composers of indian carnatic music after the trinity

GreatComposersofCarnaticMusic--the

TrinityandAfter

VasanSri

TheTrinityofCarnaticMusic--Thyagaraja,Muthuswami

DikshitarandShyamaSastrigal--broughtabouta

renaissanceofmusicinSouthIndiawiththeirsoulful

musicdevotedtoHindudeities.Thetraditionswere

furtherstrengthenedanddevelopedbygreatcomposers

inthe18th,19thand20thcenturies.Their

contributionsarebrieflydiscussedinthisarticle.

Theircompositionsareregularlysungintoday's

concerts,butrarelyafewdetailsaregivenabout

theirlivesandstyleofcompositionsorthe'baani'

theypropagated.Someinformationregardingtheir

'parampara'orlineagemaybeofgreatinterestas

well.Severaldistinct'schoolsofmusic'developed

whichtookdeeprootsinthe'sampradayas'[traditions]

wefindtoday.

Animportantfactorinthisnarrativeisthe

disseminationanddiffusionofkritisfromcomposersto

musicians.Thefamilytraditionsplayedamajorrolein

thisprocess,particularlyforthecompositionsofthe

Trinity.Somefamiliestreatedthecompositionsof

theirforefathersasheirloomsortheirprivate

propertyandwouldnotpartwiththemforothersto

renderthem.

Therewasanotherfactorinconsideringtheworkof

thesemasters.Theragasusedbythecomposersmaybe

changedduringthecourseofhandingdowntothenext

generation.

Mostmusicianshadonemainguruwhoshapedtheir

styleofsinging,butwouldhavebenefitedfromseveral

'upagurus'inearlystagesorforspecifictypeof

musictraining,suchaspallavisorpadamsorjavalis.

Thiswouldclarifymanydoubtsaboutthelineageof

manysingerswewilldiscussinthisarticle.

[Asamatterofrecord,"AllIndiaRadio"[AIR}played

aprominentroleinpreservingthemusictraditions.]

TheTrinity--abriefintroduction

Letusbeginwithsomeinformationaboutthe

Trinity.Allthethreegreatcomposerswereborn

inthesametown-THIRUVARUR-famousforthe

templeof'Thyagaraja'Deityandequallyfamous

forthefestivalwithalargetemplecar.[

Thiruvarurisadifferenttownfromthevillage

Thiruvaiyaru,nearKumbakonam,whereSaint

Thygarajalived.]

ThyagarajacomposedsongsmostlyinTelugu,

andafewsongsinSanskrit.DikshitarandSyama

SastrigalbothsangmoresongsinSanskritanda

fewinTelugu.

Thyagarajacomposednearly20000songs;but

only700arewrittendown,mostlyduetothe

effortsofRangaRamanujaIyengar.[Seehis

books"KrithiManiMalai'.]DikshitarandSastry

composedabout500songseach.Dikshitar's

kritiswereeasilyavailablethroughAmbi

DikshitarandlatercompiledbySundaramIyer

andDrVRaghavan.ArecentpublicationbyTK

GovindaRaoin1997isavaluablebook.

SaintThygaraja[1767-1847]wasinspiredby

PurandaraDasa,theDoyenofCarnaticmusicfrom

VijayanagaraEmpireinKarnataka.Thyagaraja

alsocomposedtwooperasormusicals:'Prahlada

bhaktavijayam'and'NaukaCharithram'.Hemight

havecomposedseveralotheroperasnotavailable

tous.

ItisimportanttorecallthatDikshitar

[1775-1835]traveledtoNorthIndianpilgrim

centersandspentafewyearsinVaranasior

Benaras.So,hisknowledgeofSanskritand

philosophywasdeep.Healsolearnedmuchabout

SriChakraworshipinTantricstyleandsang

manysongsonGoddessEaswari.Hewasalsoa

greatdevoteeofKarthikeyaorMurugaandhis

songscarrythesignatureormudraof

"guruguha".Dikshitar'sfatheriscreditedwith

thediscoveryoftheraga"hamsadhwani".His

navavarnakritisonKamalambalorNilotpalamba,

thedeityinThiruvarur,speakofhisdevotion

toMotherGoddess.Histeacher,Chidambaranatha

YogiinVaranasigavehimaveena.Dikshitar

preservedthisveena.

