Archive | Composers

H. YOganarasimham – A composer from Karnataka who lived between 1897 and 1971, his compositions included geetams, padams, javalis, varnams, and kritis. He was formerly Principal, Maharaja’s Sanskrit College, Mysore, and then joined All India Radio, Bangalore. Other compositions include Marachiti vo, ma Ramana? (Have you forgotten, O Lord?), Nijada nija ninante, and Kamala mano […]

Cittoor Subramanya PiLLai – Composer and musician, he was the principal of Annamalai University, Chidambaram, and was awarded the title of Sangeeta Kalaanidhi in 1954. His foremost disciple was Madurai Somu. Among his other disciples are Dr.Lokanatha Sharma, Violinist B.K.Viswanatha Sharma, and his daughter Revathy Ratnaswamy .

Cinnakrishna Daasar – A.K. Chinnakrishna Naidu, the author of the popular swarajati Saamba shivayenave, was also a clarinet exponent. amba ninnu nera nammiti in nine ragas incorrectly attributed to Syama Sastri. But the actual composer was Cinnakrishna Dasa. The tradition continues with his son, A.K.C. Natarajan, also a clarinet artist.

Ceyyoor Cengalvaraaya Shaastree – A spiritual scholar. Other compositions include Bharatahi bhagavati – madyamaavati, Enta vedina – darbar, Niruchimarigana – bhairavi, Anbanandarinchave – todi, Niruchimarigana – bilahari, Aviralamagu – kalyani, lalita maam paahi and parthasarathi nee – yadukula kaambhOji, Sri Sarojadalaya – kaambhOji, Emamama minayana – kalyaani, Varahi mam pahi – kalyani, Idi mamchi sudina […]

Madurai N. Krishnan

Bangalore Naagaraaj- Also known as Meenakshisutha, he was the son of a Sanskrit scholar named Ishwara Iyer, born in a Kerala village, known as much for his erudition as for his piety. Ishwara Iyer spent his days under the patronage of the maharaja of Cochin. He would accompany the maharaja on his visits to temples […]

Bangalore Naagaratnamma – Born as a Devadasi, she was a liberated woman in her times, having learned Sanskrit. She performed bharatanatyam and had a great influence on the arts in South India. She was also responsible for building the memorial to Thyagaraja and establishing the Trust that allows performances at Tiruvayaru each year on his […]

Mishu Krishna Aiyyar – Called “Mishu” affectionately, his name was M.S. Krishna Iyer. He has composed kritis in rare ragas such as bhuvanagandhari (in which raga only 2 kritis are known).

Poonthanam (Malayalam: പൂന്താനം) (1547-1640AD) was a famous devotee of Guruvayurappan, who lived in Keezhattoor in (Malappuram district), Kerala, India. He was a famous devotee of Lord Krishna (Guruvayurappan). He is remembered for his masterpiece, Jnanappana which means ‘the song of wisdom’ in Malayalam. Poonthanam was the family name, his personal name is not known. Early […]

Marimutta Pillai – Born in Tillaividangan near Cidambaram to a Shaivite family in 1712 A.D., he was a great Tamil composer. His father was Deivangal Perumal PiLLai. Even at an early age, he composed beautiful songs in Tamil, then married and had 3 sons. The eldest, named after his grandfather, composed a prabandam “Umaiyaval Maalai” […]