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:
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