Hisendisremarkable:Hesang

"meenakshimeemudham"inPurvikalyaniwithhis

bandofdisciples,hadavisionofGoddess

Meenakshiandbreathedhislastwhentheline:

"meenaLochanipapamochani'wassung.Legends

saythathewaspartiallyblindatthattime.

ShyamaSastrigal[1762-1827]wasdevotedto

hisfamilydeity'BangaruKamakshi"atTanjore

whichwaspreservedandworshipedbyhisfamily

forfivegenerations.[TheidolofKamakshiis

madeofgold(bangaru)andwasbroughtfrom

KancheepuramKamakshitemple.]

Hewasalsotaughtmusicbyonemonk,Sangita

Swamibyname.Hisfatherhadreceivedland

grantsfromtheMaharajaofTanjoreforthe

maintenanceoftempleofKamakshi.

SyamaSatrigal,attheinstanceofSarfoji,

MaharajaofTanjore,facedacontestinmusic

againstahaughtyvidwanfromBobbiliinAndhra;

beforethecontest,Sastrigalworshipedhis

favoritedeityandcried"Devibrovasamaya

midhe"[Chintamaniraga].Hewonthecontest.

Hecomposedninesongs"navaratnamalai"for

MaduraiMeenakshideity.Sastrigalalsocomposed

songsfordanceteacherslikeVadivelu[and

Sivanandam,PonnaihandChinniahPillai]

['Tanjorequartet"]andintroduced'swarajati'

style.

WeknowmoreaboutSastrigalthantheother

twocomposers,becausehissonSubbaRaya

Sastrigalwashimselfagreatcomposerandleft

alineage,aswewilldiscussinsubsequent

sections.[ArecentPhDthesisofDrY

SaradhambalofTrichycontainsmuch

information.]

GreatcomposersaftertheTrinity

Somegeneralremarksaboutthecomposersmaybe

madeattheoutset.Almostallofthemhailed

fromTanjoreregionandsangsongsinTelugu,

SanskritandsomesongsinTamil.Theyware

directlyrelatedtheTrinityorweretheir

disciples,exceptafew,likeNayinaPillaiof

Kancheepuram.Therewereseveralgreatcomposers

in18thand19thcentfromdeepsouth,thatis

,MaduraiandThirunelveliandRamnadregions

too.

Thesecomposerswouldoftenperform

'kathakalakshepam'ormusicaldiscourseswith

theirowncompositions[hundredsofthemina

sequence]andalsocreated'Natakams'--operas

ormusicaldramas--whichwereperformedby

severaltroupesinmanyplacesintheSouth.For

instancetheopera"NandanarCharithram',the

storyofNandan,adalitwhowishedtoenter

Chidambaramtemplebutcouldnotduetocaste

prohibitions,thisoriginalstoryofa

'nayanmar'fromPeriaPuranamofSekkizhar,was

writtenasanoperabyGopalaKrishnaBharati.[

Thiswasaveryfamousoperaandevenmadeinto

amoviewithMMDandapaniDesikarcastas

Nandanar.]

Duringthisperiod,manymaharajasorlocal

princessupportedthecomposerswithgiftsand

landgrantscalled'brahmadeyam":Maharajaof

Mysore,MaharajaofTravancore[Trivandrum]and

MaharajaofTanjorewereintheforefront,and

severalsmallerrajasandzamindars

[Ettayapuram,Ramanathapuram,Pudukottai,

Vijayanagaram[AP],Pithapuram{AP],

Udayarpalayamamongothers.]Someofthelater

composersbecameveryaffluentandleda

comfortablelife.

