Patnam Subramania Iyer Biography 
Patnam Subramania Iyer was a composer and singer of Carnatic music, who belonged to Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. He was born into a family of musicians. A composer of more than a 100 Carnatic compositions, he was an ardent fan of the great composer Tyagaraja and followed his tradition. A renowned teacher, he also owned numerous disciples of whom many became very famous later. Mysore Vasudevachar, Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar, Bhairavi Kempegowda and Tiger Varadachariar are among his famous disciples. He composed in Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil languages and his genre included Krithi, Varnam, Javali and Tillana. Raghu Vamsha Sudha in raga Kadhana Kuthuhalam and Evari Bodhanna in raga Abhogi are his popular compositions.
He was born in 1845 and hailed from a musical tradition. His father Bharatam Vaidyanatha Iyer was a singer and his grandfather Panchanada Sastri was the court musician in the court of Serfoji Maharaja of Thanjavur. Subramania Iyer was initiated to the world of music by his uncle - Melattur Ganapati Sastri. Later he learnt under Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayyar, who has composed the varnam Jalajakshi, in raga Hamsadhwani. He was a cousin and a direct student of great Tyagaraja. Subramania Iyer spent a long time in Chennai, then known by the name Chennai Pattanam. That’s how ‘Pattanam’ tag got added to his name.
He has sung in the court of many kings and rulers and has won many prizes. Famous for singing begada, he earned the name Begada Subramanya Iyer. Venkateswara, Adi Venkateswara, Varada Venkateswara, Sri Varada Venkateswara or Venkatesa are the mudras used by him. He created raaga Kathana Kuthuhalam. He has also set a pallavi to the Simhanandana Tala, the longest tala. He died on July 31st, 1902 in Tiruvayyar.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 28, 2016
