Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar Biography 
Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar was a Carnatic musician, musicologist, Harikatha exponent and composer. He was a vaggeyakkara and Sanskrit scholar too. He lived during the period, 1912–2004 and has been associated with the world of Carnatic music over 7 decades. He performed more than 1000 music concerts and 7000 Harikatha performances all over India, and has composed more than 3000 songs in many languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. Geetham, Varnam, Krithi, Javali, Padam, Thillana, Ragamalika and Harikatha are the musical forms which he composed. 'Sangeetha Ratna Mala' is a published version of his priceless compositions.
Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar was born in the year 1912 in Mannargudi in the old Tanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. Rajam Iyer and Meenakshi Ammal were his parents. His early days were spent in his village and later he moved to Chennai in seek of opportunities. He studied at Sri Ramakrishna Mission in Mylapore. He took formal lessons in Carnatic music from Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer by staying with him and following Gurukula principles. But later he completely switched over to Harikatha. He has done over a 1000 music concerts, which his Harikatha performances count more than 7000.
As a composer, he started off in the teens, and many of his compositions are priceless. His composition "Neerajadalanayana" in raga "Maand" was loved by his guru Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. Who regularly performed it on stage concerts and popularized it widely. He was married and had three sons and two daughters. Government of Tamil Nadu honoured him with "Kalaimamani" award and many more honours. "Katharathnakara", "Sangeetha Sahithya Jyothi", "Sangeetha Ratnam", "Harikatha Sironmani", "Sangeetha Harikatha Bhusanam", etc are some of the titles earned by him.
Published: September 01, 2018
Updated: September 01, 2018
