Legends

MUSIC COMPOSER Thyagaraja

Thyagaraja(1767–1847 Pancharatna Kritis) Born on the 4th of May 1767 to Rama Brahman & Sitamma, he is known for his soul stirring compositions full of Raga Bhava. He inherited his musical talents from his maternal grandfather, veena Kalahasthi Ayyar. He was a born composer. He learnt music under Sonti Venkataramanna. By his thirteenth year he had scribbled some of his compostitions on the walls of his house. His compositions are known for their beautiful swara sangathis & are apt for kalpana swaras & niraval. Thyagaraja is known for his bhakthi towards Sri Rama & it is this bhakthi aspect that stands highlighted in his compositions. They are a popular choice for concerts. Thyagaraja had a number of disciples who have presrved & prpogated his compositions. His Pancharatna kirthanaigal are being sung by musicians even today uniformly, as a group, on hid death anniversary at his Samadhi. Thyagaraja has composed three operas Nauka Charithram, Prahalada Baktha Vijayam & Sitarama Vijayam. His mudra is Thyagaraja.

MUSIC COMPOSER Muthuswami Dikshitar

Muthuswami Dikshitar(1775–1835 Nottuswara, Navagraha Kritis) Muthuswami Dikshitar was born in a family of intellectuals, well versed in Sastra. His father gave him a full course in music in Purandaradasar's pattern. Dikshitar had a mastery over veena. He was blessed by Lord Muruga of Thiruthani & he composed his first kriti - Sri Nadhathi Guruguho there. He spent five years at Benares & was well versed in the North Indian form of music. His compositions are known for their originality of the structure. He had deep reverence for classical tradition. He has composed in all the 72 melakartha ragas. He is considered the architect of raga forms. Some of his famous compositions are the Kamalamba Navavarnam, Navagraha kriti, Chaturdasa Ragamalika. He has composed songs in sanskrit & also set songs to western tunes. His compositions are a combination of rich diction, melody & laya in majestic flow. His mudra was Guruguha.

MUSIC COMPOSER Syama Sastri

Syama Shastri(1762–1827 Complex Talas, Swarajati) He was born on April 26 1762 at Thiruvarur. His original name was Venkatakrishna. He hailed from a family who were performing pooja to Goddess Kamakshi. Most of his kritis are a reflection of his reverence to Goddess Kamakshi. He was initiated into music by Sangeetha Swami. His songs are known for their laya pattern. He has composed over three hundered songs in sanskrit, Telugu & Tamil. He has handled rare ragas efficiently. His mudra was Syama Krishna.

MUSIC COMPOSER Swathi Thirunal

Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma III (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a great musician and composer who has to his credit over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani style

MUSIC COMPOSER Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa systematized the method of teaching Karnataka Sangita (Carnatic music) which is followed to the present day. He introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the basic scale for music instruction and fashioned a series of graded lessons such as swaravalis, janti swaras, alankaras, lakshana geetas, prabandhas, ugabhogas, daatu varase, geeta, sooladis and kritis.[5] Another contribution was the fusion of bhava, raga, and laya in his compositions. He included comments on ordinary daily life and elements of colloquial language in his lyrics. He introduced folk ragas into the mainstream, setting his lyrics to ragas of his day so that even a common man could learn and sing them.[34] He also composed several lakshya and lakshana geetas, many of which are sung to this day. His sooladis are regarded as musical masterpieces and are the standard for raga lakshana. Scholars attribute the standardization of varna mettus entirely to Purandara Dasa

MUSIC COMPOSER Papanasam Sivan

Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973[1]) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema as well as Tamil cinema in the 1930s and 1940s.[2] Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyaagaraja. Using Classical South Indian music as a base, Sivan created compositions popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, D. K. Pattammal, and M. S. Subbulakshmi. In 1962, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.[3

Music composer Mysore Vasudevachar

Mysore Vasudevacharya (28 May 1865 – 17 May 1961) was an Indian musician and composer of Carnatic music compositions who belonged to the direct line of Thyagaraja's disciples. Vasudevachar's compositions (numbering over 200) were mostly in Telugu and Sanskrit. Some of his most popular kritis include Brochevarevarura in Khamas raga, Devadideva in Sunadavinodini, Mamavatu Sri Saraswati in Hindolam, Shankari Ninne in Pantuvarali, Bhajare Re Manasa in Abheri and Ra Ra Rajeevalochana Rama in Mohanam. [1] He presided over Madras Music Academy's annual conference in 1935, when the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award did not exist. But everybody who presided over the annual conference in the 1930s was later conferred the award. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan

MUSIC COMPOSER Muthiah Bhagavatar

Muthiah was born on 15 November 1877, in Harikesanallur, a small village in the Tirunelveli district of British India, into an affluent Tamil Brahmin family. He was exposed to music from a very early age, as his father was a patron of musicians. He lost his father at the young age of six years, when his maternal uncle M. Lakshmana Suri took over the responsibility for his education, initiating Muthiah into Sanskrit and Vedic studies.[1] However, the love of music that had been implanted in him led Muthiah to leave his hometown of Harikesanallur, Tamil Nadu when he was only ten years in search of a teacher. He found the gifted teacher Padinaindumandapa Sambasiva Iyer at Tiruvarur, who recognised Muthiah's talent for music. Sambasiva Iyer was the father of T.S Sabesa Iyer, a contemporary who also went on to win the prestigious Sangeetha Kalanidhi award from the Madras Music Academy in 1934. During the nine years he spent with Sambasiva Iyer, Muthiah cultivated this talent and made his name as a Harikata Vidhwan. His rich voice and excellent tanam singing made him one of the era's most highly coveted concert artists. He was Asthana vidvan in seithur zamin and first guru of M S Subbulakshmi. His cousin Venkatarama Iyer was a Supreme Court Judge as well as recipient of Sangeet Kalanidhi award in 1944.

Music Composer Sadasiva Brahmendra

Sadasiva Brahmendra was a saint, composer of Carnatic music and Advaita philosopher and Sishya of the great saint Shri Paramasivendra Saraswati, who lived near Thiruvenkadu, Tamil Nadu, during the 15th/16th century.