Kalpathi Ramanathan

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 15 Apr 2011, 03:44

(moderator note.. The topic was split from a different topic. The topic of the Vidwan Kalpathi Ramanathan follows after the first few posts )

S-P, not much of a picture. but since you asked. I'm trying to not let Enna_Solven's nuclear bunker thread scare me. But I won't worry so much for now, I use a macintosh

smala · Post by **smala** » 15 Apr 2011, 03:58

Thanks Mahavishnu - that guy with the glasses on the mridangam looks totally cool.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 15 Apr 2011, 03:59

I so need a "like" button.

smala · Post by **smala** » 15 Apr 2011, 04:09

mahavishnu wrote:I so need a "like" button.

Hop over to FB - you'll get plenty! there already? Somehow I so took you for an old rooster.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Apr 2011, 04:20

In person, even more handsome, if old hens are allowed to vote...

Ranganayaki · Post by **Ranganayaki** » 15 Apr 2011, 19:01

arasi wrote:In person, even more handsome, if old hens are allowed to vote...

Arasi, I was going to write that my number 27 was definitely a compliment(I really don't know how I came up with that particular number), but I had a feeling you were irrepressible anyway! You certainly are! Way to go, with your vote!

And Mahavishnu, you do look very nice in that picture! I was surprised to learn too, how young you actually are! Your postings showed a seriousness we associate with age, just as Arasi's showed an openness of mind and ease of spirit we associate with (exactly) 27

. But still, time does fly, doesn't it?

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 15 Apr 2011, 19:19

shyama-priya wrote:.....
..Somehow I so took you for an old rooster.

as well as others
I only see the old Rooster there (the venerable maestro Kalpathi Ramanathan)!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 15 Apr 2011, 19:22

You are right!

smala · Post by **smala** » 15 Apr 2011, 23:23

cmlover wrote: I only see the old Rooster there (the venerable maestro Kalpathi Ramanathan)!

Is there a pic of Kalpathy Ramanathan for a handy compare? He has accompanied MSS so there must be some with cienu or others.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 16 Apr 2011, 00:06

S-P: Here is one of a young Kalpathi Ramanathan accompanying a very young MSS; so no old roosters there. You have to pardon the quality of the reproduction, it is from a picture that is almost seven decades old.

Cienu was definitely not born then

If someone could narrow down what year this is from, I would really appreciate it. I am also unable to place the violin and khanjira artistes.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 16 Apr 2011, 01:02

I trust Mahvishnu will oblige; one with the Queen of CM holding the Fort!
By God! What an instant gratification before posting!
Thank you..
Ramesh! you look super in that picture- withou the glasses

Judging by the looks of Radha this is definitely 1940's...

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 02:21

In the whole thread of 75 postings, the only thing I understood ,shorn of NMN,ese, was the query about the identity of the violonist It is Sri Kanda devi Alagiriswamy May Sri Rama bless you all

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 16 Apr 2011, 02:33

Now, I understand two posts

sruthi · Post by **sruthi** » 16 Apr 2011, 02:46

And I understand three!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Apr 2011, 02:54

And I'm... back where I started!

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 04:56

From the dress worn by Smt. Radha, in the photograph, I date it earlier than 1940. Or my Intra Ocular Implants playing truant?

smala · Post by **smala** » 16 Apr 2011, 05:54

Nice historical pic - MV if you can upload another better pic or two of KR - would add to the new flavor here. BTW, is that an appalakudumi or munkudumi sported by the violinist - since there were not too many of them around - someone should be able to confirm, Veeyens says Sri Kandadevi Alagiriswamy.

KANDADEVI S ALAGIRISWAMY
(April 21, 1925 - October 13, 2000)

Kandadevi Alagiriswamy was one of the foremost violinists of Carnatic music. His demise yesterday, the 13th October 2000 is indeed a great loss. Carnatica pays its tributes to this veteran.

Son of Sundararaja Iyengar and Alamelu Ammal, Alagiriswamy was born at Kandadevi near Devakottai on April 21, 1925. He started training in violin at the tender age of 11, from his grandfather, Srinivasa Iyengar and Kandadevi Chellam Iyengar. In 1940, he switched over to T Chowdiah for advanced training.

