Ramanathapuram C S Murugabhoopathy
Murugabhoopathy (14 February 1914 – 21 March 1998), popularly referred to as CSM, was one of the most distinguished Mridanga maestros of the 20th century. He was a contemporary of Palghat Mani Iyer (1912–1981) and Palani Subramania Pillai (1908–1962). The three legends are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mridanga".
Ramanathapuram C S Murugabhoopathy
Dhruva lalith · CC0
- Name
- Ramanathapuram C.
- Born
- 14 February 1914
- Died
- 21 March 1998
- Occupation
- Mridanga artist
- Fields
- Indian classical music
- Honours
- Padma Shri in arts
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy • Alias — CSM or Chellaswamy Sirchabai Murugabhoopathy • Born — 14 February 1914 • Origin — India • Died — 21 March 1998 • Genre — Indian classical music • Occupation — Mridanga artist • Instrument — Mridanga
Early life
Early life
Born in the town of Ramanathapuram (also known as Ramnad) in Tamil Nadu, Murugabhoopathy obtained his early lessons in Mridanga from his father Chitsabai Servai (also Sirchabai Servai) and later on from Palani Muttiah Pillai (the father of Palani Subramania Pillai), both of whom were students of the great Pudukottai Manpoondia Pillai (read as Maamudia Pillai). Murugabhoopathy's elder brother C. S. Sankarasivam Bhagavatar was a strong influence in the development of Murugabhoopathy's musical style. A young CSM picked up many tips from legendary percussionists including Kumbhakonam Azhaganambi Pillai, who taught him some intricate techniques of playing with his left hand.
Major performances
Major performances
Murugabhoopathy accompanied many carnatic stalwarts such as Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Chittoor Subramania Pillai, Musiri Subramania Iyer, and Dandapani Desikar. CSM benefited a lot from the generous promotion and support given by Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. He later on played alongside G. N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, M.K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna, M. D. Ramanathan, Ramnad Krishnan, T. M. Thiagarajan, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Madurai Somasundaram, Madurai T N Sheshgopalan, T.R.Mahalingam(flute), Mysore V. Doreswamy Iyengar (veena), Tirumakudalu Chowdiah (violin), T. N. Krishnan (violin), Lalgudi Jayaraman (violin) and other leading musicians in many concerts.
Legacy
CSM improvised the left hand playing technique with innovative movements of split fingers. He was renowned for his unmatched sense of pitch, tonal purity and meaningful silent pauses while following the main artiste. Clarity even during very high speed renditions was one of the hallmarks of his thani aavarthanes (solos). CSM also developed many unique patterns and lessons and established a new playing style. Some of his notable students include mridangum and kanjira maestro Sri. M.R. Venupuri Srinivas, Mavilekkara Shankarakutty Nair, Karaikudi Krishnamurthy (Singapore & London), Kumbakonam Premkumar (AIR Delhi), and B. Druvaraj (Bangalore). His most famous student was the Khanjira wizard G. Harishankar (AIR Madras). The Mridanga trinity influenced one another and drew inspiration by listening to one another. It is a fact that Palani Subramania Pillia, who rarely played the Khanjira in live concerts (although he was extremely good at it), played on a Khanjira only with two Mridangists. One of course was Palghat Mani Iyer and the other was C S Murugabhoopathy.
Awards and recognition
• Kalaimamani (1963) • Padma Shri (1973) • Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award (1975) • State Artist of Tamil Nadu (1979) • Palghat Mani Iyer Award (1985)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, revision 1330554509 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ramanathapuram C S Murugabhoopathy: The Last of the Titans, an Obituary by K S Kalidas, May 1998. Shruti, 164: 15-16.
- 2.N. Scott Robinson. South Indian Percussionist Page. nscottrobinson.com.
- 3.An interview of Ramathapuram C S Murugabhoopathy published in the music magazine Shruti, July 1985 (issue 17 S, page 6)
- 4.A radio interview of Ramanathapuram C S Murugabhoopathy conducted by Mr Subramanya Deshikar (AIR Madras)
- 5.Ministry of Home Affairs. Padma Awards Directory (1954-2009).
- 6.Sangeet Natak Akademi. Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar (Akademi Awards) list of Awardees.
- 7.Publication of the Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore
- 8.A radio interview of Trichy Sankaran, speaking on Palani Subramania Pillai
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