Today, Anayampatti S. Ganeshan is the only concert artiste in Tamil Nadu to play the Jalatharangam.

Ganeshan hails from a family of well-known musicians who specialise in this rare instrument. His father and guru, K Subbaiyer, was a court musician in Mysore, and an suthority on everything concerning the jalatharangam. Narayan Iyer, his uncle, and Anayampatti S. Dhandapani, his brother, helped him along on his musical path. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, the legendary vocalist, also guided and inspired him.

Ganeshan is an 'A' Grade artiste and broadcasts regularly on All India Radio. He was staff artiste at the Pondicherry station of AIR between 1974 and 1992, and taught vocal music at Annamalai University. He is the recipient of several high honors, and his art has been archived by the Sangeet Natak Academy and the Indira Gandhi Center for Performing Arts. The instrument you hear on this album is over 100 years old, handed down to Ganeshan by his illustrious forefathers.

Jalatharangam gets its name jal, which means water, and tarang, which means waves. The instrument is made up of a series of china cups filled to varying levels. An exact measure of water has to be poured into each cup to get the tuning right. Music is produced when the player strikes the cups with sticks. The jalatharangam cannot produce graces like a violin or a veena, but its pleasant tinkle creates a charming world of its own.