This is a list of awards and honours that

Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...

received in recognition of his music.

Sangeetha Samrat (1935)

The people of Trichy held Chembai in special esteem. In 1935, when he was invited to perform there, they had decided to honour him with a title, under the leadership of Kalki Krishnamurthy.

Swami Sivananda Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivananda; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963) was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He stu ...

who was then camping at Trichy, was invited to honour Chembai and bestow the title of ''Sangeeta Samrat'' (''Emperor of Music'') on him.

Honours from Mysore Maharaja (1937)

Chembai visited

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

at the invitation of

Krishnarajendra Wodeyar Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is popularly called ''Rajarshi'' ( sa, rājarṣi, li ...

, its then

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

, and gave a command performance there. But he declined another invitation that followed, to serve as an asthana vidwan of the Mysore Royal Court, since he felt he would not be able to stay in Mysore for the entire duration of

Navaratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

since he was conducting an annual Navaratri music festival in his own village (Chembai). Far from being offended, the Maharaja appreciated his sense of priorities, and rewarded him for his sincerity.Chembai Selvam - Biography of Chembai written by LRV, 1954 (pg 160-164)

Gayana Gandharva (1940)

His popular recognition found further expression in 1940 when his old friend T.D. Narayana Iyer, about to retire as a senior postal official, arranged a function to raise funds for the War effort and for activities promoting the welfare of the employees of the postal department. He decided to invite Chembai to give a performance on the occasion and to honour

Muthiah Bhagavatar Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar (15 November 1877 – 30 June 1945), commonly known as Muthiah Bhagavatar, is one of Carnatic classical music's famous twentieth-century composers. He also created about 20 '' ragas''. Early life Muthiah was bo ...

. Bhagavatar presided over the function, of which the highlight was the awarding of the title of ''Gayana Gandharva'' ("musician among musicians") to Chembai.Chembai Selvam - Biography of Chembai written by LRV, 1954 (pg 171-172)

Sangeetha Kalanidhi (1951)

The recognition most coveted by Carnatic musicians is the invitation to preside over the annual conference of the Music Academy of Madras. The title of

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

goes to the person presiding over the conference. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar received the invitation and the title in 1951.Chembai Selvam - Biography of Chembai written by LRV, 1954 (pg 194-200) In his presidential address, he said:
“Music has an individual, innate beauty, different from other fine arts. Originating in the air, it dissolves into the air, giving ' Nirguna

brahmam In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

' - which fills all space - the form of '

Nada Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places *Nada, Hainan, China *Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States *Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone * Nada, Texas, United S ...

'. Practice of music is, therefore, worship of `Nirgunabrahmam', and

sangita Sangita (Devanagari: , IAST: ), also spelled Samgita or Sangeeta, refers to "music and associated performance arts" in the Indian traditions. According to Guy Beck, the root "saṃ-" implies "combining, coming together, convergent wholesome blendi ...

is a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

by itself. ... I have no doubt that the art and practice of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

will flourish and grow with good cooperation between vidwans and rasikas.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1958)

Chembai received the '

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

' in 1958, from the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Dr. S.Radhakrishnan, at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

before an invited audience of eminent Hindustani and Carnatic musicians and

rasika A rasika is a term for an aesthete of Indian classical music. The term is derived from the Sanskrit word 'rasa', meaning full of passion, elegant, and with discrimination. Connoisseur - An expert able to appreciate a field; especially in the fine ...

s. This was a national recognition for his fame. He had come to be called the Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

Suvarna Mudra

The ''Suvarna Mudra'' (gold medal) was awarded by Kerala Kalamandalam (a well-known institution of arts) to Chembai in recognition of his fame as the best known Indian musician from Kerala.

Padma Bhushan (1973)

The Padma Bhushan is a national award bestowed by the President of India on select musicians and other eminent people. Chembai was selected to receive the award in 1973 from the then president

V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 — 24 June 1980) was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the 4th president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also 3rd vice president of India from ...

Other titles

* Sangeetha Pracheena Paddhati Paripalaka * Sangeetha Bheeshmachar * Abhinava Tyagabrahma * Guruvayoorappa Dasar

Honours from other princely states

Honours were also bestowed on him by the rulers of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, Vijayanagaram,

Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th ce ...

and

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

.Chembai Vaidyanath Bhagavathar
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Postage stamp

The Department of Posts, Govt of India released a special issue Chembai Stamp on Chembai's birth centenary year (1996).Chembai Stamp Released
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Chembai Memorial Govt. Music College

The Kerala Govt named a music college after Chembai to honour him. This college celebrates its golden jubilee in 2007.
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References

Awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

Lists of awards received by Indian musician