M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar

இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: எம்.கே. தியாகராஜ பாகவதர் ‎

M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar, Muthuveera Aasari Krishnasamy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar in short M.K.T. (March 1, 1910 - November 1, 1959). He is known as the first superstar of Tamil cinema, a Movie Singer. He has trained in Carnatic music and performed in concerts. He popularized the open-air, high pitch style of singing done in plays and bhajans by bringing it to the screen. His voice, which does not produce a tone error even at the peak, is famous.

Birth, Education

Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was born on March 1, 1910 to KrishnamMK Thiagaraja Bhagavadhar first sang and performed the role of Lokitasan in the play Harichandra in the Rasikaranjani Saba theater group run by FG ​​Natesa Iyer in Trichy.urthy Aasari and Manikathammal who lived at Palakkarai in Tiruchirappalli. His birth took place in Thanjavur, the hometown of Manikathammal. Although his name is mentioned as Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar in many documents, the name of Muthuweera Aasari Krishnasamy Aasari Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar is found on Bhagavathar's samadhi. Mayavaram may have been added by mistake. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar mentions in an article that Krishnamurthy Aasari came from Mayavaram.

Krishnamurthy Aasari was a goldsmith. It was a period of famine and there were few opportunities for employment, so he suffered from poverty. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar is the oldest. He had brothers Govindarajan and Shanmugam and younger sisters Amrithavalli, Pushpavalli and Pangajavalli. The Samadhi of Kuzumiyananda Swami, which was near his house, had fascinated him in his youth. Historians point out that in later letters he wrote 'Gurunathar Thunai' to refer to Kuzumiyananda Swami. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar did his primary education at Japamatakoil School, Tiruchi, but did not receive schooling after primary education.

Sensing his interest in music, Krishnanurthy Aasari himself taught his son music. Later his friend fiddle musician Chinnaiah Pillai became the first music teacher for M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar. He ran away from home at the age of ten when his father forced him to work as a goldsmith. His father heard the news that he was in Kadapa city in Andhra Pradesh and went there to bring him back. In Kadapa he sang in a temple and lived on that income. After that, his father did not force him to work as a goldsmith.

M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar first sang and performed the role of Logidasan in the play Harichandra in the Rasikaranjani Saba theater group run by F.G. ​​Natesa Iyer in Trichy. He was trained by a singer named Thiruvaiyaru Ramasamy Pathar. Ponnu Iyengar took the famous theater actor M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar as his student and taught him Carnatic music thoroughly. He learned plays and songs from Narasimha Iyer. At the age of 12, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar's first concert was held at the Kaliyamman Temple in Periya Makkala Street, Trichy under the leadership of Pudukottai Dakshinamurthy Pillai. Later he also learned Carnatic music from Alandur Venkatesa Iyer.

Personal Life

In 1934, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar married Kamalathammal from Thanjavur by her father's arrangement. Kamalathammal has a son named Ravindran and daughters Saroja and Sushila. Later, he married a woman named Rajam. She had two children, Ganamurthy and Lakshmi.

Movie Career

M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar played the role of Arjuna in the play Pavalakodi written by Sankaradas Swami. Managiri Lena Chettiar and K. Subramaniam offered to make the play into a movie. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was signed as the lead actor. It starred S.D. Subbulakshmi and Jolly Kittu Iyer. As there was a conflict among the shareholders, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar joined as a shareholder and completed the film. The film was released in 1934 and became a huge success. The song 'Soma Sekara Sobitha Subhakara' composed in the movie is famous throughout Tamil Nadu. This is the first recorded song of Bhagavathar.

Directed by K. Subramaniam and starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar and S.D. Subbulakshmi, the 1936 film Naveena Charangathara was a huge success and made Bhagavathar a superstar. The song on this movie 'Sivaperuman Kirubai Vendum' was very famous.

In 1936, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar started a film company called Trichy Thiyagaraja Films to produce his own films. The first film was Satyaseelan or Thanthai Sol Maravatha Thanayan was released in 1936. In 1937, two films, Chintamani and Ambigapathi, were released and became huge hits. They established him as the first superstar of Tamil cinema. In 1939, the film Thiruneelakander produced by M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was released. The song 'Dina Karunagarane Nataraja' in this movie was very famous. This is followed by movie Ashok Kumar in 1941 which was also a hit.

In 1943, Sivagavi starring M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar was released. This film is based on the story of Thirumuruga Kripananda Wariyar and directed by Sriramulu Nayidu. The 1944 movie Haridas a M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar starrer is the shortest in length. It was alleged that there were some things that violated the morals of the time. Kalki condemned the film. "His incredible singing ability and his high accented style will bring him the fame he envisions. Even so, there is no need for him to act in such a film. Having attained the highest social status, he should reject such films without hesitation" wrote Kalki.

Tamilisai Iyakkam

All three considered to be the pioneers of Carnatic music in Tamil Nadu did not compose songs in Tamil. Therefore Tamil songs were not sung on Carnatic music stages. The Tamilisai Movement that arose against it intensified during the Bhagavathar period. Bhagavathar was a supporter of that movement. The first Tamilisai Conference was held in August 1941 at Chidambaram Annamalai Nagar. M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar participated and sang in it. In December 1941, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar delivered the welcome address at the Tamilisai Conference held in Trichy. "Our country is Tamil Nadu. Our mother tongue is Tamil. We are all Tamils. So we want to listen to music in mother tongue. It is natural. This is our right" stated Bhagavathar in his welcome address. In 1943, M.K. Thiyagaraja Bhagvathar sang along with Dhandapani Desikar, the pioneers of the Tamilisai movement, at the Tamilisai Conference in Chennai. In December 1944, Bhagavadhar sang in Tamil at the Chennai Tamil Music Society. He was arrested two days later. On December 24, 1948, after his release from prison, Bhagavathar again performed at the Tamilisai Sangam.