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Papanasam Sivan (Tamil: பாபநாசம் சிவன்) (September 26, 1890 - October 10, 1973) was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a singer.

A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S. Subbulakshmi.

Early years[link]

Papanasam Sivan's early years were spent in the Travancore area of Kerala where the kings patronised fine arts. He was born at Polagam Village in the district of Thanjavur, which was home to the illustrious musical trinity of Carnatic music. His given name was Ramaiya. In 1897, when Ramaiya was just 7, his father died. His mother Yogambal, along with her sons, left Thanjavur and moved to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, where her brother-in-law was a Ramayana Sastri in the renowned Padmanabha Swamy Temple. At Thiruvananthapuam, Ramaiya learned Malayalam and Sanskrit and later earned a degree in grammar.

Ramaiya was very religious, and with death of his mother in Yogambal when he was 20, became even more so. He wandered from place to place visiting temples and singing devotional songs. Ramaiya used to be an active participant in the devotional music sessions at the home of Neelakandasivan in Thiruvananthapuram. Thus he learned many of the musical compositions of Neelakandasivan. In this period, his wanderings would take him regularly to the temple at Papanasam, where he would smear bhasma all over his body. Hence people began to refer him as Papanasam Sivan, the name by which he was to become well known later.

He picked up his first music lessons from Noorani Mahadeva Bhagavatar, son of Parameswara Bhagavatar. Later he became the disciple of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanath Iyer, a well-known musician, under whose tutelage Sivan blossomed into a consummate artiste that he was.

In spite of his deep knowledge of music, Papanasam Sivan was more interested in the devotional aspect of music. He preferred to sing devotional songs and encouraged other singers take part in sessions of devotional music with him. Papanasam Sivan was a regular in all the major temple festivals in South India with his devotional songs.

Later in 1962 Papanasam Sivan received the President award.

Family[link]

Ramaiya (Papanasam Sivan) has a daughter Dr.Rukmani Ramani who is a leading Carnatic Musician in Chennai. Ashok Ramani who is his grandson is also a successful Carnatic Musician. Another daughter by name Nila Ramamurthy also composes Carnatic music. He had an elder brother Rajagopal Iyer whose daughter V. N. Janaki was an actress and wife of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Rajagopal Iyer also had a son P. Narayanan who was a great educationist in Chennai.

Sri Papansam Kumjumani Bhagavathar, Sri Papanasam Ramani Bhagavathar,Smt Radha Kalyanaraman(Vocalist), Sri Papanasam Kumar (Mrudangist), Master Sankaranarayanan R (Mrudangist), Master Gokul Kumar (Violinist), Kum. Sruthi Kumar (Vocalist and Veena player), Kum. Anita Sivaraman (Dancer) are noted artists who are grand/great-grandsons and grand/great-grand daughters of Sri Rajagopala Iyer.

Compositions[link]

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• List of Carnatic composers

Ranjani and Gayatri are Carnatic concert vocalists and violinists.

Early life[link]

Ranjani and Gayatri were born to N. Balasubramanian^[1] and Meenakshi (a Carnatic vocalist as well). Born into a Palakkad Iyer family deeply involved in classical music, Ranjani and Gayatri's musical talents were discovered at a very early age.^[2] They started their violin training at the early age of nine and six respectively from Sangita Bhooshanam Prof. T.S. Krishnaswami at the Shanmukhananda Sangeeta Vidyalaya, Mumbai.^[3]

As violin duet artists[link]

Ranjani and Gayatri began their music career as violin duet artistes even before they reached their teens. Through their intense training from Sangita Bhooshanam Prof. T. S. Krishnaswami, they quickly established themselves as top-class violinists of international repute. The sisters achieved success as violin duet performers, and subsequently they also proved successful as violin accompanists. Both Ranjani and Gayatri have accompanied various artists on the violin, including D.K. Pattammal.

As vocal artists[link]

The sisters have given vocal concerts since 1997, after they became students of Padma Bhushan Sangeeta Kala Acharya P. S. Narayanaswamy.^[2] They have learnt quite a few Bhajans from vocalist Seetha Narayanan. Their chance meeting with an amateur Hindustani vocalist in Chennai, Vishwas Joshi, an official of the World Bank working in Washington, from whom they learnt a few abhangs and gavlis, paved way for further learning from Manek Bhide and Appasaheb Deshpande of Kolhapur.^[3]

Within barely three years, they won high praises from critics and music lovers all over the globe. Their music, imbued with a deep and abiding classicism, has been described as an exhilarating blend of vitality, melody and emotion. Ever since their debut in 1997, they have performed in all prominent sabhas in the December Music Festival in Chennai, and at premier institutions all over the country. They have to their credit several album releases, both violin and vocal. They give various world tours every year, touring many countries such as the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, UK, Australia and many more.

