Parur Sundaram Iyer (1891—1974) was an Indian violinist from

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 ...

who had mastered both the streams of

Indian Classical Music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

, his native Carnatic style and Hindustani. Iyer received the

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultur ...

in 1972.

Playing Style

He developed a style of playing which is known as Parur Bani, named after his native place named Parur. Though he was from the place named Parur in the Indian state of Kerala, and thus grew up in the milieu of Carnatic music, he traveled to Mumbai in 1909 to learn Hindustani Sangeet from Pandit V D Paluskar. He served as a faculty member at Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya, Mumbai. He returned to Chennai in 1922. He proceeded to develop a new style which added some elements of Hindustani music to Carnatic violin playing. He won the admiration of fellow musicians like Harikesanallur Muttiah Bhagavadar and

Chembai 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 ...

Vaidyanata Bhagavadar. Sundaram Iyer was fond of Abdul Karim Khan saab’s music and used to organize Chamber concerts at his home.

Family of musicians

He and his wife Bhageerathi Ammal had eight children. Their eldest daughter, S Sitalakshmi (b 1920), played violin in an orchestra as a child artist.https://dhvaniohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/parur.pdf Sundaram Iyer's two sons M. S. Anantharaman (1924-2018, the fourth child) and

M. S. Gopalakrishnan M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, (10 June 1931 – 3 January 2013) was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded ...

, aka MSG, (1931-2013, the eight and youngest child) became major violin players and popularized Parur Bani. They played violin recitals, as well as offered accompaniment to many major artistes of the day. Anantaraman's two sons, M.A. Sundareshan and M.A. Krishnaswamy, and MSG's daughter M. Narmadha carry the family legacy now. MSG, as the younger of the violin playing brothers was called, was awarded

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 ...

and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

titles. Parur Sundaram Iyer died in December 1974.

References

{{reflist Carnatic violinists Hindustani violinists 20th-century violinists 20th-century Indian musicians Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award