Dakshinamoorthy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Swamy |
| Born | Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy Iyer (1919-12-09)9 December 1919 |
| Origin | Alappuzha, Kerala, India |
| Died | 2 August 2013(2013-08-02) (aged 93) |
| Genres | Carnatic music |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments | Harmonium, Vocal |
| Years active | 1950 – 2013[1] |
Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy (9 December 1919 – 2 August 2013) was a veterancarnatic musician and composer and music director ofMalayalam,Tamil andHindi films. His work was predominantly inMalayalam cinema.
He has set scores for the songs in over 125 films, and composed as many as 1400 songs over a period of 63 years. Fondly known as Swami, he was instrumental in pioneering classical music-based film songs. Revered as one of the forefathers of the Malayalam music industry, he has mentored many of the renowned contemporary singers and composers includingP. Leela andK. J. Yesudas.[2]
In 1998, he was honoured with theJ. C. Daniel Award,Kerala government's highest honour for his contributions to Malayalam cinema.
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Dakshinamoorthy was born in aTamil Brahmin family[3] on 9 December 1919[4] as Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy Iyer, to Parvathiammal and D. Venkateswara Iyer a Bank Officer, atMullakkal inQuilon, Travancore (Present-dayAlappuzha district,Kerala). He was the eldest among the seven children of his parents, whom he funnily described as 'those like seven notes'. He had two brothers and four sisters. His interest in music was nurtured by his mother, who taught himkeerthanas ofThyagaraja Swamikal when he was still a child. He had grasped at least 27 songs just by hearing them when they were being rendered by his mother and sister. When he was ten years old, Venkatachalam Potti in Thiruvananthapuram taught him Carnatic music and the tutelage continued for three years. His first public performance was when he was 13 years old, at the Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna temple. It was his habit to offer prayers to "Vaikkathappa Annadhaana Prabho" orLord Shiva daily, in the morning, and before going to bed. His primary schooling was inSanaathana Dharma Vidyashaala, Alappuzha, till 5th standard. He continued in Kiliparam School. He completed his HSC at Shri Moola Vilasa High School, Thiruvananthapuram, then he decided that music has to be his future. After finishing S.S.L.C., he learnedcarnatic music from Venkatachalam Potty inThiruvananthapuram. Swami came to Vaikom at the age of 16, practiced and taught music. During that period when he was 20-22, he received "The Nirmaalya Darshan" of Vaikathappan for three and a half years continuously. This feat played a big part in his route to greatness.
There is an incident which happened in Ambalapuzha. One midnight as Ambalapuzha was lashed by torrential rain, Ganjira Vidwan Kaduva Krishnan knocked at the doors of Dakshinamoorthy's house, inviting him to perform at a marriageKatcheri at Vaikkom the next day. His mother permitted him to do so and the two walked up to the Karumaadi boat jetty at Ambalapuzha and reached Vaikkom the next morning, 8 a.m. After having a bath and a good darshan of Vaikkathappa's, they reached Kaidarathu Madam for the concert. On the request of Kochi-based Konkini Tavil Vidwan to teach music to his relatives, Dakshinamoorthy remained at Vaikkom. He stayed there for 42 months and during this stay, he would sing daily at the temple, attend Nirmalya Darsanam and sang on all Ashtamis at the temple.[5]
In 1948, he came toChennai with his parents. He married Shrimathi Kalyani on 28 January 1948. He entered the film world in 1948. He debuted in the film industry in 1950 withNalla Thanka, produced byKunchacko and K. V. Koshy under the banner ofK & K Productions. The hero of the film was Augustin Joseph, a well-known stage actor and singer, who was also the father of renowned singerK. J. Yesudas. The film also had songs sung byAugustine Joseph.[6] The producers wanted Dakshinamoorthy to compose a song on Lord Vinayaka and that was the first song he began his film industry career with. He also composed music for "The Opera" at Kalamandalam during the same period, where he graced through 8 Operas and 30 dance dramas
Dakshinamoorthy went on to set scores forK. J. Yesudas, his sonVijay Yesudas (for the filmIdanazhiyil Oru Kalocha, directed by Bhadran) and his granddaughter Ameya (for the filmShyama Raagam, awaiting release) as well, thus achieving a rare treat.[1]
He set the scores for many songs written bySreekumaran Thampi andAbhayadev, forming a famous musician-songwriter duo like theVayalar Ramavarma –G. Devarajan andP. Bhaskaran –Baburaj duos. He hadR. K. Shekhar, father of the music directorA. R. Rahman as his assistant for a few films, who later became a musician in his own right. He went on to direct music for over 125 films includingNavalokam, Seetha, Viyarppinte Vila, Sri Guruvayoorappan, Kadamattathachan andIndulekha.
