composers of indian carnatic music after the trinity
DESCRIPTION
A detailed article on music composers of Carnatic music after the period of the Trinity with bio information, major compositions and styles of different schools that emerged [parampara] are given. A brief intro to the trinity--Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Syama Sastrigal are given. Several set of students, their contributions,certain anecdotes ,down to 20th century are written. Note that several nuances and types of singing are mentioned and specific lineage of certain teachers are mentioned. The enormous influence of modern teachers like veena Dhanammal,T Brinda, Tiger Varadachariar and others are includedTRANSCRIPT
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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:
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"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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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]
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--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
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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]
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--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
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discipleofThyagaraja.
TheWalajapetschoolbythisbhagavatar
familydevelopedadistinctstyleof
singing.Manylatersingersandteachers
collectedThyagaraja'skritisfromWalajapet
school.MaduraiManiIyeronceremarkedthat
hecollectedseveralrarekritisfromthe
descendantsofVenkataramanaBhagavatar.
ItislikelythatNainaPillaialso
collectedthekritisfromtheWalajapet
family.
SaintThyagarajavisitedWalajapetand
stayedwithBhagavatarfamilyfor12days.
AtthetimeofmahasamadhiofThygaraja,the
saintleftallritualmaterials,idols,his
padukaandtamburawithVenkataramanawho
preservedthemforposterity.[Theserelics
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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
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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
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'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
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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.
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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,
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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.
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KaviYogiSuddhanandaBharati[1897-1990]
AfreedomfighterandacloseassociateofV
VSIyer,SSatyamurthiandBGTilak,
SuddhanandaBharatiiscreditedwith
thousandsofsongsincludingsongsfor72
melakartharagas.
HelivedclosetoNerurandusedtoprayat
thesamadhiofSadashivaBrahmendra.
HealsotooklotofinterestinChristian
teachings.
Hisepicpoem"BharataSakti"awakened
peopleforfreedomstruggle.Helivedfor
manyyearsatPuducherryincloseproximity
toSriAurobindo.Hisfamouscompositions
include:
--EppadiPadinaroAyya[bhimpilasi]
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--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
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[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
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templeprocessionsleadingthemusical
troupeinMylapore.
SomeofthegreatsongsofPapanasamSivan,
madefamousbyMaduraiManiIyer,arethe
following:
---KavavaKandha[varali]
--KanaKanKodivendum[Kambodhi]
--Ennathavamseithanai,Yasodha[Kaapi]
-------------------------------------
Othercomposersandsingers
Wemaybrieflyconsiderothercomposersand
singersindirectlyinfluencedbytheTrinity
andtheirdisciples.
KancheepuramNayinaPillaihaddistinct
styleandhewasarepositoryofhundredsof
songscomposedbyThygaraja.Hemighthave
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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]
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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
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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.
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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
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[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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