Tyagaraja, also known as Tyāgayya, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. He was prolific and highly influential in the development of India's classical music tradition. Tyagaraja and his contemporaries, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music. Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Lord Rama, many of which remain popular today. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kritis, which are often sung in programs in his honour, and Utsava Sampradaya Krithis, which are often sung to accompany temple rituals.
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the carnatic tradition of South India. She was the First Indian who performed in United Nations General Assembly in 1966."
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal, popularly known as D. K. Pattammal or DKP, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil. Pattammal, along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari, are popularly referred to as the female trinity of Carnatic Music. This trio initiated the entry of women into mainstream Carnatic Music. She has been appreciated all over the world by Carnatic music lovers.
Gudalur Narayanaswamy Balasubramaniam, popularly known as GNB, was an Indian Carnatic singer. He, along with his contemporaries Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Madurai Mani Iyer, are referred to as the 20th century male trinity of Carnatic music. He innovated the art through emphasis on laya control and reducing the gamakas which eventually made Carnatic music appeal to the lay and the learned alike. He was also a Tamil film actor.Ariyakudi Iyengar inspired him.
Tyagaraja Aradhana is an annual aradhana of Telugu saint composer Tyagaraja. The music festival is observed in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, primarily in Tiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu, the place where Tyagaraja attained Samadhi. The aradhana is observed on Pushya Bahula Panchami day when the saint attained samadhi, where the musicians render the saint's Pancharatna Kritis.
Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001.
Harikatha, also known as Harikatha Kaalakshepam in Telugu and Tamil, is a form of Hindu traditional discourse in which the storyteller explores a traditional theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic. The person telling the story through songs, music and narration is called a Haridasa.
Musiri Subramania Iyer was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teacher and leader in the Carnatic community. His bhava-laden renditions of Carnatic songs have become the measuring stick for generations of Carnatic vocalists. Musiri Subramania Iyer is one of the giants of Carnatic music in this century.
Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar, also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors in Tamil cinema ever and the first super star of Tamil cinema.
Porayathu Leela was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Odiya, Gujarati, Marati etc. and also Sinhale. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs with Music Composers V Dakshinamoorthy., MS Baburaj, G Devarajan, Ghantasala, MS Viswanathan, KRaghavan, Br Lakshmanan, LPR Varma, BA Chithambara athletes, AT Ummer, MK Arjun,Johnson, Ouseppachan, Ilaiyaraja, and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and Ghantalasa over the years. She is also known mostly for her sweet and melodious voice for which she is fondly called as Ganamani. She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006.
Kalidas is a 1931 Indian Tamil- and Telugu-language biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a language from South India. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.
S. Rajam was a distinguished Indian Carnatic musician and painter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He was a student of the Carnatic musician Papanasam Sivan and the older brother of Tamil film director and musician S. Balachander and actress S. Jayalakshmi. Rajam made his Tamil film debut in the 1934 film Seetha Kalyanam. He acted in a few more films in the lead role, before becoming a full-time musician - especially renowned for his singing - and painter. He worked as a staff artist and music supervisor at All India Radio. He is known for his series of portraits of the Trinity of Carnatic music. He is also known for popularising Koteeswara Iyer's musical compositions. He was a member of the Madras Music Academy.
Smitha Madhav is a Carnatic Classical Singer and Bharatanatyam Dancer. Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of India and one of the two main classifications of Indian Classical Music.
The Rudrapatnam Brothers are an Indian Carnatic vocal duo, consisting of brothers R. N. Thyagarajan and Dr. R. N. Tharanathan. The brothers come from a family of musicians from Rudrapatna village off the Kaveri banks in Arkalgud Thaluk of Hassan district in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka. Vocalist Tiger Varadachariar, on seeing the musical atmosphere there, once claimed that "Rudrapatnam is the Thanjavur of Karnataka". Music, Veda adhyayana, and studying Sanskrit were integral parts of their family tradition.
Desa Munnetram is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Mahindra. Produced by Sarvotham Badhami, it stars Mathrimangalam Natesa Iyer and Baby Rukmini. The film, dealing with the issue of untouchability, opened to critical acclaim and was commercially successful. However, it is lost.
F. G. Natesa Iyer was an Indian activist in the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement. He was also one of the pioneers of modern Tamil drama and Tamil cinema. He was a talent scout who recognized merit and promoted many youngsters, who went on to become great performers in Carnatic music.
Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar (1912–2004) was a Carnatic musician, musicologist, Harikatha exponent and composer.
Rukmani Kalyanam is a 1936 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film produced and directed by Bhalji Pendharkar. It stars S. Rajam as the Hindu god Krishna and M. S. Vijayal as his wife Rukmani.
The Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival is a 12-day festival of South Indian classical music and dance in Cleveland, Ohio, and is held each year around Easter weekend. The festival is a celebration in honor of Tyagaraja, the famous composer of Carnatic music, who composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu language. The festival began in 1978, and has since grown to become the largest South Indian classical music and dance festival outside of India. The festival draws its audience from all over the United States, as well as from Canada and other parts of the world.
Valibar Sangham is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by A. N. Kalyanasundaram and produced by Sagar Movietone. The film stars Mathrimangalam Natesha Iyer, Subhadra, Lakshmanan, and Rukmini in lead roles. This is also Kumari Kamala's first film.
