Palghat Srirama Bhagavathar
Encyclopedia
Palghat Rama Bhagavathar (5 June 1888 - 26 May 1957) was born in Mundaya (മുണ്ടായ) village near Shoranur, Palghat, Kerala
, India
and was a renowned Carnatic
vocalist. He took his early gurukulavasam with Palghat Anantarama Bhagavathar as well as leading Carnatic exponents like Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer
. His father, Kasturi Ranganathan was an Adhikari or a Revenue Collector in British India who was called Adhikari Rangan Pattar.
Known for his purity of music rendition as well as the gift of a golden voice that had His Blessings, he was famous for ragas like karaharapriya that were rendered with divinity and devotion. At a time when loudspeakers/acoustics were non-existent in the early 1930s and 1940s (pre-independence), he was known for his mellifluous rendition and great voice. His devotion to Lord Rama was well-known. An adept at all the Trinity's compositions, he never hankered for fame or position. He was honoured by the then Maharajas of Mysore and Travancore. His peers included greats in Carnatic music like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar
and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, who had great regard for him.
His wife Rugmani Ammal was a great companion who took care of him and his family as he grew up to be a renowned musician of his time. She died in 1991, devoted to Lord Krishna temple in Old Kalpathy till her last breath, following the footsteps of her late husband, who had died in May 1957 in Kalpathi, Kerala.
His sons (Late) Ranganathan (Raju), (Late) Seshamani, (Late) Venkataramanan, Lakshminarayanan and others carry the hoary traditions quietly within the family to this day. Palghat Rama Bhagavathar's older brother, Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar left behind the cross-cultural stamp in Malayalam by introducing padams in Kathakali dance form.
A musician par excellence, he made simplicity a virtue and divinity a permanent feature in his music, with rasika-centricity as his virtue. His raga alapana would be very detailed and stretching leaving all his rasikas mesmerized. Saint Tyagaraja had a great follower in Palghat Rama Bhagavathar and all his krithis were sung in his performances.
His first Carnatic concert was at the Kalpathy
Kasi Viswanatha Swamy Temple and so was his last concert.
He launched the Palghat (Palakkad) edition of the Thyagaraja Aradhana at Kalpathi Ram Dhyana Madom - Link to article in the papers of "The Hindu" - Trivandrum edition - Dec 25th 2009.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/12/25/stories/2009122550980300.htm
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and was a renowned Carnatic
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
vocalist. He took his early gurukulavasam with Palghat Anantarama Bhagavathar as well as leading Carnatic exponents like Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer
Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer
Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan was a composer of Carnatic music. He was a great exponent of extemporaneous singing. He also composed a ragamalika with all the 72 melakartha ragas....
. His father, Kasturi Ranganathan was an Adhikari or a Revenue Collector in British India who was called Adhikari Rangan Pattar.
Known for his purity of music rendition as well as the gift of a golden voice that had His Blessings, he was famous for ragas like karaharapriya that were rendered with divinity and devotion. At a time when loudspeakers/acoustics were non-existent in the early 1930s and 1940s (pre-independence), he was known for his mellifluous rendition and great voice. His devotion to Lord Rama was well-known. An adept at all the Trinity's compositions, he never hankered for fame or position. He was honoured by the then Maharajas of Mysore and Travancore. His peers included greats in Carnatic music like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar
Chembai
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad . Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1896, at Kottayi near Palakkad on Janmashtami day, with Bharani star in the month of Chingam...
and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, who had great regard for him.
His wife Rugmani Ammal was a great companion who took care of him and his family as he grew up to be a renowned musician of his time. She died in 1991, devoted to Lord Krishna temple in Old Kalpathy till her last breath, following the footsteps of her late husband, who had died in May 1957 in Kalpathi, Kerala.
His sons (Late) Ranganathan (Raju), (Late) Seshamani, (Late) Venkataramanan, Lakshminarayanan and others carry the hoary traditions quietly within the family to this day. Palghat Rama Bhagavathar's older brother, Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar left behind the cross-cultural stamp in Malayalam by introducing padams in Kathakali dance form.
A musician par excellence, he made simplicity a virtue and divinity a permanent feature in his music, with rasika-centricity as his virtue. His raga alapana would be very detailed and stretching leaving all his rasikas mesmerized. Saint Tyagaraja had a great follower in Palghat Rama Bhagavathar and all his krithis were sung in his performances.
His first Carnatic concert was at the Kalpathy
Kalpathi
Kalpathi or Kalpathy also known as Dakshin Kasi or the Varanasi of the South is an early Tamil Brahmin settlement in the Palakkad District of Kerala state, south India...
Kasi Viswanatha Swamy Temple and so was his last concert.
He launched the Palghat (Palakkad) edition of the Thyagaraja Aradhana at Kalpathi Ram Dhyana Madom - Link to article in the papers of "The Hindu" - Trivandrum edition - Dec 25th 2009.
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/12/25/stories/2009122550980300.htm