The Ultimate Source of Information on Indian Temples

We are at a stage in history, where we are equipped with the powers of science and information like never before. We also have in our possession the collective wisdom of our ancestors which can lead us into ways of living sustainably on earth, leading a life which will hand over the heritage of our planet to our children exactly as we received it, in its richness, resources and life.

Kanniks Kannikeswaran The Blue Jewel 1996

Kanniks Kannikeswaran is a visionary musician, composer, music educator and writer with several recordings, productions and scores to his credit.  Kanniks' skill lies in his ability to create captivating music easily accessible to a broad audience base, blending complex features of diverse World Music forms. His work - in Templenet as well as in other projects draws upon his technical skills, and his strong background in Indian culture and music traditions.

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All of Kanniks' projects are consistent with his vision of building community through the celebration of threads of commonality between diverse peoples and cultures.

Kanniks' recent work Shanti - a theatrical presentation of the theme of peace, using the 5000 years of Indian cultural history as the context and a grand music score synthesizing elements of ancient chants, Indian raagas and symphonic orchestration won accolades from the community leaders and critics alike. Shanti - featured a range of his compositions from tillaanas to oratorios and was performed by a 140 member choir (The Greater Cincinnati  Indian music choir, Martin Luther King Coalition Chorale and the St. John's  Unitarian Church choir) and a 25 member chamber orchestra. Shanti is to be presented again in 2006 on a grander scale.

In Chitram - another multimedia theater production, Kanniks explores the diversity and plurality inherent in the very nature of Indian culture, through music, dance and a journey through the multi-faceted aspects of India. Chitram was performed at Wright State University in Spring 2005 and was hailed  as an extraordinarily educative program created with the finest sense of aesthetics.

As a musician, Kanniks has collaborated with leading artistes from around the world. His work The Snake Concerto   was performed by the prestigious Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, conducted by John Morris Russell.  His  score for Jeevan Taal (produced by Mallika Sarabhai - for Mahotsav 1999), based on several Indian folk music traditions was choreographed by Mrinalini Sarabhai, one of the foremost exponents of classical and modern Indian dance, and has received wide acclaim from the Indian press.

Kanniks has collaborated with Lakshmi Shankar (featured in the Academy Award winning score of Gandhi) one of the foremost classical musicians of India and with celebrated conductor Catherine Roma on several occasions.

In 1998, Kanniks composed The Cosmic Dance Halls, a musical feature celebrating the five revered Dance Hall temples of Shiva Nataraja. This work weaves the legends around the five dance halls in a musical framework based on south indian classical music, and it draws selectively from the tamil hymns of the Nayanmar saints of the 1st millennium CE. The Cosmic Dance Halls was choreographed by Kalaimamani Saraswathi Sundaresan and was performed at the Patteeswarar temple at Coimbatore during the Natyanjali festival in 1998 and has been featured several times on the state owned television network Doordarshan.

Kanniks' album Tiruvarangam (1992)  explores the Prabandam hymns of the Alwars of the 1st millennium CE (celebrating the glory of Srirangam in Tamilnadu) in a contemporary idiom, and has been acclaimed widely.

In 1996, Kanniks composed and directed The Blue Jewel, a musical salutation to the planet Earth, bringing together a wide range of artistes to celebrate the message of interconnectedness of life on earth. The Blue Jewel received  acclaim from critics and community leaders alike in Cincinnati, and was performed again in 1997 and in 1999.

Kanniks has lectured extensively on Indian culture and has offered music workshops and diversity training at several educational institutions, corporations and cultural organizations nationwide. Kanniks' workshops have been hailed as being very informative and comprehensive and have earned tremendous praise from diverse audiences.

 Kanniks is the force behind the Greater Cincinnati Indian community choir that he founded to explore polyphonic avenues in raaga based music.

Kanniks is a passionate educator and he teaches Indian Music at the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. He also  regularly conducts music workshops for children as well as adult learners at Cincinnati Ohio and at Allentown Pennsylvania.  

Kanniks - based in Cincinnati Ohio, hails from Chennai India. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology - Chennai, and then later on acquired advanced degrees in Engineering and Business in the United States. He has several   years of experience in the field of Information Technology with particular emphasis on Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing.

 

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