Webeginour'rollcallofhonor"with

SubbarayaSastry.

SubbarayaSastry[1803-1862]

SonofShymaSatrigal,SubbarayaSatrigalhad

therarepriviligeofstudyingwithallthe

threecomposers,theTrinity.Thistraininghad

tremendousinfluenceonthekritishecomposed.

Oneofhisfamouskritis"JananiNinnuvina"in

Reethigowlamissungbyalmostallmusicians.

'NannuBrochutaku'inTodiisalsoawellknown

song.

HelatersettledinUdayarpalayamzaminasthe

courtmusician.Hetaughtseveralgreat

musiciansincludinghisadoptedsonAnnaswami

SastryandthefamousTanjoreKamakshi,mother

ofVeenaTDhanammal.

OOTHUKADUVENKATASUBBAIYER[1700-1765]

HewasalsoknownasVenkataKavi.Hisperiod

slightlyprecedesthetrinity,butIincludehim

becausehebelongstothesameperiodasthe

Trinityandhehadanenormousinfluenceon

Carnaticmusic.Helivedforthemostpartin

Tanjoreunderthepatronageofthemaharaja.He

composedmorethan500songsandseveraloperas

.MostofhisworksareinTamil.

Hisfamouscomposition"ThayeYeshoda"[inTodi

]describingthepranksofLordKrishnaasaboy

ineightcharanamsisjustifiablythemost

famous.[ThereisanothersetofrepliesbyLord

Krishawith"illai,Illai"too.]Hecomposedan

entireoperaonKrishna'slife.Hissongson

Krishnaareallfullofdevotionalfervor,for

heconsideredLordKrishnahimselfashisguru.

Healsosang'navaavarnakritis'onDevi.Hemade

operasonRamayanaandBhagavatamandother

puranic[mythological]stories.

Histwofamouscompositionsare'alaipayudhe'

[Kaanada]and"swagathamkrishna"[mohanam],

bothrenderednicelyinrecenttimesbyDr

Jesudas.!

[ArecentbookbyNRavikiran,titled'Oothukadu

VenkataSubbaIyer--Lifeandworks"[2007]can

beconsulted.Pub:InternationalFoundationfor

CarnaticMusic.]

GopalaKrishnaBharati[1811-1896]

AgreatTamilpoetandagreatcomposer,he

wasacontemporaryofSaintThyagaraja.Bornin

Narimanam,helivedmostlyinMayavaram[

Mayiladuthurai.]HesangmanysongsonLord

Siva.DuringhisvisittoThiruvaiyaru,

ThygarajaaskedhimtocomposeasonginAbhogi.

Bharaticomposedthefamoussong"Sabhapathiku

verudeivam"onTillaiNataraja.

Hissongalsomentionshowthecompassionate

LordSivagave'moksha'to'puliars'ordalits.

Thisthemeseemstorecurinhisworks.His

opera"NandanarCharitram",asmentioned

earlier,basedonthestruggleofNandan,adalit

becameveryfamous,wasplayedinmanypartsof

TamilNaduandmadeintoamovie.

GopalaKrishnaBharatiwasinspiredtowrite

theseoperasbytheworkofearlierTamil

composerArunachalaKaviRayar[1711-1779]

whowroteseveralopearas,including'Rama

Natakam".

[Forsomeinformationonpre-trinitycomposers,

readthearticleofMVRamanaintheInternet.]

Someofhisfamoussongsare:

--"Eppovaruvaro"inJonpuri

--"guruvarulumthiruvarulum'inAbhogi,

--"innamumsandhekapadalamo"inKeeravani.

Hissongscarrythesignatureormudra"gopala

krishna".

HissongsbecameverypopularinTamilNadu

especiallywithextensiverenderingofhis

songsbyMaduraiManiIyer,amongothers.

SadashivaBrahmendrar[17thor18thCentury]

Sadashivawasagreatsaint,mysticand

Advaitin.Nooneknowshisperiodforsure--When

washeborn?Whenheattainedsamadhi?

