K. P. Kittappa Pillai Biography 
K. P. Kittappa Pillai was a descendent of Thanjavur quartet, musician, and bharatanatyam guru. He was a codifier of the Bharatanatyam format, along with his brother. He was the son of Sangita Kalanidhi Sri K. Ponniah Pillai born into a nattuvanar family. His ancestors were trained by Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar. He has become Asthana vidwan in many kings’ court. He adapted the violin for use in Carnatic music and also known for the creation of format of Mohiniattam at the request of the Maharaja of Travancore, Swati Tirunal, the king who promoted music and dance forms a lot. He along with his brother has done many concerts and they codified the basic bharathanatyam adavus, developed the margam, the format we see today. In brief, they transformed both the temple and court presentation of sadir presented by Devdasis to well descriptive format of Bharatnatyam as we see now.
K. P. Kittappa Pillai was born on May 5, 1913. He was named “Sabapathi” by his parents, in honor of his great-grandfather Sabapathi Nattuvanaar. His nick name was Sabapathi. He began his career as a vocalist having been trained by his own father. His grandfather, Nattuvanar Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai trained him to become an exponent of Nattuvanar. The Quartet's heritage, preserved and expanded by the next eight generations of this family still remains as a traditional performance, being carried forward to next generation. He was a wonderful performer and choreographer and has revived many rare pieces of the original Tanjavur repertoire. First set of works were published in the year 1950. It included Sarabhendra Bhupala Kuravanji and the Navasandhi Kavituvams.
Important awards and recognitions won by Pillai include - Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award (1974), Sangita Kala Acharya, (Music Academy, 1981), Kala Tilakam (Karnataka State Award, 1986), Isai Perarignar (Tamizh Isai Sangam, 1985), Kalidas Samman from Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and Fellowship of the Central Sangeetha Nataka Academy (1999). He has published works relating to the repertoire of his illustrious ancestors.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 08, 2014
