 PROFILE
Rev. Dr. Paul Poovathingal
CMI, popularly known as 'Paadum Paathiri', disciple of Padmabhushan
Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Chandramana Narayanan Namboothiri, is
an ordained priest in the congregation of Carmalites of Mary
Immaculate, a religious order founded by blessed Cyriac Elias
Chavara. He is the first Christian Priest who has completed
Ph.D. in Karnatic music in India. He has shown great aptitude
in music right from his child hood. Though he was initiated
into Karnatic music at the age 17 by Sodharan Bhagavathar,
it is only after his priestly studies he started learning
Karnatic music seriously. Nevertheless, during his studies
in philosophy and theology at Dharmaram College, Bangalore,
he continued his music education under the tutelage of vidwan
Bangalore V. K. Krishnamurthy.
After having graduated in English and Psychology
from Christ College Bangalore, in 1992, he joined the Faculty
of Music and Fine Arts in Delhi University and passed Sangita
Shiromani course (B.A. Music) with first rank and passed M.A.
Music with gold medal. In Delhi he learned music from Prof.
T. R. Subramaniam, Dr. Guruvayoor T. V. Manikandan and Dr.
Vasanti Rao. Later, he passed M. Phil Degree with first rank
from the University of Madras. In 2003 he submitted his Ph.D.
thesis 'Karnatic music and Christianity - a critical study
of the influence of Karnatic music on the Christian music
of Tamilnadu and Kerala' at the department of Indian music,
University of Madras under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Karaikudi
Subramanian.
In 2004 March 19 he did his Arangettam at
Madras Music Academy with the blessing of his guru Dr. K.
J. Yesudas and other musicians like Padmabhushan T. N. Seshagopalan
and Padmasri Sikkil Sisters. One of the unforgettable moments
in his life is the golden opportunity that he could sing before
the legendary singer M. S. Subbhalakshmi. For a period of
four years he had undergone training at Brhaddhvani, Chennai.
In Chennai, he also learned music from Smt. T. M. Prabhavati,
Smt. Sankari Krishnan and Vaikom Jayachandran. In 2003 May
he went to Columbia University, New York and received training
in Vocology under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Jeannie Goffi.
Right now he continues his music studies under Vidwan Chandramana
Narayanan Namboothiri.
Fr. Paul has traveled widely and performed
concerts in India and abroad. In 1998 he participated in the
international music festival organized by the University of
Durban, South Africa. In 2003 August he performed at St. Stanislaus
Kostka Church, New York and the University of Princeton, New
Jersey. He has composed 400 songs and released 15 albums.
He has 10 research papers to his credit. At the moment he
is the Director of Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy, a center
for training and research in performing arts, in Thrissur,
Kerala, India. He is a visiting faculty at Dept. of Indian
music, University of Madras, Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore
and National Institute for Social Communication, Research
and Training (NISCORT), New Delhi. His repertoire includes
Hindu, Christian and Muslim themes.
Fr. Paul is a pioneer and leading Vocologist
(Study of Voice) in India. He is the General Secretary of
the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Voice Foundation,
Thiruvananthapuram. He is a 'B' high-grade artist (Light Music)
of All India Radio and a regular performer in TV.
Languages known: Malayalam,
English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu, Latin
and Greek.
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