He made his debut by accompanying his guru T Chowdiah at the latter's solo concert in Mysore. From then, there was no turning back for Alagiriswamy. He was immediately invited to accompany the top vocalist of those times, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar at Devakottai. Since then he was very much sought-after as an accompanist and has provided accompaniment to several leading artistes.

He has travelled widely within India and accompanied stalwarts like M S Subbulakshmi and P S Narayanaswami to countries like USA, UK, Ceylon, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. Not surprisingly, he was bestowed with prestigious awards and titles like the Kalaimamani, the Tamilnadu State Award and Tanti Nada Visarada by the Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.

He was known for his religiosity and modesty and enjoyed popularity among musicians and music lovers. Carnatic music has indeed lost one of its great assets.

smala · Post by **smala** » 16 Apr 2011, 06:24

A couple of pics in this MSS collection identified as violinist Sri Alagiriswamy w/ and w/o the kudumi - they seem different persons to me.

http://www.msstribute.org/gallery/gallery4.php

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 06:43

In those days male instruemntalists were loathe to accompany female vocalists, and the number of such who accompanied can be counted on fingers of one hand Initially, it was Tiruvalangadu Sundresa Iyer, then R.K.Venkatarama Sastry V.Sethuramaiah and Alagiriswam, all of T.Chowdaia school and if I remember correct V.V.Subramanian came just before 1966 U.N concert

smala · Post by **smala** » 16 Apr 2011, 06:58

Thanks Veeyens for the valuable info on male artists accompanying female vocalists. Did male mridangists have a similar no problem ?

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 07:06

Front line Male Mridangists , with few exceptions did not accompany female vocalists This taboo was broken when Sri. Palghat Man Iyer accompanied Smt. D.K Pattammal, but I am open to correction R e. violonists, I should have added
Sri G.Srinivasan of kumbakonam to the list who accompanied Smt. M.S. Subbalakshmi

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 16 Apr 2011, 09:32

VK, first of all thanks for starting this thread.

S-P, I don't have any other photos handy. I will see if I can scan a few from my family's photo albums this weekend..

Veeyens sir: You are our bridge to that period in history. I appreciate all your wisdom in trying to unravel that world for us.
I am, however, not certain if the violinist in that picture is Sri Alagiriswamy (disciple of Chowdiah). In think he started playing for MSS a good few years later.

In fact, Sri Chowdiah himself accompanied MSS (with Kalpathi Ramanathan on the mridangam) at the music academy in 1947. http://www.musicacademymadras.in/golden ... e_1947.php;

Now, take a look at the schedule from 1939. http://www.musicacademymadras.in/golden ... e_1939.php (KR accompanied Alathur Bros and MSS on two successive days). The violinist for the MSS concert that year was Mayavaram Govindaraja Pillai.

S-P. RE: the gender-ism among accompanists. It persists even today (not that you don't know this).

There are several musicians on the list of people that you see in the MSS tribute site, who made their name from accompanying Smt MSS, and refused to play for female artistes after that. I won't name names, but you can see them in the album. Here is a more recent take on the issue: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/arti ... ice=mobile

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 16 Apr 2011, 09:33

Now, I have to see if I can find a picture of KR with Vasanthakokilam

circa 1945.

smala · Post by **smala** » 16 Apr 2011, 12:38

I hereby declare that I had nothing to do, in part or in whole, wittingly or unwittingly, by thought or deed, with the creation of this thread. This thread may be deemed svayambhu.

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 22:58

"While surfing on the net, I came across the following statement in Wilkpedia
"On September 16, 2007, the 91st birth anniversary of Smt Radha Viswanathan amazed everyon" It gives a false impression that Smt. Radha was born in 1916, which is actuly Smt. M. S.S , Subbalkshmi's birth year I feel Wilkipedia should be asked to remove this ambguity

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 16 Apr 2011, 23:50

veeyens, there is no single authority for Wikipedia. You can edit that article yourself and fix it. That is the beauty of wikipedia. It is crowdsource.

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Apr 2011, 23:57

Thanks V.KI shall attempt a rectification procss

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 17 Apr 2011, 00:05

veeyens
PMI accompanied DKP only because she was the Sambandhi Ammal!
He never accompanied any other female artiste...
In fact the gender and language bias persisted into 30's and MA relented in the 40's when they desperately needed the cash which only MS could secure for them

Perhaps MKR can tell us the whole story...

