Madurai Pushpavanam Biography 
Madurai Pushpavanam was a leading Carnatic musician of late 1800s and early 1900s. Known for his melodious voice he was one of the well-established Carnatic musicians of his time. Madurai Mani Iyer, a leading Carnatic musician is his nephew. Rajam Pushpavanam who had a glorious, but short spanned singing career (1930–1943) was his daughter. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of 20th century, but gave up her career due to personal losses. Madurai Pushpavanam is the grand uncle of T. V. Sankaranarayanan.
His full name is Madurai Pushpavanam Iyyer. He was born in Mid-1880s in Madhurai, Tamil Nadu. Fewer records are available about his early life. During younger days, he used to accompany his mother who regularly prayed at Hanuman temple, and myths say, he was blessed by Lord Hanuman himself, and later he started to sing. Known for his divine voice, he learnt under Ettayapuram Ramachandra Bhagavathar, who recalls him as a musical discovery and blessed voice. A handsome stripling with a curious coiffure became a fashion among youths, and many of his styles were blindly adapted them.
He was married to Sundarathammal. He passed away in the early 1920s when his daughter Rajam Pushpavanam was only two years old, and later she was raised by her mother and grandmother. He left the eternal world during his middle ages, when his career was at its peak node. She followed her father’s legacy, and went on to become one of the leading Carnatic musicians of the first half of 20th century, and she reached her career peak at a very young age too. She too had a few personal losses and tragedy in her singing career, when she gave up her singing profession at the age of 25 after her first son’s unexpected death due to pneumonia.
Published: July 23, 2018
Updated: July 28, 2018