As composers[link]

Apart from singing, Ranjani and Gayatri also have an interest for composing music. A few of the abhangs they sing at the end of their concerts have been tuned by them. They have also tuned many other thukkada pieces, including bhajans. Here is a list of some of the songs tuned by the sisters:

• Bolava Vitthala - Abhang (Sant Tukaram) - Tuned in raag Bhatiyar.
• Pagaivanukkarulvai (Subramanya Bharathi) - Ragamalika
• Naachke Aaye - Bhajan (Ambujam Krishna) - Tuned in raag Sohini
• Raam Naam Mhanata - Abhang (Tukaram) - Tuned in raag Jhenjhutti
• Sharana Sharana - Abhang (Sant Tukaram) - Tuned in raag Pilu.
• Dhanya Dhanya - Abhang (Sant Eknath) - Tuned in raag Durga.
• Sada Majzhe - Abhang (Sant Tukaram) - Tuned in raag Misra Malkauns.

Awards[link]

Ranjani and Gayatri have received multiple awards and recognitions throughout their career. In addition, various music personalities from all over India have recognized their talent. Most recently, the sitar player of North India, Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar, was so impressed by their singing that he organized a concert of theirs in Delhi. Here is a list of the awards and recognitions received by the sisters:

• Sanskriti Awards, instituted by Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi, (recognizing their contribution to the field of performing arts)^[3]
• Kalki Krishnamurthi Memorial Award (instituted by the Kalki trust in memory of the writer Sri. Kalki Krishnamurthy)^[2]
• Yogam Narayana Swamy Award
• National Eminence Award (by the Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai)^[2]
• Title of "Isai Peroli" from the Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai in Dec 2005.
• Dr. M.L. Vasanthakumari Endowment Award, instituted by CMANA (The Carnatic Music Association of North America, Inc), USA awarded by Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai.
• Sarada Krishna Iyer Memorial Award for Outstanding Concert during December 2003 from the Music Academy, Chennai.
• T.S.Sabesa and Thanjavur Ponniah Pillai Award for Viruttam/Sloka singing from The Music Academy, Chennai.
• Performed their debut violin duet concert at the Indian Music Group Festival of Music when they were thirteen and ten years old respectively.
• Recipients of the Government of India Talent Search Scholarship from the age of ten.
• Winners of the First Prize in the All India Radio National Competition for Violin.
• Recipients of the title of "Sangeeta Shanmukha Mani' conferred by Shanmukhananada Fine Arts and Sangeeta Vidyalaya, Mumbai.
• Won The Outstanding Violinists Award for four consecutive years from the Music Academy, Chennai from 1994 to 1998. Won the Award for Best Kirtana Rendering for their vocal concert from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in 1999.

Albums[link]

Ranjani and Gayatri have various albums to their credit. Here is a list of some of the albums that have been released:

• Kurinji Malar (Live Concert)
• Anandam - Journey Into Bliss
• Un Thiruvadi Charanam (Live Concert)
• Paramaanandam
• Pravaaham
• Rama Bhakti
• December Season 2001 Kutcheri (Live Concert)
• Madrasil Margazhi 2003 (Live Concert)
• Madrasil Margazhi 2004 (Live Concert)
• Madrasil Margazhi 2005 (Live Concert)
• Madrasil Margazhi 2006 (Live Concert)
• Madhuryam - Violin Duet
• Dual Harmony
• The Awakening
• Thendral
• Samaanam
• Saravanabhava
• Ambujam - Krithis of Ambujam Krishna (Live Concert)
• Paadaravindam (Live Concert)
• Kshetradanam
• Kutcheri 2010 (Live Concert)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Artists' website

Radha Viswanathan is an Indian vocalist and former classical dancer. She has performed extensively with her mother, Bharat Ratna Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi, the Nightingale of India.