Ramesh
You should sharee with us whatever you know about KR.
He is a forgotten luminary of the golden era!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 17 Apr 2011, 03:19

[quote="cmlover"]veeyens
PMI accompanied DKP only because she was the Sambandhi Ammal!
THIS STATEMENT IS UNTRUE. Actually PMI HIMSELF voluntarily asked DKP if he could accompany her- SHE never asked or initiated anything- based on how impressed he was of her singing abilities. He has said it himself openly...........................VKV

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 17 Apr 2011, 03:48

CML, I have to agree with VKV on this one. I am much younger than both of you in age and I have only heard of the golden era through family conversations. PMI was ready to accompany DKP earlier. However, DKP's stock accompanists in the 40s were Kalpathi Ramanathan, Tinniam and later Palghat Kunjumani. Her son Sivakumar started playing for her from the mid-50s.

PMI also accompanied MLV later on and was quite involved in setting up the music program in Rishi Valley with her. Here is a commercial release http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/m-l-v- ... d388662347. A very good kutcheri if you are willing to spare $9.99.

On another note, I thought it would be appropriate to post this article here, since it describes (briefly) the relationship between Mani Iyer and Sri KR. (original can be found here: http://www.palghatmaniiyer.org/1_27_V-S-Mani.html)

EXPERIENCES WITH MANI IYER

BY

V.S.MANI IYER

Mani Iyer - the pupil

The first time I came in close contact with Mani Iyer was in 1932. I met him in my uncle’s house in Tanjore. I was a high school student spending my summer vacation in my uncle’s house. Mani Iyer arrived in Tanjore one fine morning and he was not only received at the Railway station by my uncle, but was also given a very warm and affectionate welcome. I was wondering why a teacher had to go to station to receive a student. My uncle Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer was his teacher. this incident in later years revealed to me the student teacher relationship, how affectionate it should be. Who was greater, the teacher or the pupil, I still do not know.

Later in the day Laye Annaswami Bagavathar, the great Harikatha exponent called on my uncle along with his brother Krishna Iyer an eminent mridangam vidwan. the quartet started a discussion which was all Greek and Latin to me. But I still remember my uncle telling both Mani Iyer and Krishna Iyer about a Mohra which he had formulated and he wanted them to play on mridangam. The teacher’s brain was a research laboratory always indulging in permutations and combinations and he found in Mani Iyer the medium to translate his thoughts on the instrument. The teacher had a drawback. His fingers were thick and short so much so they did not cooperate with his ever-active brain always calculating various combinations of chollu-kattu. this Mani Iyer did very well with his long and nimble fingers and the great maestro found in Mani Iyer an eminent exponent of his research findings. the relationship they had can be compared to Krishna - Arjuna’s. the respect and reverence the pupil had towards the teacher and the warm and affectionate possessive love the teacher had towards the pupil are still fresh in my memory. Can we find such relationships today ?

Mani Iyer the Master

Among the countless number of students, who got trained under Mani Iyer I remember two. Late Kalpathy Ramanathan who accompanied famous Smt. M.S.Subbalakshmi in the forties and Sri Venkat Rao from Andhra. Kalpathy Ramanathan was senior to me in school by two years and was living nest door. Mani Iyer though very young himself, could spot the latent talent in Ramanathan and whenever he was in Palghat he used come to Ramanathan’s house at 5 p.m. on working days and at 8 a.m. on holidays, a teacher going to a student’s house to teach that too at a time when gurukula vasam was in vogue. Shri Mani Iyer not only visited Ramanathan’s house but also asked two young vocalists Messers C.S.Krishna Iyer and V.S.Chidambaram to come to Ramanathan’s house. He used to ask these two vocalists to sing and used to demonstrate as to how Mridangam should be played. while teaching Ramanathan he used to give advice to both Krishna Iyer and Chidambaram the subtle variations in ragas and how they should be presented. He took personal interest in his students and their welfare. Sri Venkat Rao belonged to a poor family in Andhra and he came to Mani Iyer to learn the art.

Sri Venkat Rao used to receive only Rs.12 a month from his parents in Andhra. He had to pay the room rent and meet the hotel bills also. Rao took a pledge that he would subsist on peanuts till he completed course and this Mani Iyer came to know. Impressed with his zeal, enthusiasm and sincerity Mani Iyer used to pay his hotel bills often and when Mani Iyer because of his concert engagements for almost 20 days in a month he could not give more time to Rao. Eventually he sent Rao to his master Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer for further training. such was his interest in his students.

