Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer செம்மங்குடி ஸ்ரீநிவாஸ ஐயர் | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1908-07-25)25 July 1908 Tirukkodikaval,Tanjore District,Madras Presidency,British India (nowThanjavur District, Tamil Nadu, India) |
| Died | 31 October 2003(2003-10-31) (aged 95) |
| Genres | Carnatic music |
| Occupation | Singer |
Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) was an IndianCarnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of theSangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947,[1] a distinction he holds to this day as of 2024, being the only musician to receive that honour before reaching 40. He had received many other awards as well, includingPadma Bhushan andPadma Vibhushan from theGovernment of India,[2] Rajyasevanirata title from Travancore's erstwhile ruling family,[3]Sangeet Natak Academy award (1953),Isai Perarignar from Government ofTamil Nadu andKalidas Samman from Government ofMadhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" (Semmangudi Uncle) by his disciples.[4] He was also considered the "Pitamaha" or the grand sire of modernCarnatic Music.[5] He was conferred with an honorary doctorate byUniversity of Kerala in 1979.[6]
He was born inTirukkodikaval,Tanjore district as the third son of RadhakrishnaIyer and Dharmasamvardhini Ammal into a TamilIyer Brahmin family.[7][8][9] He lived with his maternal uncleTirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, a violin maestro, until the age of four and after his death, moved back to his parents' home inSemmangudi,Tiruvarur District. At the age of eight he started learning music from his cousin Semmangudi Narayanaswamy Iyer. This was followed by some rigorous training under Thiruvadaimaruthur Sakharama Rao, a famousGottuvadhyam exponent, an event considered by Semmangudi as a turning point in his life. This was followed by another training stint with Narayanaswamy Iyer, during which time he learnt a lot ofvarnams andkeerthanams. He also learned under vocalist Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer.[10] Then he had a musical apprenticeship withMaharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. In 1926, he performed his first music recital atKumbakonam.[11] In 1927 he gave a concert in theMadras session ofIndian National Congress, another event considered by Semmangudi as a turning point in his life, as it catapulted him into the big league of vidwans at that time. He was known for producing soulful music, highly creative and yet very orthodox, despite a recalcitrant voice.
He was instrumental, along withHarikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, for the work on thekrithis ofMaharajaSwathi Thirunal Rama Varma.[5] After attending one of his concerts in 1934,Maharani Sethu Parvati Bai ofTravancore was so impressed by his talent and scholarship that she invited him to come toThiruvananthapuram to edit and popularise the compositions of Swati Tirunal. He succeeded Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar as Principal of the Swathi Thirunal College of Music at Thiruvananthapuram, a post he held for 23 years, until the age of 55. At this age, he handed over his responsibilities to another Carnatic legend,G. N. Balasubramaniam and at the behest of the Government of India, became the Chief Producer of Carnatic music atAll India Radio,Madras from 1957 to 1960. In later life, he concentrated on concert performances and tutoring youngsters. He gave public concerts even after the age of 90.
Semmangudi was widely renowned for his virtuosity as a concert performer. He was famous for the meticulous planning that he put into every concert, including the choice ofkrithis,raagas and duration.[citation needed] He was also widely acknowledged as a master of improvisation, particularly in the form ofniravals.[citation needed]
Semmangudi was noted for his choice of songs, speed in rendering swarams and his ability to combine choice and speed with Bhakti. He performed with several violinists and instrumentalists, includingKumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, Mysore T.Chowdiah,Lalgudi Jayaraman,T. N. Krishnan, Nagercoil S. Harihara Iyer, and Nagercoil S. Ganesa Iyer. He was accompanied on the mridangam by percussionists such as PudukottaiDakshinamurthy Pillai,Palghat Mani Iyer,Palani Subramaniam Pillai,Palghat R. Raghu,Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair,Karaikudi Mani,Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman,Vellore G. Ramabhadran,Guruvayur Dorai,Trichy Sankaran, and T S Nandakumar.[12] Some of his very famous renditions of kritis includedMarubalka inSri Ranjani raga,Chakkani Raja Margamu inKharaharapriya, etc.
Semmangudi was well known for his uncharacteristically nasal voice in an era when practically every prominent Carnatic singer had an impeccable voice.[13] In his youth, famouskanjira performer, Dhakshinamurti Pillai commented to his brother and teacher, "His voice is as melodious as the noise created when a coconut shell is scraped on a rock. Don't bother to give him vocal training. Let him learn to play the violin."[14] Despite such criticism, Semmangudi worked hard to improve his voice through practice and rigorous training. In the end, his natural talent for music emerged victorious over his deficient voice and he became a phenomenon in theCarnatic world.[citation needed]
His singing style has been widely followed, and his most prominent disciples includeSangeetha Kalanidhis,M. S. Subbulakshmi and her stepdaughterRadha Viswanathan,T. M. Thiagarajan, and violinist Prof.T. N. Krishnan. His senior disciples includeP. S. Narayanaswamy, Sri K. R. Kedaranathan, Smt. Seetha Rajan, V. Subramaniam (a.k.a. Rajamani),Smt Parassala Ponnammal,K.J.Yesudas,T.M.Krishna, Trivandrum G Seethalakshmi Ammal,Palai C. K. Ramachandran, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, Prof. Kumara Kerala Varma, Vaigal S.Gnanaskandhan, Smt. Meera Kedaranathan, Kadayanallur Venkataraman, V. R. Krishnan, Smt. Seethalakshmi Venkatesan,Smt. Radha Namboodri, Smt. Visalakshi Ramachandran.
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At a very young age, he was married to Thayyu ammal. Thayyu ammal, he always acknowledged, was a pivotal factor in the success of his career. The entire family was run with stream line precision by Thayyu ammal, when he had to frequently travel for concerts and also spend most of his time involved in music.
The source mentions that Nandakumar accompanied Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
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