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 Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians. He was the elder brother of accomplished violinist duo L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam. He created the tunes of the iconic TV serial Malgudi Days. All three brothers received their musical training from their father.

Career

Vaidyanathan started his career as an Assistant music director to G. K. Venkatesh and composed the score for over 170 films in languages including Tamil and Kannada. His notable works include ''Pesum Padam'', ''Ezhavathu Manithan'', ''Dasaratham'' and ''Marupakkam'' in Tamil and ''Aparichita'', '' Kubi Matthu Iyala'', ''Ondu Mutthina Kathe'' in Kannada. He was one of the best music arrangers in the country and was known for his use of rare and unknown instruments, subtly mixing sounds from the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

with various folk percussion instruments before the advent of present-day technological advances in sound mixing. He collaborated with C. Ashwath and composed music for many

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 ...

movies in the name Ashwath-Vaidi. One catchy and enduring composition of his would be, the Opening and Closing Score 'Thaana na nana' of

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

's ''Malgudi Days'' (TV series). In 2003, the government of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

awarded Vaidyanathan with the

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

for his contributions to cinema.

Filmography

;With C. Aswath ;As solo composer *'' Aparichita'' (1978) *'' Ezhavathu Manithan'' (1982) *''Lottery Ticket'' (1982) *'' Anubhava'' (1984) *''

Ondu Muttina Kathe ''Ondu Muttina Kathe'' () is a 1987 Indian Kannada language film directed by Shankar Nag, starring Rajkumar and Archana. It is based on John Steinbeck's 1947 novella '' The Pearl''. This was the last directorial of Shankar Nag. It is also the ...

'' (1987) *''

Pushpaka Vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

'' (1987) *'' Sandhya Raagam'' (1989) *'' Love Maadi Nodu'' (1989) *'' En Kadhal Kanmani'' (1990) *'' Marupakkam'' (1991) *'' Venal Kinavukal'' (1991) *'' Kubi Matthu Iyala'' (1992) *''

Dasarathan ''Dasarathan'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil language-language action film, directed by actor Kitty making his directorial debut credited under his real name Raja Krishnamoorthy. The film stars Sarathkumar and Heera, while Sivakumar, Saranya and ...

'' (1993) *'' Mussanje'' (2001) *'' Hrudayanjali'' (2002) *'' Oruththi'' (2003) *'' Moggina Jade'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaidyanathan, Lakshminarayana 2007 deaths Musicians from Tamil Nadu Tamil film score composers Kannada film score composers Carnatic composers 1942 births Tamil musicians 20th-century Indian musicians Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award