Weknowthathissamadhiplaceoradhisthanam

isatNerurwherepujasareperformed.Butthere

aresomewhomaintainthathewasinterredat

Manamadurai!

Therearemanymiraclesattributedtothis

mysticwhowanderedaroundnakedmostofthe

time.[SomeanecdotesaregiveninParamahansa

Yogananda'sclassicbook"Autobiographyofa

yogi",storieshecollectedwhenhetraveledin

TamilNadu,sometimein1935.Hisbookmentions

thedateofSadashivaas1750.]

Sadashivagotmarriedatayoungage,butwhen

hiswifeattainedpuberty,hewalkedawayfrom

homeasasannyasi.Hewastalkativeand

argumentative;butwhenhisguruadmonishedhim

andaskedhimtoshutup,hesaid:"Yes,from

thismoment";heneverspokeagain.Heusedto

keepastoneashispillow.Butwhensomeone

mockedathimforseekingcomfortwiththe

stonepillow,hestoppedusingeventhatstone.

HisschoolmatesatVedicschoolwere

ThiruvisanallurAyyaval[1635-1720](ofBhajana

sampradaya)andThayumanavar(1705-1742).[From

thesedates,weinferthatSadashivacouldhave

beenbornsometimearound1630oraround1705!.]

HewaspatronizedbyRajaofPudukottaiandhe

evenwroteasetofinstructionsforthekingto

follow.

Hecomposedmanysongsinsweetwords,all

embodyingbhakti,advaitaandrenunciation.He

wroteseveralbookson"Advaita".

Hisfamouscompositionsinclude:

--Pibareramarasam[Ahir-bhairavi]

--Bhajaregopalam[Hindolam]

--ManasaSancharare[Sama]

--Tungatarangegange[Hamsadhwani]

--Bruhimuhundheti[Gowla]

[IhadabookonSadashiva'scompositions

compiledbySemmangudiSrinivasaIyer.Iam

unabletotraceittofinditspublisher.]

----------------------------------------------

PattinamSubramaniaIyer[1845-1902]

HewasborninThruvaiyaru,butspentmanyyears

inChennaiorChennaipattinam;hencethename

"pattinam"wasattachedtohisname.

HewasadiscipleofManambhuchavadiKrishna

IyerwhowasadirectdiscipleofThyagaraja.

ThusPatnamSubramanyaIyerisindirectlineage

ofThyagaraja.Hewasalsocalled"Chinna

Thygaraja"byhisadmirers.Thisissignificant

becausemanygreatmusiciansweretrainedby

SubramaniaIyeraswewilllisthere.

Hewasrecognisedeasilyasagreatcomposer

andsingerthatmanyMaharajaspatronisedhim.

ChamarajaWadiyarofMysoregavegiftsofgolden

braceletstohim.Hewasalsoacourtmusician

inTravancore[Trivandrum],Ramanathapuramand

VizianagaraminAndhra.

Severalofhiscompositionsareregularlysung

today:

--Raghuvamsasudha[kathanakudhukalam]

--Evaribodhanna[abhogi]

--mariverathikkuevarayyarama[shanmuga

priya]

--Parithanametchitepalincu[bilahari]

--varamulosagobrochuta[keeravani]

--Aparathamulane[latangi]

Hisstudents,withdistinctstyle[baani]of

PattinamSubramanyaIyer,weremany:

*PoochiSrinivasaIyengar[andhisstudent

AriyakudiRamanujaIyengar]

● TigerVaradachariar[andhisstudents,MD

Ramanathan,SRamanthan,ManiKrishnaswami]

● MysoreVasudevachariar.

--------------------------------

WalajapetVenkataramanaBhagavatar

[1781-1874]

BorninAyyampettai,Bhagavatar,a

Sourashtrabrahmin,wasadirectdiscipleof

Thyagarajaandwasapersonalattendantto

Thyagarajafornearly25years.Herecorded

thesongsofthemasteronpalmleaves.His

son,KrishnaswamyBhagavataralsobecamea

discipleofThyagaraja.

