Autism-affected Varun Raveendran mesmerizes with Carnatic concert; M Jayachandran adds to the thrill by accompanying him on the Ganjira

It was an evening that resonated in the magic of mellifluous Carnatic renditions, as the young Varun Raveendran, an autistic student at the Different Art Centre (DAC) mesmerized the audience with his performance. Adding to the excitement, renowned music director M Jayachandran accompanied Varun on the Ganjira, gifting a new experience to the musical evening. Music lovers who assembled at the DAC were enthralled by the performance at Varnam – Radiance of Carnatic Harmony - jointly organized by MJ Music Zone and DAC, on Friday.

Varun overcame the limitation of autism and stole the hearts of the audience by singing keerthanas with a precise sense of rhythm and purity. The concert started by invoking Lord Ganesha, and he went on singing praises of Goddess Saraswati. Supporting him with a mesmerising Ganjira performance was M Jayachandran, and Varun's guru Dr. Kollam G S Balamurali on the mridangam and Annapoorna on the violin.

Renowned lyricist and music director Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri inaugurated the Varnam event by lighting the lamp. Heaping praises on Varun for his beautiful concert, he expressed happiness on being able to participate in such a great event. He added that Varun's guru and parents can be proud of his singing talent. He also honored Varun soon after the performance. Famed playback singers and teachers at MJ Music Zone - Ravi Shankar R, Preetha P V, Lalu Sukumar, and Saritha Rajeev offered a musical dedication as part of the event.

Gopinath Muthukad, Executive Director, DAC, Shyla Thomas, Director, DAC, Rani Mohandas, Priya Jayachandran, and Sriram were among those who participated in the event. Varun, who has been training in music at the Different Art Centre, is also a student at MJ Music Zone for the past three years. Meera Vijayan is Varun's music teacher at the DAC.