Papanasam sivan biography

Indian composer of Carnatic music

Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973^[1]) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a bio score composer in Kannada cinema as well as Tamil cinema in the 1930s and 1940s.^[2]

Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyaagaraja. Using Classical South Indian music as a base, Sivan created compositions popularised bygd M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, D. K. Pattammal, and M. S. Subbulakshmi.

In 1962, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.^[3]

Life

Sivan's early years were spent in the Travancore area of Kerala. He was born at Polagam by in the district of Thanjavur, which was home to the musical trinity of Carnatic music. His given name was Ramaiya. In 1897, when he was 7, his tallrik

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Neither was “Papanasam” his birthplace, nor was “Sivan” his name..

Journey

He made his debut as a performing musician in 1918, at the Samadhi of saint composer Sri Tyagaraja at Tiruvayyaru. Sivan sang for nearly three hours, to the accompaniment of Papa Venkataramiah on the violin and Azhaganambia Pillai on the mridangam. After that, he gave some recitals at the different places. Sivan in his concerts included mostly Telugu songs of Tyagaraja and Tamil songs of Gopalakrishna Bharati.
From 1921, Sivan started taking part in the Mylapore Kapali temple annual festival, going round the four Mada streets, leading the bhajan which he continued till end.

Sivan led bhajans , following the deity in many temple `utsavas’ in South India. Sivan’s bhajans became a regular feature at temple festivals like Mahamakham at Kumbakonam, Adi Pooram at Nagapattinam, Sapthastanam at Tiruvayyaru and Vrishabhavahanam at Tiruvarur.

Sivan finally settled in Madras in 1

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Papanasam Sivan: The Tamil Revolution of Carnatic Music

When we hear the name “Bharathi” the only face that comes to our mind is that of our national poet Subramania Bharathi, though there have been many Bharathi’s around his times and even before him. Likewise, though the musical world has had other personalities that had the name “Sivan”, the only face that comes to our mind is that radiant face of devotion and compassion, with a large forehead filled with the holy ash – vibhuti.

Papanasam Sivan, as he has come to be known was neither from the town of Papanasam nor his real name was Sivan.  Born in a small village “Polagam”, Tanjore district, to the couple Ramamrutham Iyer and Yogambal he was named Ramiah. During his days of going from place to place and singing before deities of famous shrines, when a great philanthropist rasika Sambasiva Iyer heard him sing in a Shiva Temple one day, in Ganpathi Agraharam, Tanjore, moved b