His evergreen compositions includeSwapnangal... Swapnangale ningal...(Kavyamela),Pattu padiyurakkam njan...(Seetha),Uthara swayamvaram...(Danger Biscuit),Kattile pazhmulam...(Vilaykku Vangiya Veena), Hrudaya Saraslie, Chandrikayil, Kattile Pazhmulam, Manohari Nin, Sowgandhigangale, AakashamandVathil pazhuthilooden...(Idanazhiyil Oru Kalocha).
He wasguru of many singers and Music Directors includingP. Leela,P. Susheela, Kalyani Menon andIlaiyaraaja.[7] In 1971 he won theKerala State Film Award for Best Music Director.
The duo of Swami and Srikumaran Thambi contributed countless chart toppers to the Malayalam Film Industry. In 2003, he received the coveted 'Sangeetha Saraswathi' Award from the hands of revered Poojya Sri Guruji Viswanath of Manava Seva Kendra, Bangalore. In the year 2008, he composed four songs for the Malayalam movieMizhikal Sakshi.
Even at the age of 93, his endeavors towards music had not slowed down. He was working on a movie project, "Shyama Raagam", rendering music for the same.
His first trip to Madras was in 1942, when he was to sing in a 30-minute programme on AIR. He was a regular visitor to the AIR for the next 4 years after which he settled in Mylapore in 1948. Between 1942 and 1957, he performed around 500 carnatic concerts in Kerala. He has also performed at international venues such as the Dubai Dala Festival at Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. "Dakshinamurthy Sangeetha Utsavam" has been taking place every year since 2013 at Perungotukara.
His disciples included talented singers like N.C. Vasantakokilam, Kaviyoor Revamma, Kalyani Menon, Ambili, Mithun, Srilatha, Shereen Peters,Bhavadhaarini, Mithun Jayaraj etc.
Generations of singers have sung under the Bheeshmacharya of Indian Music including, P. Leela, Kamukara Purushothaman, Balamurali Krishna, K.J.Yesudas, P.B. Srinivas, Ghantashaala, T.M.S., S.P.B., Augustin Joseph, Jeyachandran, A.M. Raja, Vijay Yesudas and his daughters, M.L.V, P. Susheela,S. Janaki, L.R. Eashwari, Madhuri, Ambili, Kalyani Menon, K.S. Chitra, Vaani Jeyaram, Sujatha, Madhubala Krishnan,Unni Krishnan, Krishnaraj, Minmini, Swetha,Unni Menon,M.G. Sreekumar,Jolly Abraham,Biju Narayanan, andManjari.
Ilaiyaraaja, R. K. Shekhar (father of A.R. Rahman) and many more composers have been assistants in Swami's music recording sessions.
Dakshinamoorthy is to be highly credited for his introduction of P. Suseela to Malayalam cinema through 'Seetha'. The song 'Pattu Paadi Urakkam' sung by P. Suseela in that film is still popular in Kerala. He also introduced other singers such as Ambili, K.P. Brahmanandham, Shereen Peters, Vinodhini, Sree Latha, Kalyani Menon, etc.
He has written three books namely Thiagabrahmam (Tamil – 1965), Aathma Dheepam (Tamil – 1989) and Sathya Mithram (Malayalam – 1992).
His private masterpieces bearing 108 of his own compositions (Keerthanas) was released as book during his first death anniversary at Makreri Temple, Kerala with the name "Raagaabharanam" honoring his priceless contribution to the field of music.
A devoutHindu throughout his life, Dakshinamoorthy started his speeches tellingSarvacharacharangalkkum Namaskaram, Charachara Guruvinum Namaskaram (Welcome to all the living and non-living creatures in the world, and also to their teacher). He was a devotee of LordShiva ofVaikom Temple inKottayam district, after whom he was named,[a] and he celebrated his 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays by offeringSahasrakalasham at Vaikom Temple. He was also a devotee of LordGuruvayurappan, and used to visitGuruvayur temple too. Being aBrahmin, he was avegetarian as he adhered to the traditional diet. He offered his wooden model of theSabarimala Temple inside which he worshipped his revered idols to theSubrahmanya-Hanuman temple at Makreri inKannur district. The Saraswathi Mandapam is now a home ground bearing all the crowning jewels of his lifetime achievement in the form of Awards and Trophies. The Thiagaraaja Akandam started at Makreri Ambalam and has been taking place for more than 12 years.