TheWalajapetschoolbythisbhagavatar

familydevelopedadistinctstyleof

singing.Manylatersingersandteachers

collectedThyagaraja'skritisfromWalajapet

school.MaduraiManiIyeronceremarkedthat

hecollectedseveralrarekritisfromthe

descendantsofVenkataramanaBhagavatar.

ItislikelythatNainaPillaialso

collectedthekritisfromtheWalajapet

family.

SaintThyagarajavisitedWalajapetand

stayedwithBhagavatarfamilyfor12days.

AtthetimeofmahasamadhiofThygaraja,the

saintleftallritualmaterials,idols,his

padukaandtamburawithVenkataramanawho

preservedthemforposterity.[Theserelics

arekeptintheSourashtraSamajamin

Madurai.]

Bhagavatar'scompositionsinclude:

--NeeveNannu(Darbar),

--Ramaravikulasoma(Kedaragowlam).

SwatiThirunalRamaVarma(1813-1846)

AprincefromTravancorefamily,helearned

musicfromSubbaRaoofTanjoreandlater

wasinfluencedbythe'Tanjorequartet'of

Vadivelubrothers.Helearnedtocompose

varnams,padamsandtillana.Healsocomposed

twooperas:KuchelaUpakyanamandAjamila

Upakyanam.

Heruledthestatefor17years.Duringhis

rule,hegavegreatencouragementtomusic

anddance,byinvitingstalwartsfrom

Tanjoreregion.

Hisfamouscompositionsinclude;

--Bhavayamiraghuramam[raga-malika]

--KripayapalayaShaure[charukesi]

--Devadevakalayamidhe[mayamalavagoulam]

-------------------------------------------

HarikesanallurMuthiahBhagavatar

[1877-1945]

Agreatcomposerandteacher,hecreated20

ragasandcomposednearlyfourhundred

songsduringhislonglife.Hisforemost

disciplewasMADURAIMANIIYER.[MMI]

Hewasborninanaffluentfamilyanddid

notfacefinancialproblems.Buthechosea

verysimplelifestyle.Inlaterlife,

however,helivedinaregalstyle.

Heiscreditedwithstartingthefirst

'musicschool'totrainyoungsingers,

besidesthe'gurukula'systeminwhicha

studentlivedwiththemasterforseveral

years.

HisteacherwasSambasivaIyerin

Thiruvarur,whowasadiscipleofSt

Thyagaraja..HeintroducedmanyHindusthani

ragaslikesohiniandsarangmalhar--sohini

wasadoptedas'hamsanandi'.Hepublisheda

bookin1943containing101kritisofSwati

Tirunal,collectingfromseveralsourcesin

Kerala.

Hewasalsoagreatmusicologistand

obtainedhonorarydoctor'sdegreefrom

KeralaUniversity.Hewasalsoacourt

musicianinMysore.

Someofhisfamoussongsregularlysungby

manymusiciansare:

--HimagiriThanayehemalathe[suddha

danyasi]

--Sudhamayesudhanidhe[Amritavarshini]

--Bhuvaneswariyanemmemanasave[Mohana

Kalyani]

--Sarasamukhi[GowdaMalhar]

-------------------------------------

PoochiSrinivasaIyengar[1860-1919]

AnillustriousstudentofPattinam

SubramanyaIyer,hebelongedtothe

Tyagarajatradition.Hecomposedmorethan

100songs,withthemudra'srinivasa'.

HisforemoststudentwasAriyakudiRamanuja

Iyengarwhointroducedthe'kutcheri'

[concert]formatformodernaudiences.

AnotherstudentwasKoteeswaraIyer.

Poochiisbestknownforseveralvarnams

including"ninnukori"inMohanam.Thesong

"Sadguruswamike'composedbyhimwas

dedicatedtoSaintThyagaraja.

