From: cco.caltech.edu!vidya (Vidyasankar Sundaresan)
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Re: Mutthiah Bhagavatar
Date: 7 Nov 1992 18:38:08 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Distribution: world
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Originator: vidya@roo

In article <BxCwAD.KIo@news.iastate.edu> tmohan@iastate.edu (Thyagarajan  
Mohan) writes:
- In article <Bx9tKJ.BBB@beach.csulb.edu> vishwa@beach.csulb.edu  
(Viswanath Nanjundiah) writes:
- >Thanks a lot for answering my earlier questions. I would like to know 
- >the time, place etc of Shri.Mutthiah Bhagavatar. (I believe he is the
- >composer of "Himagiri tanaye", "Jaalandara", "Sudhaamayee"... Correct  
me
- >please if I am wrong). Could someone please post an article on him.
- >Thank you very much.
- >vishwa
- 
- 
-      Let me try to give the information about him as much I  
can.Sri.Muthiah 
- Bagavathar was born in the town Harikaesanallore in Tamil  
Nadu.(Thirunelveli 
- District!).As the name indicates,he was famous for his Musical  
Discourse.He was
- one of the Greatest Composers of this century.He was a contemporary of 
	                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Maharaja 
- Swathi ThirunaaL.

Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar was not a contemporary of Swati  
Tirunal. Swati was a younger contemporary of the famous Trinity. Muthaih  
Bhagavathar was associated with the Travancore Court in publishing  
compositions of Swati Tirunal and other musicians of Swati's court. These  
were not knwon much to the general public then. Semmangudi followed up on  
this and popularised many of these kritis. 


Because of his Music Knowledge,he was adsorning the court of 
- Mysore Chamaraja Udaiyaar.Therefore he has sung some songs over his  
Family Deity
- Lordess Chaamundaeswari(His Varnam `Sri Raja Maadhandgi' in `Sudhdha  
Danyaasi',
- `Saarasamukhi'in Gauda Malhar).He spent his later time i the city of  
Madurai
- wher he polished some deciples,Madurai Mani Iyer and Sankara Sivam(Guru  
of T.N.
- Sesha Gopalan).
-     He has to his credit about 200 songs and 23 ragas.The famous  
creations are
- the raga Valaj(now discussed with Kalaavathi),Gauda Malhaar &  
Neeroeshta(The
- lips don't touch in the song `Raaja Raaja Raajitahae').I guess even Umaa  
Baranam
- is his creation. 

Neeroshtha does not use both the ma and the pa. Thus even when singing the  
arohana and avarohana of this raga, the lips do not touch. This feature is  
preserved in the kriti. I'm not sure Umabharanam is his creation though.  
If I'm not mistaken, there is a kriti of Thyagaraja's in this raga.

Some of his `Chittai Swaras' do carry meanings(What 
- Dr.Balamurali does nowadays).His songs are notorious for its `Jandai'  
and `Dhadu
- Swaras,(the style of Madurai Mani Iyer) and `Sarva Lagu'(Even split of  
the 
- tempo).The carry his `Mudhra', `Harikaesa'.He gets the credit of the  
First 
- person in Carnatic Music to get the Honarary Doctorate Degree and the  
`Sangeetha
- Kalanidhi' award of Music Academy in Madras.
-     Some additional information may be added on to this article.Thanks a  
lot.
- 
- MOHAN
- 
- 
- 
Karna Ranjani which is becoming very famous nowadays is a creation of  
Muthiah Bhagavathar's. 

S.Vidyasankar