uthsavasamprathaya kritis, Ashtapathis, Ragamalikas, Tillanas, Bhajans & Mangalams.
Ganam has received numerous prizes and awards for vocal competition conducted by the musical organizations in India and radio Ceylon. Ganam was an All India Radio Artist & has given numerous concerts and radio broadcasts extensively in India, Sri. Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and USA. Ganam received a MA degree in Literature from Madras University, India and a MFA degree in World Music from California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California.
Ganam hails from a family of musicians. Her brothers are internationally well known artists namely Sri. L. Vaidyanathan, Dr. L. Subramaniam & Dr. L. Shankar. Her sisters Brahennayaki & Subbulakshmi, her sister-in-law Kavitha Krishnamurthy Subramaniam, her nephew Ambhi Subramaniam and her nieces Lalitha & Nandini are well known artists. Ganam has collaborated with her brother L. Shankar On CDs Nobody Told Me available on ECM / BMG 1989 and Soul Seacher available on Axiom / Island 1980. Ganam has a fusion band called Vignesh & recorded CDs at a Hollywood studio and e5 studio in 1994- 2000 & 2004-2005 along with her daughter Sangeetha who is also a great vocalist .
Ganams dedication to this world music has been evident from an early age and her hope is to spread the understanding of South Indian Music to a wider audience through her musical compositions, books in Karnatic Music, music classes & performances.