| # | Year | Title | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1971 | GANAMRITHAM | Travancore Devaswom Board |
| 2 | 1991 | ATMA NJANA VITHAGAR | Agastyar Foundation, Madras |
| 3 | 1993 | OUTSTANDING CITIZEN | Madras Junior Champ |
| 4 | 1994 | VETERAN MUSICAL CREATIVE PEOPLE | Mr.Naushad Ali on the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Performing Rights Society, Bombay |
| 5 | SANGEETHASEVA | Rajarajeswari Sabha for outstanding works in Classical Music. | |
| 6 | 2001 | MALAYALATHINU VARADANAMAI LABICHA SARGAPATHI | Asianet Cable Vision |
| 7 | GANACHARYA | Nadopasana | |
| 8 | 2002 | GANARATHNAKARAM | Malliyur Adhyatmilapeedam |
| 9 | GURO DAKSHINAMURTHY | Pookad Kalakendram | |
| 10 | SANGEETHA RATHNA | Sruthibaratha Academy of Fine Arts | |
| 11 | SANGEETHA ARCHARYA | BEAS Quilon | |
| 12 | GAYAKA RATHNAM | Shri PadbanabadasaUthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, Maharaja ofTravancore | |
| 13 | SANGEETHA SARASWATHI | Guruji Viswanath, Bangalore | |
| 14 | 2003 | SANGEETHA BHARATHI | Outstanding contributions rendered to Malayalam Film Music as well as Classical Music by School of Music, Palakkad |
| 15 | 2006 | AGNIHOTHRI | Pallippuram Kodikunnathe Bhagavathi Kshethra puraskaram |
| 16 | 2007 | SANGEETHA VIGYANA NIDHI | Thalipparambu "Sri Rajarajeswara" kshetra conferred the title with Pattum Valayum |
| 17 | SANGEETHA PARAMACHARYA | Adi Sankara Veda Vedantha Samskritha Cooperative Educational Society | |
| 18 | 2010 | DOCTOR | Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala |
| # | Year | Honour |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995 | Music Family of Kerala for outstanding contributions to Malayalam Cinema for 50 years connection with the programme Malayalam Films Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow |
| 2 | Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA) honorary membership | |
| 3 | 1996 | Sangeetha Sangamam memento encrypting ‘Pranams" to Dakshinamurthy |
| 4 | 2001 | Calicut University |
| 5 | Kairali by giving "Pranamam" | |
| 6 | 2002 | Travancore Devaswaom Board honoured on the function "Pambasangamam 2002" |
| 7 | Artists Save Association (ASA) | |
| 8 | Kannur University | |
| 9 | 2003 | Bharatham |
| 10 | Quilon Jilla Panchayath | |
| 11 | Perasseri Brothers Arts Club | |
| 12 | Sharada Vidyapeetom Kodumbu | |
| 13 | Sharkala Govinda Marar Samithi | |
| 14 | Nemmara Illustrious Lovers of Arts 2003 | |
| 15 | Perumbavoor Municipal Council during their Golden Jubilee Celebrations | |
| 16 | Memento "150 Golden Years" by Chief Divisional Commercial Manager, Southern Railways, Palakkad | |
| 17 | Mangala Pathram by Shri Perunna Subramania Swamy Devaswom, Changanachery | |
| 18 | Memento by Employees of Government of India Press |
Despite his advanced age and failing health, Dakshinamoorthy continued to work in musical field, and composed songs for many albums. In July 2013, he made his last achievement as a composer - giving songs for four generations in a single family. This happened through giving a chance to Ameya Vijay, the daughter of Vijay Yesudas and granddaughter ofK. J. Yesudas. Dakshinamoorthy gave songs to Yesudas' father Augustine Joseph, a veteran drama actor and singer, in his very first film in 1950. He later used Yesudas to sing most of his songs. He also introduced Vijay Yesudas in 1987 through a sloka in the film 'Idanazhiyil Oru Kalocha'.
Dakshinamoorthy died at his home inChennai at 6:30 PM on 2 August 2013, at the age of 93. He died peacefully in his sleep, which is considered auspicious for Hindus. His death was also on anEkadashi day, which is also considered auspicious. He had plans to visit his daughter's home nearby along with his wife, and when he heard that the driver of the taxi in which he was to go would be late, he went to sleep. When the car arrived, his wife wondered why her husband was not ready. Then she went to call her husband, who did not respond. Death was confirmed soon, citing acardiac arrest as the possible cause of death.
Dakshinamoorthy was cremated with full state honors at Besant Nagar electric crematorium. Thousands of famous people attended his funeral. The then Kerala State Cultural MinisterK. C. Joseph represented the Kerala state. He is survived by his three children - two daughters and a son. Kalyani Ammal, his wife of 65 years, died on 22 October 2021, aged 91.