Early life and career[link]

She is the eldest daughter of Thiagarajan Sadasivam and his first wife, Apithakuchambal (alias Parvathi). However, she was brought up by M. S. Subbulakshmi whom her father married after the passing away of Apithakuchambal from a scorpion bite.^[1]

Radha had her early training in music from T.R. Balasubramaniam, Ramnad Krishnan and Mayavaram Krishna Iyer. She began accompanying her mother on stage at age of 5. She combined this with intensive training in dance from Vazhavoor Ramiah Pillai (she was, in fact, his first disciple along with Anandhi Ramachandran, daughter of Kalki Krishnamurthy)^[2] and made a reputation for herself as a Bharatanatyam dancer, making her arangetram (debut) in 1945. Radha and Anandhi would perform while M.S. sang Padams.^[3] Radha also performed an exclusive dance recital at the Carnatic Music College, Madras, for the violinist Yehudi Menuhin. She danced at Birla House before Mahatma Gandhi for a Meera Bhajan - "Ghanashyam Aayaari" with M.S. singing for her. At the age of 21, Radha gave up dancing to concentrate exclusively on singing. Radha was to soon become a vital force in MS concerts. M.S. and Radha jointly learnt Kritis from Musiri Subramania Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and K. V. Narayanaswamy and Padams from T. Brinda. They also had intensive training in Hindustani classical music from Siddheshwari Devi of Benares and Dilipkumar Roy.

When she was 6 years old, Radha made her debut in films as Bharata in Shakunthala and as "Baby Meera" in Meera,^[4] which was directed by Ellis R. Dungan and produced by her father T.Sadasivam's company Chandraprabha Cinetones. In Meera she danced with Kumari Kamala who acted as Krishna. Meera was made in both Tamil and Hindi with the premiere of the latter version in 1947, being inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself. Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Rajendra Prasad, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Indira Gandhi attended the premiere as well.

Radha accompanied her mother on her frequent concert tours and recording engagements. M.S. had no disciples other than Radha.Both of them performed all over India and the world including the USA, Europe, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. In 1966 both of them toured Europe and embarked on a coast to coast tour of the USA, thus becoming some of the first vocalists of Carnatic music to perform in the US and Europe. It was during this tour that they performed a concert at the United Nations on October 24, 1966.^[5] They sang a song composed specially for the occasion by the Paramacharya of Kanchi, "Maithreem Bhajatha".

The San Francisco Chronicle greeted their singing as "a series of miracles."^[5] The reviewer exclaimed: "Subbulakshmi’s elaborate vocal filigree sometimes sung in unison or octaves with her daughter Radha Viswanathan were unbelievable in their poised ease and constancy of flow...”

M.S. and Radha Viswanathan recorded many songs together. The "Venkateswara Suprabatham" and the "Vishnu Sahasranamam" were practiced for six months in front of Vedic scholars including Agnihotram Thathachariar and Swami Ranganathananda of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt. The Annamacharya recordings were released in 1980. They were a series of five records called the "Balaji Pancharatnamala" that included classical and devotional music. The royalties from these recordings were donated to various charities.

In 1975, when M.S. won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Philippines, both of them sang at the Malacañang Palace. In 1977 during their second tour of the USA, they performed at Carnegie Hall. During Maha Shivaratri, they performed in front of the Paramcharya of Kanchi with just a tambura for accompaniment as he performed the pujas.

In 1982, at the Festival of India held in the United Kingdom, M.S & Radha performed at the Royal Albert Hall. This program was attended among others by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Ravi Shankar, V.K. Narayana Menon (Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi) and Zubin Mehta.

In April 1982 Radha fell critically ill with tuberculosis meningitis and slipped into a coma for three months. Although she survived, her recovery was slow. All of her concerts scheduled for the next year were cancelled by her father and no new ones were accepted. Radha finally sang again on March 12, 1983 at M.S.'s benefit concert for the Houston Meenakshi Temple held at the Music Academy, Chennai. For the next 10 years she accompanied her mother for concerts, although the number was reduced, as age was catching up with M.S. and Thiagarajan Sadasivam. However, once again Radha's health deteriorated in 1992 and she had to completely stop accompanying M.S.

On September 16, 2007, Radha performed in concert for the first time in 15 years to celebrate M.S. Subbulakshmi's 91st birthday. Using a wheelchair, she was accompanied by her granddaughter Aishwarya. After this concert at Narada Gana Sabha, the pair sang together in more than 20 concerts, including some in the US. Radha was honoured with the title "Sangeetha Ratna" by Lalithakala Academy in March 2008. In April 2010 she was awarded the citation "Kala Chandrika" by the Cleveland Aradhana Committee for her outstanding services to the cause of Carnatic music.^[6] Radha is an excellent Guru who has won accolades from none other than the great Semmangudi himself and she continues to teach music. Amongst her disciples are Anuradha (daughter of the legend K.V.Narayanaswamy ), Sikkil Gurucharan (ref SG'S homepage), Mahesh Vinayakaram (son of the Ghatam Maestro - Vikku Vinayakram) , Navaneet Krishnan , P.T Seshadri, Balaji Shankar (disciple of the late D K Jayaraman) and the playback singer Harini.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Radha is the wife of Late Guruswamy Viswanathan and has two sons and one daughter, Lakshmi, who is a special child.The eldest son Chandrasekhar is married to flautist Sikkil Mala, daughter of flautist Sikkil Neela. Their second son, Shrinivasan Viswanathan and his wife Geetha are parents of Aishwarya and Saundarya. Shrinivasan is the Managing Trustee of the "Suswaralakshmi Foundation for Classical Music and Performing Arts"

