Neelakanta Sivan (1839–1900) was an Indian composer of
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...
. Although he did not receive any formal musical training, his compositions exhibit deep technical brilliance. Neelakanta Sivan was born in 1839 at
Vadiveeswaram, a part of
Nagercoil
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
, he stayed at Padmanabhapuram, the capital of the old Travancore. His father, Subramanya Iyer, was an official in Neelakantaswamy temple at Padmanabhapuram. His mother was Alagammal.
He worked as a village magistrate for a few years and left this profession to take up religious practices.
The songs ''Sambo Mahadeva Saranam'' (
raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
Bowli
Bowli is a Carnatic raga (also spelled as Bauli''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications or Bhauli''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras). This raga is a ''janya'' of the 1 ...
); ''Ananda nadamaaduvaar Thillai ambalam thannil'' (Purvikalyani); ''Enraikku Sivakirupai varumo'' (Mukaari) ''Enna vanthalum naan unnai marapathillai'' (
Kambhoji); ''Oru naal orupozhuthakilum Sivanai ucharikka venum'' (
Kamas Kamas may mean
* Kamas, Utah
* Kamas (raga), a ragam in Carnatic music
* KAMAS (program), an acronym for ''Knowledge and Mind Amplification System'', an outline processor
* Kamasins, a Samoyedic people
* Kamassian language, an extinct Samoyedic l ...
); ''Vaa vaa kalaimathi'' (
Shankarabharanam); ''Oraru Mugane'' (Reetigowla); ''Kadaikkan paaraiyya'' (Darbar); and ''Sivanai ninai- thu thuthi paadikkol maname'' (Kambhoji) are very popular songs in Tamil.
[Famous Songs, Forgotten Composer](_blank)
from Indian Express newspaper, at Carnatic Corner
Compositions
References & Audio Links
See also
*
List of Carnatic composers
List of composers of Carnatic music, a subgenre of Indian classical music. Chronologically they can be grouped into 4 different Eras: Pre-Trinity Era, Trinity Era, Post Trinity Era and Modern Era. Composers are listed here based on this classif ...
External References
People from Kanyakumari district
Carnatic composers
1900 deaths
1839 births
19th-century Indian composers
20th-century Indian musicians
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