Three years prior to his death I took one young boy to Mani Iyer. Mani Iyer accepted him as his pupil. After four months he told me in confidence that that the boy did not have aptitude and impressed by the boy’s sincerity and devotion to Mani Iyer did not have the heart to send the boy away. with his influence he found a job for the boy and he is doing well. How many teachers are there to take such personal interest in the welfare of the student.

Mani Iyer, the Artist

For over five decades Mani Iyer walked like a colossus in the arena of carnatic music. top front rank artistes like Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chembai, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer, Alathoor Brothers, felt elated if Mani Iyer accompanied them in concerts and they felt his very presence on the dias added luster to their performances. Mani Iyer was a puritan and he never compromised on ethics and scientific approach to music. His opposition to mike in performance made him unpopular but he ignored the criticism and he had the courage to stand firm in his decision. He encouraged junior artistes and was very large hearted in giving credit to deserving performers. Mutual jealousy associated with musicians and artistes did not have a place in Mani Iyer’s career. His punctual approach and rigid outlook on traditions kept him away even in participating Thyaga Brahma Aradhana celebrations in Thiruvayaru but can anyone say that Mani Iyer was not an aaradhaka of Thyagabrahmam. Mani Iyer will always remain like a Pole star in the horizon of Carnatic music, shedding light and guiding young travellers in the never ending world of music.

Mani Iyer, the friend

Mani Iyer was one of those, rare persons for whom the friendship and loyalty had something like a religious fervor. though an highly honoured man, famous in India and abroad he used to find time to call on his boyhood friends and spend some time with them. His friend, once a rich hotellier lost everything he had, and opened a small tea shop in the village. Mani Iyer whenever he was in Palghat, used to visit his shop both in the mornings and evenings. His love and affection were infectious. A contemporary of Mani Iyer, another mridangam artiste, was struck with leprosy and was literally starving with a wife and three children. Mani Iyer used to give him financial assistance whenever possible. Rarely do we find an artist going to the aid of a brother artist.

Mani Iyer, the nationalist

When Mani Iyer made his spectacular entry in the early thirties, Gandhiji had started his Sathyagraha and Swadeshi movement. Mani Iyer started wearing khadhi from then on and he died with khadi clothes on. On his return from States, I asked to give his impression about U.S. and way of life there. His answer was "give me India, My India and the personal freedom, I enjoy here. I can roam about the streets with a dhothi and a small angavasthram where else in the world can I have that freedom." No more States for me. I am glad to be back in my native land.

Mani Iyer , the Man

Mani Iyer had his own experiments with truth. He used to sit with his friends C.S.Krishna Iyer and others on the sandy banks of Kalpathy river and discuss with them the truths underlying in the works of Thyagabrahmam, the ultimate goal in life. He never spoke a lie and he never compromised on values. His duty as a son to his parents, his brothers and sisters are worthy of emulation by others. Once on an afternoon he came to me seeking my assistance to cancel his engagements in Rajahmundry where he had committed to participate in three concerts. His father was indisposed and he was not willing to leave his father’s bedside though his younger brother was there. Such was his sense of duty. He nursed his ailing mother for nearly half a decade.

Mani Iyer was humility personified. His food habits, daily routine, spartan way of living are so exemplary that we rarely come across such qualities in a person of his fame and eminence.

More can be written on his professional brilliance and genius but I am the least qualified since I am neither a musician nor an artist. I wish to close this in one sentence. I found in Mani Iyer all the virtues that a man should possess.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Apr 2011, 07:11

Amma says that the violin Vidwan is S.D.Sankara Iyer. She is not able to recollect the name of the Kanjira Vidwan though. The person playing the Tambura (between MS and Radha) is Balaraman. Picture must be between 1941 to 1943

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Apr 2011, 07:14

vasanthakokilam wrote:veeyens, there is no single authority for Wikipedia. You can edit that article yourself and fix it. That is the beauty of wikipedia. It is crowdsource.

I have made the correction.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 17 Apr 2011, 08:01

Cienu, many thanks for showing the picture to your mother.
Please convey my warmest regards to her. I have only met her once, when your grandparents lived in Nungambakkam in the vicinity of valluvar kOttam circa 1981-82.