References[link]

Shanmukhapriya and Haripriya (Telugu: షణ్ముఖప్రియ, హరిప్రియ), popularly known as the Priya Sisters, are eminent Carnatic music singers.^[1]

Early life[link]

They hail originally from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.They started learning Carnatic music from their father Sri V.V.Subba Ram at an early age.In order to nurture their musical talent, their father shifted base to Chennai. Later they became the disciples of the renowned duo Radha and Jayalakshmi who were disciples of the legendary G. N. Balasubramaniam. They learnt many nuances and subtleties of music during the five-year tenure under them including the advice that the singing should be so clear that the listener should be able to notate the entire kriti.^[2]

Career[link]

Improving their repertoire was a major project and learning, a continuous process. Hence they joined Professor T.R.Subramaniam. They learnt many pallavis and kritis from him.Currently, Shanmukhapriya and Haripriya are under the guidance of T. R. Subramaniam.

They are part of the trend of duo singing in Carnatic music, which started in the 1950s, with performers like Radha Jayalakshmi, Soolamangalam Sisters and later continued by Bombay Sisters^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Artist Profiles : Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• [4]
• [5]
• [6]
• [7]
• [8]
• [9]
• [10]

Bombay Jayashri
Bombay Jayashri
Background information
Genres	Carnatic Music
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocal Music
Years active	1982–present
Website	bombayjayashri.com

Bombay Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic music vocalist. She is a disciple of violin maestro Shri. Lalgudi G Jayaraman. She is one of the most sought after contemporary musicians. Jayashri is also a music composer and a teacher, with excellence as an underlying thread in all her activities.

Early Life and Training[link]

Jayashri was born into a family of music connoisseurs and musicians. While growing up in Bombay, she started training in Carnatic music under the guidance of her parents Smt Seetha and Shri N.N. Subramaniam. In a few years, she went on to learn with Smt T. R. Balamani, a very well-respected teacher in Bombay.^[1] Jayashri was also initiated into Hindustani music and trained under Shri Mahavir Jaipurvale and Shri Ajay Pohankar for about six years.
When she moved to Chennai, her musical training took a huge turn, under the guidance and mentorship of her Guru, the legendary violin maestro Shri. Lalgudi G Jayaraman.^[2] Around the same time, she also learnt the veena from Shri G.N. Dhandapani Iyer.^[3]

Performances[link]

Jayashri began her concert career in 1982. She has performed at prestigious festivals and venues all across India and in over twenty different countries. She has the rare privilege of being the first Carnatic vocal performer in the Royal Opera House at Durban and the Russian Opera House at Helsinki, Finland. She has also represented the Carnatic Music tradition at Lausanne, Switzerland; Porto, Portugal and Santiago, Spain and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Besides her musical performances, she continues to deliver workshops all over the world on the subject of World Music.

Musical Collaboration[link]

Musical Exchanges and Dialogues[link]

Jayashri's jugalbandis with Ronu Majumdar^[4] and Shubha Mudgal have been very well received.^[5] She has dialogued with artistes in dance like Leela Samson and Priyadarsini Govind.^[6] Jayashri has sung Thirukkural and an Annamacharya verse in the prestigious audio autobiography - Wings of Fire of former President Shri Abdul Kalam.

Cross Cultural Collaboration[link]

Her quest to interact and experiment with various forms of music has resulted in collaborations with various eminent artistes from around the world. She has sung with Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas and Senegalese singer Thione Seck. She was part of an Indo-Finnish venture ‘Red Earth and Pouring Rain’, where she sang Kuṟuntokai  — ancient poems from Sangam literature - with Avanti, a Philharmonic Orchestra from Finland and set to music by Eero_Hämeenniemi. ^[7]

Film Music[link]

Jayashri is also a much sought after playback singer and her limited foray into film music has won her the Filmfare award for the popular number 'Vaseegara', thus drawing a new class of listeners into the world of classical music. Jayashri has also composed music for actor Revathi's telefilm 'Verukku Neer'. ^[8]

