H. R. Keshava Murthy (22 February 1934 – 21 December 2022) was an Indian gamaka exponent and guru. He was honoured with Shantala Natya Sri Award by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

in 1998 and

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 2022 by the Government of India in the field of arts.

Personal life

Murthy was born on 22 February 1934 in a family of gamaka artists to Vedabrahma Ramaswamy Shastry. He resided in

Hosahalli Hosahali is one of twin-villages Mattur-Hosahali, on the banks of the Tunga River in Karnataka state, southern India. It lies in an agricultural region where the main crop is the Areca nut. It is known for Sanskrit, Veda, Gamaka (story-telli ...

. He was married and had 1 daughter. He died at his house in Hosahalli on 21 December 2022.

Career

A noted expert in the field of gamaka, Murthy received training in music from his father and later from Venkateshaiah. He publicised Kannada epics ''Kumaravyasas Bharatha'' and ''Jaiminis Bharatha''. His variant of music later came to be known as Keshava Murthy

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

Awards

Murthy was awarded the Shantala Natya Sri Award in 1998 for his contribution to classical dance by the

. In 2002, he was awarded the

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as t ...

and the

Karnataka Ratna The Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka, India. It is awarded in recognition of a person's extraordinary contribution in any field. It was instituted in the year 1992 by Chief Minister S Bangarappa by the Go ...

award by the Government of Karnataka. In 2022, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

conferred him with

, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, in the field of arts for his contributions to preserve ''Kavya Vachana'', a storytelling in the form of art in Karnataka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keshava Murthy, H. R. 1934 births 2022 deaths People from Shimoga district Indian male singers Indian male folk singers Singers from Karnataka Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Bharatanatyam exponents