PalghatKVNarayanswamycarriedonthe

traditionofAriyakudi.

---------------------------

MysoreVasudevachariar[1865-1961]

AnotherillustriousstudentofPattinam

SubramaniyaIyer,Vasudevachariarwasfully

supportedbyMaharajaofMysorewhenhe

studiedwithSubramanyaIyer.Healso

learnedmusicinearlyyearsfromVeena

PadmanabhiahinMysore.Laterhebecamethe

courtmusician[AsthanaVidwan]atMysore

wherehestayedformostofhislife.He

spentthelastyearsatKalakshetra,Adyar,

Chennai,whereTigerVaradachariarandhis

studentMDRamanathanalsotaught.

Withmudra'vasudeva'hecomposednearly200

songs.Hissongswerealwaystouchedwith

deepnuancesofdevotionandmelodious

rhythm.Towardstheend,hewrotehisown

autobiography[inKannada,]whichisarare

practiceformusiccomposersandmusicians.

Healsocompiledhissongsinabook;

"VasudevaKirtanaManjari".

Someofhisfamoussongsarethefollowing:

--BrocheVarevarura[Kamaj]

--MamavatuSriSaraswati[Hindolam]

--Rararajeevalochana[Mohanam]

--SriChamundeswari[Bilahari]

Healsocomposedseveralvarnams,javalisand

thillanas.

KaviYogiSuddhanandaBharati[1897-1990]

AfreedomfighterandacloseassociateofV

VSIyer,SSatyamurthiandBGTilak,

SuddhanandaBharatiiscreditedwith

thousandsofsongsincludingsongsfor72

melakartharagas.

HelivedclosetoNerurandusedtoprayat

thesamadhiofSadashivaBrahmendra.

HealsotooklotofinterestinChristian

teachings.

Hisepicpoem"BharataSakti"awakened

peopleforfreedomstruggle.Helivedfor

manyyearsatPuducherryincloseproximity

toSriAurobindo.Hisfamouscompositions

include:

--EppadiPadinaroAyya[bhimpilasi]

--Kannaneenkanavan[kalyani]

--ThookiyaThiruvadi[sankarabharanam].

NeelakantaSivan[1839-1900]

NeelakantanlivedinPadmanabhapuram,the

oldcapitalofTravancorestate[near

Trivandrum].Heservedasvillagemagistrate

fornearly15years.Thenhehadavisionof

GoddessEaswariandwrote"Thiruneelakanta

Dasakam".Hecomposednearly2000kirtanas.

Hecalledhimself"Neelakantadasan".Then

hebecameawanderingminstrel--hevisited

severalSivatemplesandsangsongsineach

temple.Hewasevenconsideredasthe64th

'nayanmar'bysomedevotees.

Hisfamouscompositionsinclude:

--Anandanatanamaduvarthillai

[purvikalyani]

--OruArumughane[reetigowlam]

--EnraikkuSivakripaivarumo[mukhari]

HisillustriousdisciplewasPapanasam

Sivan.

--------------------------------------

PapanasamSivan[1890-1973]

Hewasalsoknownas"TamilThyagaraja"--a

fittingtitleforhisprodigiousoutputof

Tamilcompositions.BorninTanjore

district,hespentsomeyearsatTrivandrum.

LaterhesettledinMylapore,Chennaiand

wasdevotedtoKapalaeeswarartemple.

HisearlysongswrittenforTamildevotional

movies,sungbyMKThyagarajaBhagavatar,D

KPattammalandMSSubbulakshmi,were

extremelypopular.Hewasoftenseenin

templeprocessionsleadingthemusical

troupeinMylapore.

SomeofthegreatsongsofPapanasamSivan,

madefamousbyMaduraiManiIyer,arethe

following:

---KavavaKandha[varali]

--KanaKanKodivendum[Kambodhi]

--Ennathavamseithanai,Yasodha[Kaapi]

-------------------------------------

Othercomposersandsingers

Wemaybrieflyconsiderothercomposersand

singersindirectlyinfluencedbytheTrinity

andtheirdisciples.

