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THE ARTS
Karnataka – A Cultural Odyssey
DORESWAMY IYENGAR (1920–1997):
RK SRIKANTAN (1920): Born into a
T CHOWDIAH (1895-1967): The
After making his debut at the Mysore Palace at a very young age, Doreswamy Iyengar was appointed as one of the asthana vidwans or court musicians when he was barely 16. A virtuoso on the veena, his talent impressed senior artistes like T Chowdiah, who invited him to accompany his violin recitals. Among the many other memorable jugalbandhis in his career, Iyengar also collaborated with Hindustani classical musicians like Mallikarjun Mansur, Ali Akbar Khan and Amjad Ali Khan. Iyengar was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1970, among his plethora of other achievements.
family of musicians, RK Srikantan made his debut performance at the age of 13. In over eight decades of enrapturing audiences, he has stayed true to the tradition and purity of Carnatic music, and is credited with popularising the compositions of the Haridasas. Srikantan also worked with All India Radio for many years. Besides several other awards, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1979.
creator of the seven-stringed violin, T Chowdiah was a maestro of his genre and one of the most revered names of Carnatic classical music. Such was his association with the instrument, that he was also known as Pitilu Chowdiah (in Kannada, pitilu means fiddle or violin). He was also a sought after accompanist and trained many disciples for years to help them perfect their art. He was honoured with a Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1957; the Chowdiah Memorial Hall of Bangalore is named after him.
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