Passing on an inheritance[link]

In addition to her musical achievements, she has co-authored the book ‘Voices Within’,^[9] a one-of-a-kind book that captures the pioneering spirit of 7 of the greatest Carnatic masters of the previous generations. Jayashri featured in the first full length Carnatic music film ‘Margazhi Ragam’ along with TM Krishna, which was a ground breaking venture that showed Carnatic music in a whole different light. In her quest to reach music to the next generation, she along with TM Krishna and YACM initiated Svanubhava — a week-long Music Festival, exclusively for students of music, which continues to be conducted annually. ^[10]

Giving back[link]

Another dimension of music which Jayashri is focused on is in exploring the therapeutic and healing value that music can generate. She has been working closely with institutions like Kilikili in Karnataka and Sankalp in Tamil Nadu which care for autistic children. This domain is a matter of serious engagement for Jayashri and her students. Some other institutions that Jayashri has worked with include: The Banyan Chennai (rehabilitation of homeless/mentally challenged women), Vasantha Memorial Trust (cancer patients),^[11] Stepping Stones Orphanage Home, Malaysia , Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, Bangalore^[12] and more.

Awards and Recognition[link]

• Honorary Doctorate - Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa), awarded by Mother Theresa Women's University, Kodaikkanal, October 2009
• "Sangeetha Saraswathi" from the South Indian Cultural Association (SICA), during its Golden Jubilee Year, 2009.
• "Sangeetha Kalasarathy" award from the Vanamamalai Mutt pontiff Kalian Ramanuja Swamigal on behalf of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai, 2007.
• Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 2005.
• "Kalaimamani Virudhu" from the Government of Tamil Nadu, 2007.
• "Shanmukha Sangeetha Shiromani" from Shanmukhananda Sabha, Bombay, 2006.
• "M S Subbulakshmi Puraskar" from Vishaka Music Academy, Vishakapatnam. Conferred By Shri Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, 2006.
• Received the prestigious 'Sangeetha Choodamani Award' from Dr. A C Muthiah from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai in the presence of her Guru Lalgudi Jayaraman, 2005 ^[13]
• Conferred "Atma Vanishri" from Poojya Shri Shantananda Swami of the Temple of Fine Arts at Varanasi, in the presence Tabla Maestro, Pt. Kishan Maharaj, 2003
• 'Mani Makudam' by Rajalakshmi Fine Arts, Coimbatore, 2002.
• Received the 'Kalki Award' from Cine Director K Balachander, on behalf of the Kalki Krishnamoorthy Trust, 2002.
• Filmfare award for the song 'Vaseegara' from the movie Minnale, 2002.
• 'Naadabhooshanam' by Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha, New Delhi, 2001.
• 'Asthana Vidhushi' of the Shringeri Mutt, 2001.
• Conferred the title of 'Isai Peroli' by Dr. P Chidambaram, Union Minister of Finance, on behalf of the Karthik Fine Arts, in the presence of Music Maestro Balamurali Krishna, 1997.
• "Yuvakala Bharati" conferred by Bharat Kalachar, Chennai, 1992.

Discography[link]

• Smaranam: Song of the Soul (2010, Inreco )
• WindSong - Classical Jugalbandi by Pandit Ronu Majumdar & Bombay Jayashri (2010, Kosmik)
• Confluence of Elements (2007, Saregama)
• Kannamma (2007, Rajalakshmi Audio)
• Azhaga (2006, Rajalakshmi Audio)
• Salokyam (2005, Charsur Digital Workstation)
• Margam (2004, Rajalakshmi Audio)
• Kashi (2003, Charsur Digital Workstation)
• Panchabhutams (2003, Music Today)
• Shyama (2003, Music Today)
• Vatsalyam (2001, Charsur Digital Workstation)
• Shravanam: Music for Meditative Listening (2001, Charsur Digital Workstation 018)
• Atma: Soul (2000, Charsur Digital Workstation 6235)

Jayashri's complete discography can be found on her website. ^[14]

Film Playback Singing[link]

Jayashri has sung several film songs for movies in different languages and predominantly in Tamil. Her first song was for Ilayaraja. She shot to fame after singing the classical duet song "Narumugaye" for the film Iruvar along with Unnikrishnan and composed by A. R. Rahman. Her other playback career highlighting song was "Vaseegara" for the film Minnale in 2001, composed by Harris Jayaraj.

Notable Film discography[link]

She has worked with the music Maestro M.S. Viswanathan in a devotional album called "Arul tharum Abirami".

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website