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 17 Apr 2011, 09:25

Dear Mahavishnu,
I am involved in a centenary celebration for PMI in Cleveland & Chennai and would very much like to discuss this subject with you in Cleveland. The article above you had included in your post was not only excellent but very informative and to me personally very inspiring. Thanks, VKV

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 17 Apr 2011, 18:33

VKV sir, I would be delighted to talk further about this with you in Cleveland.
Are you back in Los Alamos now?

P.S: I just discovered that I still have the pen from the Los Alamos bank that you distributed during the rasikas meeting.

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 17 Apr 2011, 23:09

mahavishnu wrote:VKV sir, I would be delighted to talk further about this with you in Cleveland.
Are you back in Los Alamos now?

P.S: I just discovered that I still have the pen from the Los Alamos bank that you distributed during the rasikas meeting.

YES, I am back in Los Alamos & looking forward to meeting you in Cleveland. PL seek me out as I will be running errands etc as well as assignments. We shd talk about your interaction With Gellman too as I can - in case you don't know it- say something about his visit to Madras.....Complexity intertwined with Chaos!......VKV.... I will bring some more pens from LANB TOO........

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 19 Apr 2011, 07:57

Article in the Hindu (in the context of the Kalpathi music festival).

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 885082.ece

Rich tradition of Carnatic music
P. Vijayambika
Nov, 2010

The neat and tidy streets of the ‘Agraharams' of Kalpathy are once again reverberating with the melody and rhythm of Carnatic music. Kalpathy, famous as the Tanjore of Kerala as far as Carnatic music is concerned, has produced several gems of this field and has played host to still more.

The famous musicians who add to the musical tradition of Kalpathy include the legendary Palakkad Maniayyar, his father Seshan Pattar, his gurus Mridangam Subbayyar and Kalpathy Viswanatayyar; Subbayyar's sons C.S. Krishnamoorthy (mridangam) and C.S. Raman (violin); Viswanathayyar's son L.V. Krishnamoorthy (mridangam); Mukkai Sivarama Bhagavathar; Kalpathy Ramanathan (mridangam); Govindarajapuram Sivaramakrishna Bhagavathar; Sachidanandamoorthy (mukharsankh); Mahadevan (ghatom); Narayana Bhagavathar (violin), his son Viswanath Ayyar (violin) and grandchild K.V. Narayanaswami; C.R. Mani (violin); Mani Ayyar's sons Rajamani (mridangam) and Rajaram (violin). The list is endless.

Some other stalwarts who settled in this fertile land for music are Thondukulam Anantharama Bhagavathar, Mundaya Rama Bhagavathar, Nochur Flute Krishn Ayyar, Veenakalanidhi Desamangalam Subrahmaniayyar, his son Desamangalam Ramanarayanan, Erode Viswanathayyar(violin), Harmonium Subramania Deekshithar, C.S. Krishnayyar, Pudukode Krishnamoorthy, Pudukode Krishnan, Chalakkudi Narayanaswami, Kedaranathan, Meera Kedaranathan, Palakkad Raghu, Pallassana Meena, Balakrishnan Potty (veena), Purushothaman Potty(violin), R. Swaminathan (violin), Rajeswari Swaminathan, Seshadreeswaran, Sivaraman, Flute Krishnayyar, his son Suresh, Prasad and Ambathur Babu.

Some blossoming artistes who stake a claim to Kalpathy's musical heritage include Nithyasree Mahadevan and Ramprasad (grandchildren of Maniayyar); Abhishek Raghuram and Anand (mridangam); Anuradha Suresh Krishnamoorthy, daughter of K.V. Narayanaswami; Lakshmi Ananthakrishnan, daughter of Sivaramabhagavathar; Jayamangala Krishnamani, daughter of Krishnamoorthy; and Mala Mohan.

The rich tradition of music at Kalpathy bloomed during the time of Mundai Ramabhagavathar, later known as Kalpathy Ramabhagavathar. He was born on June 5, 1887, in Mundamukha village in Shoranur to Kasthurirang Ayyar, a village revenue official (grama adhikari), and Alamelumangai.

His initial tutelage in music was under his brother Venkitakrishan Bhagavathar, who was an exponent of Kathakali padams. He used to sing along with his brother for Kathakali performances from the age of eight. This strengthened his natural aptitude for Carnatic music, instilling the nuances, intricacies and complexities of Carnatic music in him.

