Harivarasanam award for Thiruvizha Jayashankar

Renowned nagaswaram artiste Thiruvizha Jayashankar has been selected for this year’s Harivarasanam Award.

Minister for Cooperation and Devaswom V.N. Vasavan announced Mr. Jayashankar’s name at a press conference here on Wednesday. The award, instituted by the Kerala government in connection with the Sabarimala temple, carries a purse of ₹1 lakh.

The award acknowledges his contributions to popularising the wind instrument and the genre of devotional music. Mr. Jayashankar, who resides in Kumaranalloor in Kottayam district, will be presented the award at the Sannidhanam on January 14, the day of Makaravilakku.

Mr. Jayashankar was introduced to the nagaswaram at a young age, training under his father the noted nagaswaram exponent, Thiruvizha Raghava Panicker, and his grandfather, Thiruvizha Sanku Panicker. When he was 18, he stood first in wind instruments in a music contest organised by All India Radio. He received the prize from the then President Rajendra Prasad. In 1960, he received the Ganabhooshanam diploma from RLV College, Thripunithura. After higher studies in music at Government College, Chittur, and the Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram, he became a disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

In 1965, he joined AIR as an announcer. When he retired in 1995 as senior announcer, he was a top grade artiste in nagaswaram. Mr. Jayashankar is a recipient of numerous accolades including the Central and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awards, Kalaimamani award given by the Tamil Nadu government, the Isai Perarignar award, Guruvayur Award, and in 2021 the Chembai Memorial Award.

Mr. Jayashankar was selected by a panel consisting of Devaswom Secretary M.G. Rajamanickam, Travancore Devaswom Board Commissioner B. Sunil Kumar, and Palkulangara K. Ambika Devi, former Professor, Swathi Thirunal College of Music. The 2025 award was won by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri.