Maharajapuram Santhanam, (20 May 1928-24 June 1992) was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's

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 ...

in 1989. He was born in Sirunangur, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu. He followed the footsteps of his father Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer who was also a renowned Carnatic vocalist.

Career

Besides studying with his father, he was also a disciple of Melattur Sama Dikshitar. Maharajapuram Santhanam was also a distinguished composer. He wrote many songs on Lord Murugan and Kanchi Shankaracharya, Sri

Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal (born Swaminathan Sharma; 20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar (meaning, "The great elder") was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanch ...

Swamigal (Maha Periyavar). He was the principal of Ramanathan College in Sri Lanka.Ludwig Pesch, ''The Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music'' (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 238. Later he came and settled in Chennai. The songs which were popularised by Maharajapuram Santhanam are,"''Bho Shambo''" ( Revati), "''Madhura Madhura''" (Bagheshri), both composed by

Swami Dayananda Saraswati Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the book ...

, "''Unnai Allal''" (

Kalyani Kalyani may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalyani'' (1940 film), a Hindi film * ''Kalyani'' (1952 film), a Tamil film * ''Kalyani'' (1971 film), a Kannada film * ''Kalyani'' (1979 film), a Telugu film * ''Kalyani'' (1983 film), an Oriya ...

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

), "''Sadha Nin Padhame gathi'', ''Varam onnru''" ( Shanmukhapriya), "''Srichakra Raja''" (Ragamalika), "''Nalinakaanthimathim''" (Ragamalika),"Ksheerabdi kannike" (Ragamalika), "Thillana (Revathy)" among others. The Maharajapuram Santhanam Day is celebrated on 3 December every year. He died in a car accident near Chennai on 24 June 1992, which also killed a few other members of his family. His sons Maharajapuram S. Srinivasan, Maharajapuram S. Ramachandran, and his primary disciple Dr. R. Ganesh are now carrying on his musical tradition. His other most popular songs are Purandaradasa kritis: "'' Narayana ninna''" (

Shuddha Dhanyasi Udayaravichandrika is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāgam, meaning pentatonic scale ). It is a '' janya'' rāgam (derived scale), as it does not have all t ...

) and "''Govinda ninna''". His rendition of "''Vilayada ithu nerama muruga''" was without parallel. His renditions were full of ''Bhakthi''. In Chennai, Griffith Road in T.Nagar was renamed as 'Maharajapuram Santhanam Salai' in honor of Maharajapuram Santhanam. The street has the famous

Krishna Gana Sabha Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

and Muppathamman Temple.

Awards and titles

* Padma Shri - 1990 *

from the Madras Music Academy - 1989 * Sangeet Natak Akademi award - 1984 * Kalaimamani award by Tamil Nadu Government * "Sangeetha Sudhakara" by the Yoga vedanta University at

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditati ...

* "Gana Kalanidhi" by Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati of

Sringeri Sharada Peetha Dakṣināmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Śri Śringeri Maṭha (, ; sa, मठ, ) is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the ''peetham'' or ''matha'' is said to have been established by acharya ...

* "Sangitha Sagaramritha Varshi" by Jayendra Saraswathi of

Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery or the Sarvagna Peetha, is a Hindu institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Kamakshi (Durg ...

. * A former "Asthana Vidwan" of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams,

, Pittsburgh Venkatachalapathi Temple and the Ganapathi Sachidananda Ashrama

References

:4.
^ Maharajapuram Santhanam A Life of Music

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santhanam, Maharajapuram 1928 births 1992 deaths Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Carnatic composers Road incident deaths in India 20th-century Indian male classical singers 20th-century Indian composers Indian male composers Musicians from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award