Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman (born 17 December 1935) is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the

mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

. He is a recipient of the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

as well as 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 ...

Early life

Umayalpuram Sivaraman
was born to P. Kasiviswanatha Iyer, a doctor, and his wife, Kamalambal. He learned the art of the Carnatic mridangam from four gurus over fifteen years: Arupathi Natesa Iyer,

Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

Palghat Mani Iyer Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are ...

and Kumbakonam Rangu Iyengar. He also graduated from the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

B.L. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Recognitions

He was conferred the award ‘

Padmashri 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 conferred ...

’ by 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, c ...

in 1988. He received

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 ...

for

mrudangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

for the year 1992. He was conferred

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

, awarded by the Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram of

Tamilnadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...

. He had been appointed ‘State Artiste’ of the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

from 1981 for a period of six years. Sri Sankaracharya Swamigal has appointed Sri Sivaraman as ‘Asthana Vidwan’ of Shri Kanchi Sankara Mutt. Shri Sankaracharya Swamigal of Shri Sharada Peetam Sringeri has bestowed on Sivaraman the title of ''Mrudanga Kalanidhi'' and has appointed him as ‘Asthana Vidwan’ of Shri Sarada Peetam, Sringeri. His titles include Laya Jyothi, Laya Gnana Bhaskara, Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani, Mrudanga Nadamani (bestowed by Shri Sankaracharya of Kanchi Mutt), Mrudanga Chakravarthi, Nada Sudharnava, Tal Vilas, and Laya Gnana Tilaka, etc. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in the year 2003 by Govt. of India. He was awarded the

, India's second highest civilian honor, on the occasion of the country's 61st Republic Day observance on 26 January 2010 and received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

in 2010.

Personal life

Umayalpuram Sivaraman is married to Abhirami Sivaraman. They live in Mylapore in Chennai. They have two sons - S.Swaminathan and S.Sivakumar.

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Erode Nagaraj Erode Nagaraj is a professional musician, who plays the mridangam. He learned initially from Palladam V. Ramachandran and has been the disciple of Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman for over 28 years. He has been a lecturer in the Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iy ...

* Neyveli Narayanan * Arjun Kumar * N C Bhardwaj * R. Ramkumar * Madurai Sundar Balasubramaniam * Akshay Ram * Vignesh Venkatraman * Nirmal Narayan * Amangudi Ramnaryanan * Trivandrum Hariharan * Vishvak Kumaran * Rajna Swaminathan

Awards

Sangeetha Kalasikhamani Sangeetha Kalasikhamani or Sangita Kalasikhamani (Sanskrit: saṅgītakalāśikhāmaṇi) (sangeetha = music, kala = art, sikhamaṇi = A gem of a diadem or crest) is the title awarded yearly to an expert Carnatic music Carnatic music, kno ...

from The Indian Fine Arts Society in 1984 *

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

from

in 1988 *

from

in 1977 *

in 1992 *

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 ...

from

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

in 2001 *

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 ...

from Government of India in 2003 *

from Government of India in 2010 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

, 2011 *

D.Litt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from The Tamil Nadu Dr.J Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University in 2019

Books

* Musical Excellence of Mrudangam authored by Umayalpuram Sivaraman, T. Ramaswami and M.D. Naresh * Music Makers: Living Legends of Indian Classical Music

References

External links

Umayalpuram Sivaraman Official Website

Umayalpuram Sivaraman's Mridangam School

Interview with Sri Sivaraman after the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award

Remembrances of things past

I have not even touched the tip of the iceberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivaraman, Umayalpuram K 1935 births Living people Mridangam players Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Tamil musicians Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients People from Thanjavur district Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Early life

Recognitions

Personal life

DisciplesArchived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine

Awards

Books

References

External links

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