Madurai Narayanan Krishnan (1928–2005) was an Indian musician, known for his proficiency in

carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

. He was known to have been proficient in all the three facets of music viz. vocals,

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and was considered by many as a ''Vaggeyakara''. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

awarded him the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in 1992 and followed it up with the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, the third highest civilian award, in 2003. He was also a recipient of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Award and 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 ...

Award.

Biography

Madurai N. Krishnan was born on 31 October 1928 in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, in the south Indian state 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 ...

to Narayana Iyengar, a

Harikatha ''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam(), is a form of Hindu ...

performer and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

scholar, in family of musicians. His elder brother, Madurai N. Srinivasa Iyengar, was a known violinist and renowned musicians,

Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (19 May 1890 – 23 January 1967), popularly known as ''Ariyakudi'', was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of ...

and Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar were relatives. His early music training were under the tutelage of his father and elder brother before his formal training at Tamil Isai School, Karaikudi. Later, he learned music under Ariyakudi for 18 years in the gurukuala way, staying at Melavoor. His debut performance was at

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

where renowned musicians,

Palghat Mani Iyer Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamala Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are ...

and Vellore G. Ramabhadran performed as accompanists. Krishnan's oeuvre includes music compositions for dances as well as for literary works such as

Thiruppavai The ''Tiruppavai'' () is a set of Tamil Hindu hymns attributed to the female poet-saint Andal. The ''Tiruppavai'' consists of thirty stanzas referred to as ''pasurams'' in praise of Perumal. It is a part of the ''Nalayira Divya Prabandham'', a ...

Naalayira Divya Prabhandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham () is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nāthamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tami ...

and

Thiruvasagam ''Thiruvasagam'' () is a volume of Tamil language, Tamil hymns composed by the 3rd century Shaivite ''bhakti'' poet Manikkavasagar. It contains 51 compositions and constitutes the eighth volume of the Tirumurai, the sacred anthology of the Tami ...

. His proficiency in the three facets of music viz. vocals, lyrics and composition earned him the moniker, ''Vaggeyakara''. Several notable dancers including Sudharani Raghupathy and

Chitra Visweswaran Chitra Visweswaran is an Indian Bharata Natyam dancer who runs a dance school, the Chidambaram Academy of Performing Arts, in Chennai. She was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the top civilian honours given by the Government of India, in 1992 ...

have performed Krishnan's compositions and he also served as the director of ''Shree Bharatalaya'', an academy he co-founded with the former in 1965. Krishnan died on 9 October 2005, at the age of 76, at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, succumbing to kidney ailments. He was survived by four daughters, his wife having predeceased him. Shri Krishna silambam an eponym of Madurai.N.Krishnan was started by his grand daughter and disciple R.Sudhalakxmi in the year 2014.Sudhalakxmi is a research scholar,writer, bharatanatyam artist carrying forward the legacy of Madurai N Krishnan.

Awards and honors

Krishnan, an 'A Top' grade artiste of the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, received the UNESCO Award in 1970 and the

of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1981. He was chosen for the

in 1988 and he received the fourth highest Indian civilian award of the

in 1991. The Government of India followed it up with the third highest civilian award of the

in 2003. In between, the Indian Fine Arts Society conferred the title of ''Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani'' in 1999. He also held the title of ''Gaana Padmam'' of the Brahma Gana Sabha.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnan, Madurai N. Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 1928 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Indian male classical singers Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers People from Madurai 20th-century Indian composers Singers from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links