KancheepuramNayinaPillaihaddistinct

styleandhewasarepositoryofhundredsof

songscomposedbyThygaraja.Hemighthave

collectedthesongsfromWalajapetschool.

Thoughhislifewasshort,hedevelopeda

'NainaPillaischool'whichgrewwithhis

disciplessuchasChittorSubramaniamPillai

andhisdiscipleMaduraiSomasundaram.Naina

PillaialsotaughtTBrinda,granddaughter

ofVeenaiDhanammalhundredsofThygaraja's

kritis.DKPattammallearnedmanypallavis

fromNainaPillaiwhomsheadmiredsomuch

andemulatedhisstyle.DKPwasoften

called"PallaviPattammal".

TheinfluenceofVeenaiDhanammalis

pervasiveinCarnaticmusic.Hermother

TanjoreKamakshilearnedfromSubbaraya

Sastry,sonofSyamasastrigal.The

distinctivestyle,knownas"Dhanammal

bani",withslowrenderingwithgamakamin

Veena,[alsocalled"sankyamusicorrelaxed

music,]wasreverentlyfollowedbymany

singersandveenaplayers.TBrindaandT

Mukta,granddaughtersofDhanammal,and

theirsiblingsdevelopedadistinctstyle

,thoughfastpacedmusicwassoonbecoming

popular.

RamnadKrishnan(1918-1973)andTKGovinda

Raowereothersingersinfluencedby

DhanammalstylethroughTBrinda.Ramnad

Krishnanearnedtheepithet-"amusician's

musician".

RangaRamanujaIyengarwhocompiled'Krithi

ManiMalai'andalsowrote"Historyof

CarnaticMusic",wasanardentdiscipleof

Dhanammalandkeptamarblestatueofher

inhishousewhichIusedtofrequentasa

boyinEgmore,Chennai.

[RRIyengarwas,however,abittercritic

ofthestylesfollowedbyothermusicians

thathekepthimselfawayfrommainstream

musicologistsandmusicians.Hespentafew

yearsatWesleyanUniversity,Connecticut,

USAasavisitingprofessor.]

TKGovindaRaowasguidedbyTBrindaand

hecompiledmanykritisofDikshitar.His

studentswereCSarojaandCLalita.

Onewouldenjoyasimilarslowmovementfrom

DwaramVenkataswamiNaidu'sstyleofviolin

performances.Dwaramspentmuchofhislife

atVizianagaramnearVizgandChennai.

Likewiseonecandistinguishthestyleof

ParurSundaramIyeronviolin.Hissweet

handlingof"manavialakincharathade"in

Nalinakantisetthestampofhisstyle.He

learnednuancesofHindusthanimusicfrom

suchmastersasPtVishnuDigambarPaluskar

andPtOmkarnathThakur.HisnephewMS

GopalaKrishnanwastoextendthisstyle.

-------------------------------------------

GNBalasubramanian[1910-1965],popularly

knownasGNB,cametomusicaftercollege

studies;helearnedsomeformalinstruction

atAnnamalaiandMadrasuniversities,

partlyfromTigerVaradachariar.Hetook

Ariyakudiashis'manasikaguru'.Hewould

develophisownstylewithswaraprasthara

andlaterintroduced'sruthibedam'inabig

way.Hehad250compositionstohiscredit.

HisforemostdisciplewasMLVasantakumari.

Hisstyleorbaniisbeingcarriedon

byhisearnestdisciplessuchasThrisur

RamachandranandMLV'sdisciple,Sudha

Raghunathan,amongothers.

