Palghat Rama Bhagavathar (5 June 1888 – 26 May 1957) was an Indian musician.

Early life

Rama Bhagavathar was born in Mundaya (മുണ്ടായ) village near Shoranur, Palghat,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. His father, Kasturi Ranganathan was a man of modest income. His mother was Alamelu Mangai. He took his early gurukulavasam with Palghat Anantarama Bhagavathar. He also learned music from Carnatic exponents like

Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer Vaidyanatha Sivan (1844 - 1893) ( ta, மஹா வைத்யநாத சிவன்) was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music. He was a great exponent of extemporaneous singing. He also composed a ''ragamalika'' (garland of ragas - a s ...

. Umayalpuram Swaminatha Iyer who was a scion of the great composer Thyagaraja's musical lineage, taught him to learn a number of kritis of Tyagaraja.

Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer ( ta, மகாராஜபுரம் விசுவநாதையர்; 1896–1970) was one of the great Indian Carnatic vocalists. He won several awards including Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeetha Bhupathy. ...

was a fellow student and the two became friends.

Career

His first Carnatic concert was at the Kalpathy Kasi Viswanatha Swamy Temple and so was his last concert. He launched the Palghat (Palakkad) edition of the

Tyagaraja Aradhana Tyagaraja Aradhana is an annual ''aradhana'' (a Sanskrit term meaning act of glorifying God or a person) of Telugu saint composer Tyagaraja. The music festival is observed in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, primarily in Tiruvaiyar ...

at Kalpathi Ram Dhyana Madom.

Honours and titles

* Rama Bhagavathar was regularly invited by Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wodeyar to his durbar during Dasara for a special performance and honoured him. * Maharaja and Maharani of Travancore too honoured him. * Nobel laureate C.V. Raman bestowed on him the title of ''Gayaka Kesari''.

Personal life

He died in May 1957 in Kalpathi, Kerala. His wife, Rugmani Ammal, died in 1991. The couple had 7 sons and 4 daughters.

References

External links

*http://www.ramabhagavatar.com * - A song rendered by Rama Bhagavathar {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagavathar, Palghat Rama 1888 births 1957 deaths Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Singers from Kerala 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers People from Palakkad district