He later turned to Carnatic music.

He started learning from Vadakkenchery Ramabhagavathar along with his brother, which provided him a firm base. Later, he started training under Thondukulam Anantharama Bhagavathar in ‘Gurukulasampradaya'. He used to accompany his guru in Harikadha Kalakshepas.

His rich and sonorous voice held the audience in thrall. Anantharama Bhagavathar took Ramabhagavathar to Kumbhakonam for training under the doyen, Umayalpuram Swaminatha Ayyar, direct disciple of Saint Thyagaraja.

There he assiduously learned various kruthis of different ‘vaggeyakaras' (composers) in various languages and the nuances of ragas and developed a distinct ‘bani' of ragalapana and manodharmaswaraprasthara.

Ramabhagavathar settled at old Kalpathy in 1910 and lived there his till his death in 1957.

P. Vijayambika

(The author is the general convenor of Kalpathy Music Festival)

Kalpathy Ramabhagavathar was among the many famous musicians who lived in the Agraharams of Palakkad.

smala · Post by **smala** » 19 Apr 2011, 10:03

MV - please enter a wiki submission on kalpathy ramanathan - with bio and achievements.

smala · Post by **smala** » 19 Apr 2011, 10:29

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 20 Apr 2011, 02:57

S-P: thanks for the suggestion. I will try to compile something soon.
Are you from the Palakkad area yourself?

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 20 Apr 2011, 07:23

VKV sir, It turns out that I will only be able to make it to Cleveland for the last weekend. Now that the federal govt is still running, I am trapped at a panel meeting in DC till the end of that week. I will be sure to seek you out.

smala · Post by **smala** » 21 Apr 2011, 00:26

mahavishnu wrote:S-P: thanks for the suggestion. I will try to compile something soon.
Are you from the Palakkad area yourself?

yes, was born in ayalur, near nemmara - made one trip there when very little and then -- a dream house traditional teak/jackfruit wood pillars, that all lovely wood closet thing to store rice, nice backyard with all sorts of trees and fresh veggies, cows, a well -- got sold for Rs 5000 - ;(

smala · Post by **smala** » 21 Apr 2011, 00:36

Here's a mridangam lineage tree starting from Mahavaidyanathan Iyer-Palghat Mani Iyer and PMI's numerous disciples - the first Palghat Raghu who PMI incorporated into his family as his sisters son-in-law. There's a very well done docu of Palghat Raghu, can post link if desired.

Kalpathy Ramanathan also PMI's disciple does not seem to have had disciples - is that right?

http://mirudangam.tripod.com/gs_tree.html

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 21 Apr 2011, 08:06

S-P: I had a feeling that you had a Kerala connection.

Thanks for posting the list. It appears to be updated which is good. There used to be a version of it on Mohan's carnaticcorner website.

The list you posted is not in the chronological order of the shishyas. For example UKS did not train with him till much later.
KR had one shishya that played at concert level: Kalpathi Sridhar, who is my cousin. He did not continue as a full-time musician, although he is a graded AIR mridangist.

I think the link you mentioned might already be on the PR thread.

smala · Post by **smala** » 21 Apr 2011, 10:20

Let's build a time frame to the artists on the mridangam tree for chronolgy - I'll be relying on the net - so pl. add/correct if needed.

TOYKING · Post by **TOYKING** » 21 Apr 2011, 14:08

"`Sri Rama Bhagavathar recordings :

parama pAvana rAma -purvi kalyani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4yfVgCc ... 4F787D3144

kadanu varikki -todi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f1OW7tv ... playnext=2`"

Thanks a ton for this,
somehow no one seems to remember anything about this great musician,probably becoz recordings were not in vogue at that time
here is an article about this musician.
http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/prb.html

smala · Post by **smala** » 22 Apr 2011, 23:41

Another rare recording from Palghat Rama Bhagavathar.

vAchAma gocharudani -Atana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dukmiini ... ture=feedu

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 21 Jun 2011, 18:58

Please find below a much better picture of Sri S D Sankara Iyer and Sri Kalpathi Ramanathan accompanying MS sometime in the early 1940's.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 21 Jun 2011, 19:02

Cienu, that is a lovely picture. Thanks for posting!

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 21 Jun 2011, 21:38

What a great picture! Awesome. Thanks Cienu.