SomeofthewellknowncompositionsofGNB

arethefollowing:

--bhuvanatraya--[mohanam]

--gathivaravarama[bhairavi]

--kavalaiellam[saraswati]

--needhayaradha[andolika]

-------------------------------------

MMDandapaniDesikar(1908-1972)

HewasborninNannilamandwasa

discipleofManickaDesikarandlaterKumbakonam

RajamanickamPillai,anotedviolinistwho

accompaniedalmostallstalwartslikeAriyakudi,

MMIandGNB.Desikarcomposedseveralkritisin

TamilandusedtosingwithfervorinTamilIsai

VizhainChennaieveryyear.Hehadsungafew

songsofPapanasamSivanformovies.[Alisting

ofhiscompositions,compiledbyLakshman

Regde,isavailableintheInternet.]

PeriasamyThooran[1908-1987]

composednearly700songs.Hewasbornin

Erodeandwasactiveinfreedomstruggle.He

wasaclosefriendofPalghat(KV)

NarayanaswamyandTVSankaranarayanan,

nephewofMMI.

Hisfamouscompositionsinclude:

--Kaliyugavaradan[Brindavanasaranga]

---Punniyamorukoti[Keeravani]

--Samaganapriye[AnandaBhairavi]

--Muruga,Muruga{Saveri]

--Engunaanselvenayya[Kedaram]

MDRamanathan[1923-1984]

ThisillustriousstudentofTiger

Varadachariar,ateacherinKalakshetra

wherehestudiedearlier,wasagreat

musicianandalsoagiftedcomposer.He

composedmorethan200songs.Severalofhis

compositionsaresunginthepasttwo

decades.Somewererecordedinhisownbass

voice:

--Saagarasayenavibho[Bageshri]

--Dandapani[Ramapriya]

--Dharmavati[Dharmavati]

--Ennakutramseytheyno[Huseni]

--------------------------------------------

MahakaviSubramaniaBharatiar(1882-1921)

ThislistingwillbeincompleteifIdonot

mentionSubramaniaBharatiar.Besides

patrioticsongs,hehadcomposedseveral

devotionalsongs.HissongonGoddess

Saraswati,popularisedbyMaduraiManiIyer,

"Vellaithamaraipooviliruppal"[bimpilasi]

hadbeenafavouriteofmanysingers.His

songsdevotedtoShaktiarefieryin

diction.DKPattammalsetthetunesfor

manyofBharatiar'ssongs.

Prologue

Iamawareoftheseriouslimitationsof

thisarticlewhichdoesnotincludeseveral

othercomposersandmusicianswithgreat

styleor'bani'oftheirown.Ihavenot

mentionedthegreateffortsofviolinists

,veenaandfluteplayersorthetalavidwans

andnadaswaravidwans.

Manyofthedatesandevenyearofbirth

ofsomecomposersarenotknownwith

certainty.Muchresearchwithhistorical

primarydocumentsisrequired.

Therearemanysaintswhosecompositions

areregularlysung[forinstance,Andal's

'Thiruppavai'songs,otherAlwars,thoseof

Vallalar[RamalingaAdigal]andthoseof

Arunagirinatharandnayanmars]whichIhave

notdiscussedhere.Inmostcases,some

informationcanbegleanedfromreligious

literature.

Therearecertainstyleslikethatderived

fromdancemasters,nadaswarammasterslike

TNRajarathinamPillaiandKarukurichi

Arunachalam,andfolksongstraditions

[example:siddharpadalgal]andkuravanji

formats;theseformadifferentclassof

compositionsanddeserveaseparate

article.]

Thereisaneedforreprintingorcompiling

ofseveralbookspublishedpreviouslyby

smallpublishersorselfpublishedbysome

authors.Manybooksaredifficulttogather

sinceseveralpublishershadclosedtheir

offices.

Ifthisarticlehelpsinsomewaystudents

andloversofCarnaticmusicanywhereinthe

world,Iwouldfeelamplyrewardedformy

efforts.

Note:Constructivecommentsonthisarticle

aremostwelcome.Contact:

nenmelisrinivasan@gmail.com

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