Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) 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 2024, being 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, Isai Perarignar from Government of Tamil Nadu and Kalidas Samman from Government of Madhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" (Semmangudi Uncle) 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.

Early life and training Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer was born on 25 July 1908 in Tirukkodikaval, Tanjore district, the third son of Radhakrishna Iyer and Dharmasamvardhini Ammal into a Tamil Iyer Brahmin family. He lived with his maternal uncle Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, a violin maestro, until the age of four and after his death, moved back to his parents' home in Semmangudi, Tiruvarur District. At the age of eight he started learning music from his cousin Semmangudi Narayanaswamy Iyer. This was followed by some rigorous training under Thiruvadaimaruthur Sakharama Rao, a famous Gottuvadhyam exponent, an event considered by Semmangudi as a turning point in his life. This was followed by another training stint with Narayanaswamy Iyer, during which time he learnt a lot of varnams and keerthanams. He also learned under vocalist Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer. Then he had a musical apprenticeship with Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. In 1926, he performed his first music recital at Kumbakonam. In 1927 he gave a concert in the Madras session of Indian National Congress, another event considered by Semmangudi as a turning point in his life, as it catapulted him into the big league of vidwans at that time. He was known for producing soulful music, highly creative and yet very orthodox, despite a recalcitrant voice.

He was instrumental, along with Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, for the work on the krithis of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. Some of his very famous renditions of kritis included Marubalka in Sri Ranjani raga, Chakkani Raja Margamu in Kharaharapriya, etc.

Voice

Semmangudi was well known for his uncharacteristically nasal voice in an era when practically every prominent Carnatic singer had an impeccable voice. In his youth, famous kanjira performer, Dhakshinamurti Pillai commented to his brother and teacher, "His voice is as melodious as the noise created when a coconut shell is scraped on a rock. Don't bother to give him vocal training. Let him learn to play the violin." Despite such criticism, Semmangudi worked hard to improve his voice through practice and rigorous training. In the end, his natural talent for music emerged victorious over his deficient voice and he became a phenomenon in the Carnatic world.

His singing style has been widely followed, and his most prominent disciples include Sangeetha Kalanidhis, M. S. Subbulakshmi and her stepdaughter Radha Viswanathan, T. M. Thiagarajan, and violinist Prof. T. N. Krishnan. His senior disciples include P. S. Narayanaswamy, Sri K. R. Kedaranathan, Smt. Seetha Rajan, V. Subramaniam (a.k.a. Rajamani),Smt Parassala Ponnammal, K.J.Yesudas, T.M.Krishna, Trivandrum G Seethalakshmi Ammal, Palai C. K. Ramachandran, Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, Prof. Kumara Kerala Varma, Vaigal S.Gnanaskandhan, Smt. Meera Kedaranathan, Kadayanallur Venkataraman, V. R. Krishnan, Smt. Seethalakshmi Venkatesan, Smt. Radha Namboodri, Smt. Visalakshi Ramachandran.

Family

At a very young age, he was married to Thayyu ammal. Thayyu ammal, he always acknowledged, was a pivotal factor in the success of his career. The entire family was run with stream line precision by Thayyu ammal, when he had to frequently travel for concerts and also spend most of his time involved in music.

Sons – Swaminathan, Gopalaswamy, Radhakrishnan Daughters – Shantha, Dharma. Grand Children – Jayaraman, Hariharan, Sreeraman, Lakshmanan, Yoga, Bala, Padma, Anandhi, Sankar, Jayashree, Srinivas, Vivekanandan, Vidya, Jagannath