sathur sri. a.g. subramaniam
A musician par excellence
With Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer, and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
Sathur Sri A. G. Subramaniam (1916 - 1977) was a renowned musician in the Carnatic music tradition. A contemporary of Ariyakudi Sri Ramanuja Iyengar, Sri G. N. Balasubramaniam, and Madurai Mani Iyer, he was known for his pure, unadulterated style and strict adherence to tradition.
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Born in the year 1916 in a town called Angarai, in Trichy district, Tamilnadu, he lived his formative years with his uncle in nearby Sathur, in Virudhunagar district and was exposed to the devotional singing of “bhajana goshtis”. He joined Annamalai University, Chidambaram to pursue his passion for music, where he was trained by distinguished maestros like Tiruvaiyyaru Sabesa Iyer, Thanjavur Ponnaiah Pillai, Tiger Varadachariar etc. He graduated with a degree in music, “Sangeetha Bhushanam” in 1936.
With the blessings of Ariyakudi Sri Ramanuja Iyengar, he performed his first concert at the Sathguru Thyagaraja festival in Tiruvaiyyaru in 1937. Thereafter, there was no looking back for the young artiste. Sri Subramaniam had a majestic voice (“Vengala Kural” in Tamil), called as “Ravai Saareeram”, and could produce intricate Gamakas and Brughas with clarity. Being fluent in several languages, his renditions had a clear diction bringing out the meaning and emotion “Bhava” in the song. His “Bani” or “Pattandhiram” was regarded as pure, authentic and strictly adhering to tradition.
With Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, and Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
He was trained in the Mridangam, and was able to compose intricate Pallavis and render them flawlessly with little effort. He was well known for singing Ragam Tanam Pallavis in several ragas. His renditions of Thanjavur Sankara Iyer’s “Yamuna Vihara” in Bhimpalas, and Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai’s “Dayai Puriya Innum Thamadama” in Malayamarudham left audiences spellbound. Audiences would fondly remember his 5 hour long concerts at the Trichy “Noorukal Mandapam” without the aid of mikes.
Subramaniam performed at the Music Academy, and other elite sabhas in Chennai between the 1940s and 1970s. He had the privilege of giving the inaugural concert for the Sri Rama Navami celebrations at Coimbatore till his death. An ardent devotee of Sri. Kanchi Maha Periyaval he gave numerous concerts in His presence at Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, as well as the Acharyas of the Sringeri Sarada Peetam. He was a regular performer at the All India Radio, Tiruchirappalli for many years.
With Smt. T. Rukmini, and Kuttralam Viswanatha Iyer.
Sri Subramaniam was accompanied by great violinists like Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, V. Sethuramiah, T. Chowdayya, T. N. Krishnan, Lalgudi G Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, M. Chandrasekaran, T. Rukmini, and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, illustrious Mridangists like Palghat Mani Iyer, Palani Subramaniya Pillai, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Trichy Sankaran, Palghat Raghu, T. K. Moorthy, Vellore G. Ramabhadran and Thinniyam Krishnan. Ghatam maestros like Sri. Vikku Vinayakaram and Alangudi Ramachandran, and Morsing vidwan Sri.
Mahadevan completed his concert team.
With Prof. T. N. Krishnan.
Sri Subramaniam was honored with the title of “Sangeetha Kala Sigamani” by the Tamilnadu government in 1966. He received the award from the then Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai. To mark his 60th birthday, he was specially invited and honored with a Poorna Kumbham by a prestigious music school in Chennai in 1976.
A teacher par excellence, his music lives on through many of his disciples who went on to become great performers in their own right. Notable among them are Smt Seethamani Srinivasan, Smt Sulochana Pattabhiraman, Smt Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, Sirkazhi Sri V. R. Subramaniam and his brother Sri V. R. Jayaraman, Musiri P. Rangarajan, and others. His daughters and disciples Smt Lakshmi Sundaram, Smt Lalitha Santhanam and Smt Bhuvana Rajagopalan, and grandchildren Smt. Shanthi Shriram (USA), Uma Kumar (Switzerland), and Krishna Ramarathinam (Australia) continue to perform, teach and uphold his legacy.
Receiving "Sangeetha Kala Sigamani" from the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, C.N. Annadurai.
