Channarayapatna Ashwath ('; 29 December 1939 – 29 December 2009) was an Indian

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

and exponent of Bhavageete ("expressive poetry") in the

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

language. He was also a singer, and sang many of his own compositions. He was credited with singing Bhavageete songs and making sure that they reached the common man.

Early life and education

He was born on December 29, 1939, in Channarayapatna near Devanahalli. He was born into a family rich in traditional and cultural influences. He grew up in the Chamarajpete area of Bangalore. After completing his higher education in Acharaya Pathashala School of NR Colony, he graduated in Science from National College,

Basavanagudi Basavanagudi is a residential and commercial locality in the Indian city of Bengaluru. Basavanagudi is one of the oldest localities of Bangalore evidenced by the fact that it is home to four inscriptions, three Kannada and one Tamil and also on ...

and later worked in Indian Telephone Industries for 27 years before retiring as an Executive Engineer in 1992. He started his musical career as a disciple of Devagiri Shankara Joshi in

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

Movies

The first film he independently scored music was

Kakana Kote ''Kakana Kote'' () is a 1977 Indian Kannada biographical drama film adapted from Masti Venkatesh Iyengar's stage play of the same name. The film plot tells the story of Kaka Nayaka who was instrumental in stopping the exploitation of tribal pe ...

. Later followed Chinnari Mutha, Santha Shishunala Sharief, Mysoora Mallige,

Kotreshi Kanasu ''Kotreshi Kanasu'' (, ''Dream of Kotreshi'') is a 1994 Indian Kannada language film directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekar starring Vijay Raghavendra and Karibasavaiah. The film won two National Film Awards at 42nd National Film Awards; Bes ...

, Nagamandala and few other films in Kannada. Some of his notable compositions include the composition of music for

Mysooru Mallige ''Mysooru Mallige'' () is a literary work of Kannada poet K. S. Narasimhaswamy. The collection of poems inspired a movie made by T.S. Nagabharana and also a musical play by ''Kalagangothri''. The book was first released in 1942 at Maharaja Coll ...

– a classic work of noted poet

K.S. Narasimhaswamy Kikkeri Subbarao Narasimhaswamy (26 January 1915 – 27 December 2003) was an Indian poet who wrote in Kannada language. His most popular collection of poems, ''Mysooru Mallige'', has seen more than thirty-two reprints and is sometimes given t ...

and his compositions of Kannada saint Santa Shishunala Sharifa's works.

L. Vaidyanathan Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan (; ; 9 April 1942 – 19 May 2007) was an acclaimed musicologist, music director and composer, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition. Vaidyanathan was born in Chennai to V. Lakshminarayana, and Seethalak ...

met C. Ashwath during the recording of the film ''

'' in 1976. This meeting led them on to a strong relationship of almost three decades.

provided the orchestra for many of Ashwath's compositions, but it was with the film ''Yene Barali Preeti Irali'' that the Ashwath-Vaidi duo became collaborators of great music. * Anupama (Olume Poojegende, Bartaale Bartaale, etc.) *

Aalemane ''Aalemane'' () is a 1981 Kannada movie, starring Suresh Heblikar, Mohan Kumar, Roopa Chakravarthi and Upasane Seetaram. The film was directed by Mohan Kumar and features musical score by the Ashwath- Vaidi duo. The film was a musical hit and ...

(Nammoora Mandaara Hoove) * Kaanchana Mruga (ee savidina endendu) *

Baadada Hoo ''Baadada Hoo'' () is a 1982 Kannada-language film directed by K. V. Jayaram and produced by K. S. Narayan. The story is based on the novel of the same name written by Saisuthe. The film stars Anant Nag, Padmapriya and K. S. Ashwath. The film ...

(Hoova Nodu Aaaha Entha) * Bhoolokadalli Yamaraaja (Endoo kaanada belaka kande) *

Narada Vijaya ''Narada Vijaya'' is a 1980 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed and co-produced by Siddalingaiah. The story is written by M. D. Sundar. The film starred Ananth Nag, Padmapriya, Hema Choudhary and M. P. Shankar. Plot Ananth Nag play ...

(Idu entha lokavayya)

Discography

Films

Style

A pioneer of Kannada "Sugama Sangeetha" (light music), the versatile singer had over 75 albums to his credit. C. Ashwath is a household name in Karnataka. He is, perhaps the only music director in Karnataka, to have carved a niche of his own in all three fields that demand music as an element of expression:

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Sugama Sangeetha Sugama Sangeetha, a variety of Bhavageethe, is an Indian musical genre in which poetry in the Kannada language is set to music. It gained recognition with the work of P. Kalinga Rao in the mid -20th century. Mysore Ananthaswamy and C. Aswa ...

and movies. Ashwath has also brought out an album titled "Nesara Noodu" which consists of 21 drama songs of his direction. In the 1990s, Rajkumar had sung

Kuvempu Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He wa ...

's 'Elladaroo Iru Entadaroo Iru' under the music direction of C.Ashwath, which became very popular.

Performance

The Kannadave Sathya live concert, which was held in Palace Grounds, Bengaluru on 23 April 2005, headed by Ashwath, was the great success which witnessed around a lakh audience for the show. This was the first time a Kannada Musical event was taken place here, while many western and other Indian language programs taken place in the past.

Death

He died on 29 December 2009 on his 70th birthday. He was suffering from

renal In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retrop ...

and

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

s. His friends and well wishers had planned to celebrate his 70th birthday in a special way and Swamiji of Suttur Mutt and Virendra Hegde were to facilitate him followed by singing his popular songs.

Awards

* 1986:

Rajyotsava Award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November, celebrated as th ...

by Government of Karnataka * 2003: Kavyaganga Award by Attimabbe Foundation

References

External links

One India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashwath, C. 1939 births 2009 deaths Deaths from liver failure Deaths from kidney failure in India Kannada playback singers Kannada film score composers Indian male playback singers Film musicians from Karnataka Filmfare Awards South winners 20th-century Indian composers Bangalore University alumni Singers from Karnataka Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers