P. Muthukumaraswamy Sarma was a

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 ...

ian and a

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

. He was a prime disciple of

Dandapani Desikar M M Dandapani Desikar (August 27, 1908 – June 26, 1972) was a Carnatic vocalist, actor and composer. 'Isai Arasu' Dandapani Desikar was born in Tiruchengattangudi, near Nannilam in Madras Presidency. He got training from Manicka Desikar and K ...

Annamalai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

during the 1950s.

Early life

Born in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

to parents Paramasamy Gurukkal and Rathinamma, on 23 August 1932, he lost his father at an early age. After completing his secondary education in Jaffna, he went to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the late 1950s and joined

as a music student. His educator was

, an exponent of Tamil Hindu religious hymns and Tamil keerthanas. Muthukumaraswamy followed suit and became an exponent of Tamil songs.

Musical journey

After graduating from Annamalai University, he went back to Yaazhpaanam and got appointed as a music teacher in government owned schools. He taught music to students at various schools in Jaffna. During the Sri Lankan Civil War, he moved to Chennai in 1986 along with his family. He belonged to a family that had migrated to Jaffna from Kanchipuram. He performed music concerts in Chennai sabhas and private events. He also taught music, including to Sri Lankan singer

Manickam Yogeswaran Maanikkam Yogeswaran is a Sri Lankan Tamil musician and exponent of Carnatic music. He was born 1959 in Meesalai, Sri Lanka, where he attended Jaffna Hindu College before moving to London. He currently lives in Berlin and is co-artistic director ...

. Some vocalists, including

Sudha Ragunathan Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kala ...

learned Tamil

kriti Kriti may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kriti (music), a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music * ''Kriti'' (film), a 2016 Indian Hindi-language short film * Kriti TV, Greek TV station People with the name * Kriti Bhar ...

s from him. He was a music educator at Annamalai University until the age of 86. As a disciple of Dandapani Desikar, he arranged thematic kutcheris in sabhas in

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 ...

to mark Desikar's centenary during the music festival of 2008. He celebrated his guru's remembrance day every year and also popularised Desikar's nine compositions on Madurai Meenakshi Amman. Singer Sudha Ragunathan is quoted as saying: "Whenever I wanted to learn a special Tamil song, he would be there. I have never seen another musician as generous and as forthcoming in sharing his knowledge."

Family

Muthukumaraswamy Sarma was married to Nalina Ranjani and the couple have four sons - Kalatharan, Artist Pathmavasan, Sarangadharan and Kumaran and a daughter - Geetha.

Publications

He edited and published periodicals titled ''Isai Aruvi'', ''Kalai Aruvi'' and ''Isai Yedu''.

Death

Muthukumaraswamy Sarma was ailing for some time due to old age and died, aged 87, on 25 June 2019 at his residence in Kottivakkam, Chennai. His funeral took place in Besant Nagar crematorium on 26 June Wednesday.

References

External links

* - 'Who knows the boundaries of music?' a rendition of Desikar's composition by Muthukumaraswamy
P.Muthukumarasamy : Dandapani Desikar's chosen disciple
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarma, P 1930s births 2019 deaths Carnatic singers Indian music educators Sri Lankan emigrants to India