Honnappa Bhagavathar

[vinsim]

I chanced upon this wonderful artist. I was completely bowled over by the Amrithavarshini..

http://mt.iadvaita.com/songs.php?albumid=204

There does not seem to be much information on the web. Can some knowledgable people throw some light?

[knandago2001]

Thanks for the link – that was very enjoyable!

Honnappa Bhagavatar was a disciple of Arunachalappa, the illustrious harmonium vidwan who provided the accompaniment for B.S. Raja Iyengar’s recording of Jagadoddharana. Here is a link to Honnappa Bhagavatar singing kannaare kandenaa – ragamalika (need real player to hear the audio)
http://clickcop.com/clickcop.cgi/110111 ... /video.3gp

Apart from starring in kannada films Honnappa Bhagavatar has also acted in tamil films -
in Valmiki
http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/movies/article69891.ece
in Sri Murugan
http://www.hindu.com/cp/2009/05/01/stor ... 401600.htm

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Vinsim,
Thanks for starting this thread.

I will come back with a writeup and possibly some pictures in the coming days.

Sreeni Rajarao

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Sri Honnappa Bhagavatar was born on January 14th, 1915 in a village called Chowdasandra in Nelamangala Taluk, near Bangalore. Even as a kid, Honnappa had been drawn toward the fine arts, and had begun displaying his talents in singing bhajans and playing harmonium and tabala. By the tender age of fifteen, Honnappa had trained himself as an amateur kathA kIrtanakAra, and moved to Bangalore in search of livelihood. Young Honnappa was fortunate to be guided by Sri. Sambandha Murthy Bhagavatar, a reputed kathA kIrtanakAra of those days. At age nineteen, Honnappa sought training in classical music as well from his Guru. After a few years of training, Honnappa had begun giving classical vocal music concerts also.

A few years later, Honnappa had moved to Mysore due to some personal situation. It turned out to be a blessing and he received further training from Sri. Harmonium Arunachalappa. In the years that followed, Sri Arunachalappa accompanied his disciple also in several concerts. In the 1960s, Honnappa Bhagavatar had formed a popular team with Sri. P. Bhuvaneshwarayya (violin) and Sri. M L Veerabhadrayya (mRdanga).

Honnappa Bhagavatar had also established himself as an actor. Gubbi Veeranna, the doyen of theatre, impressed with Honnappa Bhagavatar’s versatility as an actor who could also sing with very clear diction in a powerful voice invited him to join his theatre. It was only natural that the handsome Honnappa Bhagavatar had a succeful career in the movie industry as well, with many hits in the kannaDa and tamil industries.

Honnappa Bhagavatar was a vAggeyakAra as well. In the year 1983, kannaDa sAhitya parishat had published a collection of 101 of his compositions. Honnappa Bhagavatar is credited with creating a rAga called OmkAra. He has also composed in some uncommon ragas like shivapriya, hitapriya, stOtapriya, BhArati, kadaramu, stutipriya, nepALagowLa, gurupriya, tAndavam and tilak kAmod.

In 1976, karnAtaka gAna kAla parishat had chosen him as the president of the sixth music conference and conferred on him the title “gAnakalA bhUSHaNa.”

Sri Honnappa Bhagavatar had trained many students. His sons Ramkumar and Bharat Bhagavatar have earned fame in the theatre and movie environments as actors.

Sri. Honnappa Bhagavatar passed away on January 10th, 1997.

(I have based this write up on an article written by Dr. Sarvamangala Shankar, published in the book kalAcEtana, published in 2004 by Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy)

[semmu86]

Sreeni Rajarao thanks for this lovely pic . Any idea , who is the kanjira artiste ?

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Looks like Vid. H P Ramachar, not 100% sure.
This is a picture from January 1974.

[cienu]

Great Picture Sreeni.

Yes , that is Vidwan H P Ramachar.

[bharathtejasvi]

Hello Sreeni,

I am the grandson of Shri. Honappa Bhagavathar, thank you so much for your post, can you please provide me your contact number? I want to collect all the information and music collection you have about my Grandpa. Staying away from motherland has made it difficult for me to access them.

Thanks and Regards,

Bharath Tejasvi

+001 817 965 0630 ( Cell Phone )

[Sreeni Rajarao]

Hello Bharath,

It is good to see your post.

I will send you a forum email with my contact info.

Look forward to connecting with you!

Sreeni Rajarao

[mahesh3]

thanks for the concert. what a wonderful, ringing, sonorous voice..beautiful ideas! first time hearing about this artist.