Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day as of 2023, probably the only musician to receive that honour before reaching 40. He had received many other awards as well, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India, Rajyasevanirata title from Travancore's erstwhile ruling family, Sangeet Natak Academy award (1953), Isai Perarignar from Government of Tamil Nadu and Kalidas Samman from Government of Madhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" by his disciples. He was also considered the "Pitamaha" or the grand sire of modern Carnatic Music. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of Kerala in 1979.
Neyyattinkara, is a significant municipal town and a prominent center for both industry and commerce, positioned at the southernmost tip of the Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala State. It also serves as the administrative headquarters of Neyyattinkara Taluk.Nestled along the banks of the Neyyar River, one of the district's principal rivers, the town derives its name from its location, with 'Neyyatinkara' in Malayalam translating to 'the shore of the river Neyyar.' Neyyattinkara ranks as the second most densely populated municipality in the district, following Varkala. Notably, the Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram is situated within Neyyattinkara Taluk."In the Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram, the port international code IN NYY 1, the "NYY" represents Neyyattinkara
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 the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001.
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar was an Indian Carnatic music singer from Kerala. He was born in Kozhikode, and moved to Palakkad along with him family during his childhood. He is popularly known as Chembai, or sometimes simply as Bhagavatar. Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. A recipient of several titles and honours, he was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians and ability to spot new talent. He was responsible for popularising compositions like Rakshamam Saranagatam and Pavana Guru, among others.
Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy, often referred to as K. V. Narayanaswamy was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1986. He was described as the "Perfect Knight" of Carnatic music, a phrase from Geoffrey Chaucer, by V. K. Narayana Menon, art critic of India and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a Carnatic music vocalist from Kerala in south India. The Padmasree-winning Carnatic vocalist and disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramnad Krishnan, he combined tradition and innovation in his widely acclaimed career. Vasudevan is famous as being one of the first from the Dalit community to excel in the field which was previously the preserve of the upper castes.
B. Sasikumar was an Indian Carnatic music violinist, musician, teacher, composer and writer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma (1928–2008) was an Indian carnatic singer. and teacher who descended from the royal family of Mavelikkara, Kerala.
M. K. Sankaran Namboothiri is a Carnatic classical music vocalist and playback singer from Kerala. He is the youngest A Top grade vocalist with All India Radio. Renowned as a child prodigy, he started learning music at the age of ten under the tutelage of C. S. Narayanan Namboothiri. He later trained under T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, and K. V. Narayanaswamy.
Perumbavoor G. Raveendranath is an Indian musician from Kerala. He is well known as a carnatic musician as well as a composer. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram now, though hails from Perumbavoor, Ernakulam. His works always have the deep-rooted carnatic touch in it.
Swathi Thirunal College of Music is a music college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1939. It was first named as "The Music Academy". The name was renamed as Swathi Thirunal College of Music in 1962. The founder of this institution was the last reigning King of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma in 1939. The administration of the institution was under the control of the Travancore royal family earlier. Eminent musicians like Muthiah Bhagavatar who was the first Principal, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, etc. have served as Principals of this college.
Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair was a Carnatic Mridangam player. He received his training from Alleppey Venkappan Pillai and Veechur Krishna Iyer. He considered Palani Subramaniam Pillai as his 'Manasa Guru'. He received the Padma Shri from the President of India. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1971 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1980. Krishnankutty Nair was also an artiste for All India Radio in Trivandrum.
Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is a chenda artist. He leads several popular traditional orchestra performances in Kerala. He received Padma Shri, India's third highest civilian award, in 2011 for his contributions in the field of art.
Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna situated at Neyyattinkara, 20 km (12 mi) south of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It is one of the important temples of Krishna in Kerala with great historic importance. The temple enshrines Unnikannan in the form of Navaneetha Krishna as the presiding deity. Thrikkayyilvenna or Thrikkayyil Venna (butter) is a unique offering to Neyyattinkara Unnikannan, the deity of the temple. World famous musicians Sri. Neyyattinkara Mohanachandran and Neyyaattinkara Vasudevan used to perform concerts regularly in temple festival.
Balasubramaniam Rajam Iyer was a Carnatic singer from South India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1987.
N J Nandini is a Carnatic music vocalist from Trivandrum. Nandini was awarded the Chembai Puraskaram, the Isai Chudar title and a M S Subbalakshmi fellowship at the young age of 23. Nandini, who comes from a family that has a musical lineage, has been nurtured by gurus such as Prof Parassala Ponnammal, Prof P R Kumarakerala Varma, Dr S Bhagyalakshmi and Dr M N Moorthy.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
R. K. Damodaran is a poet and lyricist who has worked predominantly in the Malayalam movie industry. He also worked as a journalist in Mathrubhumi from 1982 to 2013. He has written lyrics for almost 3,600 songs in devotional, political, environmental, drama and light music genres, including two Sanskrit songs. He has worked in more than 100 Malayalam films and written songs like "Ravivarma Chithrathin", "Thalam Thettiya Tharatt", "Manjil Chekkerum", "Sukham", "Chandrakiranathin Chandanamunnum", "Thani Thankakkinapponkal" and "Pakalppoove".
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Instituted in 1962, the awards are given in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts, and for contribution/scholarship in performing arts. The award consists of Rs. 30,000, a citation and a plaque. The recipients of the award are also conferred the title Kalasree.
Trivandrum V. Surendran is a mridangam exponent from Kerala, India. He received several awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, and Madras Music Academy Award.
