Dear sir; my hearty congratulations to you for SRI Mrudangam invented by you. When I first saw the instrument I just fell in love with it. It is so close to the original Mrudangam with related to tone. The biggest advantage is that the new instrument is very user friendly with its less weight, easy tuning, sustainability with extreme weather conditions. I used it for concerts in India and Europe. I just loved it. Again my hearty congratulations to you for such a wonderful gift in the form of new Mrudangam to the music fraternity
K. U. Jayachandra Rao (Mridangist)
As a Mrudanga artist I am proud of this as well feel shy. A musician, scientist, researcher, a vegan and good soul Dr. Varadarangan has created this 21th century Mrudanga without the (animal) skins. This is far better than local Mrudanga- less weight, no Karane loosening, no watering and cost wise also good. Hats off to him. Let the tribe of this kind grow a lot. I am taking this to America.
N.G. Ravi (Mridangist)
Dr K Varadarangan Krishnaiyengar has done a marvelous job – very innovatively and painstakingly created a WONDER – MRUDANGAM made of COMPLETE SYNTHETIC MATERIALS. Really worth every BIT OF HIS ENORMOUS EFFORT. I played for almost an hour. Mrudangam not only sounds very natural but is also absolutely maintenance free. Also it can be tuned for a range of 3 SHRUTIs. A MUST VISIT FOR ALL MRUDANGAM VIDWANS, STUDENTS AND CONNOISSEURS. Huge congratulations Varadarangan Sir
Ravishankar Sharma (Mridangist)
To me, the Sri Mridangam looks like a very valuable step in spreading the teachings of Indian music to drummers all over the world, as no one else has ever effectively created a viable method of producing readily-available, sturdy, professional-quality mridangams without the need to kill animals and cut down jackfruit trees in excessive amounts. My hope is that by playing an Sri Mridangam, I will be able to more effectively utilize Indian traditions in my musical pursuits and spread the awareness of Carnatic instruments and traditions to drummers all over America. The mridangam sounds excellent, perhaps even better than the traditional version to my ears.
William Brown, Drummer and Fusion Musician, USA
Great instruments! We use Karunya Musicals Mridanga and Tablas in our Satsangs and concerts. We are very happy with them!
Sukadev Bretz, Yogavidya Asram Germany
Dhanyavadagalu for vegan tablas! I am so relieved, happy, excited to have vegan tablas. I was on a yoga tour and returned home last evening.First thing the next morning, I opened the well packed set and began to play with such joy. The sound is great! I feel now more than ever this is my rhythm drum of choice.
Yogini Kaliji, renowned yoga teacher and spiritual leader
The tabla is amazing! The sound quality is great. The fiberglass shell has a really nice look to it. Thank you.
Gurmukh Singh, UK
I have just tried to play this “Synthetic Mridangam” in my Practice session. It is really awesome. It is a new Mridangam, invented & manufactured by Dr K Varadarangan of Bangalore. Really it is a path breaking effort. We all artistes should appreciate his intelligence, Patience & his innovative ideas in creating this wonderful Instrument. The speciality of this Mridangam is, it is made of no Leather (Skin) & it is totally Vegan instrument. Kudos to Sri Varadarangan for his new discovery. This is weightless Mridangam It is a Fiber Body & completely Maintenance free. We can tune easily to any shruthi without difference of “Meetu & Chapu”.
Mysore Vadiraj (Mridangist)
It is really a great invention much awaited. I have taken one. Kudos to Dr.Varadarangan.
Ramesh Nilakanta (Mridangist)
At the outset I would like to immensely congratulate you for your path-breaking and noble invention of “SRI Mridangam”. Noble because it shuns in toto the usage of hides of slaughtered animals (Viz cow, goat & buffalo) and aims at preventing cruelty to animals.
Mridangam is a divine instrument capable of producing sublime and soul stirring sounds. While playing on it can bring metal solace, heart bleeds at the very thought of slaughtering few hapless creatures whose skins are used in preparation of the instrument. Now with the invention of this vegan Mridangam the heinous and horrendous act of killing the dumb creatures for obtaining their hides can be dispensed with.
Sir, let this good deed bring unfathomable success to you in all your future similar endeavors.
Now speaking about the SRI Mridangam, it is quite sleek in appearance and convenient to handle. There is no botheration of applying dough or paste to the left head and constantly smearing the same with water to avoid unpleasant sound. It is pretty easy to tune and quite comfortable to play. The first thing that struck me while playing on the instrument was its tonal quality. It is almost akin to the traditional Mridangam.
Summing up I feel SRI Mridangam is a marvelous invention and a suitable substitute for the traditional one.N. Anandaraj (Mridangist)
sir…. its awesome… Is it the same mridangam for C# and G Sruthi or different?
The tone is great. I would love to perform on it whenever possible…. Hats off to Varadarajan Krishnaiyengar sir!Sarvesh Karthik ( Mridangist)
Special thanks to Varadarangan Krishnaiyengar for the SRI Mridangam Tabla(s). It’s only proof that a Hindustani trained musician like myself can accompany at Carnatic Katcheri(s). These drums have many advantages. They are lightweight, produce a wonderful sound, and are not made as a result of killing an animal. Best part of all is that these drums don’t need to be declared in Australian Quarantine because they are not made up of any animal products. These fiberglass drums are the first stepping-stone towards the wave of a drum player’s future!
Sridhar Chander, Percussionist, Australia
I got SRI Mridangam today. I have no words to explain, Simply sounds amazing.Convenient design! The surface is so soft and so easy to play. Thank you so much!
Aneesh, USA
Thank you very much sir for promptly sending me the two SRI mridangas and the spare heads. I am now fortunate enough to be a very proud owner of these wonderful musical instruments that have been invented and introduced to the world of music by you through your years of quality research, tireless work and time you have invested upon it. We as customers by buying this wonders from you not only honour yourself but ourselves as well. Thanks a million for this cruelty free and environment friendly invention. I happened to meet a famous mridanga vidwan in Chennai and watched him play the SRI mridanga he owns. I was completely blown away with the tonal quality of it. I cannot distinguish the difference in the tonal quality between a SRI mridanga and a traditional mridanga. If there is any i can say that the SRI mridangas are as good as or even better than the traditional mridanga tonal quality. May the God almighty shower his blessings on you and your family by giving you all good health, wealth and happiness.
Srinivasan, Mridangist, Australia
I am glad to say, I enjoy playing Sri Tabala & Sri Mridangam
Dear Dr. Varadarangan, I have just received the tabla and all I can say is, it is INCREDIBLE!!! It is just insane what you have achieved and I dont know how to express my feelings.
Eren Paydas, Germany
The tabla is amazing! The sound quality is great. The fibreglass shell has a really nice look to it. Thank you.
Gurmukh Singh, UK