H. K. Narayana Biography 
H. K. Narayana was a renowned singer and composer belonging to Kannada music. In the 1970s he also contributed towards Sugam Sangeet, a form of light music. Widely regarded as an icon of Kannada light music, he played a magnificent role in popularizing the genre of Sugam Sangeet in Kannada. Many of his popular tunes were sung by Mysore Ananthaswamy, Shimoga Subbanna, Indu Vishwanath, Rathnamala Prakash, M. S. Sheela, Rathnamala Prakash, Sulochana & others. H. K. Narayana died on 8 February 2008 in Bangalore after a prolonged illness at the age of 73. He is survived by wife Kanta Narayan and two daughters.
H. K. Narayana was born in 1934 at Holenarasipura in Hassan district of Karnataka into a musical family. He was deeply influenced by the musical journey of his father Keshavayya and developed interest in music early in his life. His brother Keshav Murthy is a renowned Carnatic violinist. At the age of 6 he entered the world of music. Initially he learnt violin, and later started learning Carnatic music from Guru R. K. Srikantan in Mysore. Yet later he switched over to Sugama Sangeetha and succeeded in this field. In fact he created a benchmark in this field and inspired hundreds of students to take music as their career. He was a true inspiration to many.
He was a staff artist in AIR. Through the radio programs, Navasuma and Geetharaadhana, he was quite familiar to radio listeners. He was married to Kathak dancer Kanta, and the couple had two daughters who followed the dance tradition. As a music composer some of the famous songs of Narayana are Nadavirada Baduke by Nissar Ahmed, Brudavanake Haalanu Maaralu by Kuvempu and Shubha Nudiye Shakunada Hakki by D. R. Bendre. He also composed and sung for scores of Kannada cassettes and CDs.
Published: October 16, 2018
Updated: October 16, 2018
