Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer

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| birth_date = 1888

| birth_place = Thirukokarnam, Tamil Nadu

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| death_date = {{Death year and age|1958|1888}}

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| genre = Carnatic music

| occupation = instrumentalist

| instrument = Veena

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File:Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan with Three Distinguished Indian Musicians.jpg (r) in 1952.]]

Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer (1888 - 1958) was a renowned Indian classical musician and Veena player.

In 1952, he was among the first recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.{{cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/fellowslist.htm |title=SNA: List of Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Puraskarwinners (Akademi Fellows) |publisher=SNA Official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023617/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/fellowslist.htm |archive-date= 4 March 2016 }}

Early life

Sambasiva Iyer was born in 1888 in Tirugokarnam, Pudukottai district, as the second son to Veena Vidwan Subbiah Iyer. He learnt to play Veena from his father, alongside his elder brother, Subbarama Iyer. The two brothers were part of the seventh generation to uphold the family's unbroken Veena tradition. Known as the "Karaikudi brothers", they enjoyed an unbroken career from their debut in their teens to the year 1934. Sambasiva Iyer was known for his tremendous hard work or "Asura Sadhaka". His mastery over the instrument was perfect and he constantly toiled to preserve the purity of knowledge he obtained from his ancestors.

Sambasiva Iyer did not have any children. However, as he lived in patriarchal society, he found it necessary to pass on the family legacy through a male member of the family. In 1957, he adopted Karaikudi S. Subramanian, who was the son of Subbarama Iyer's 3rd daughter Lakshmi Ammal.

Career

He taught and lived at Kalakshetra, a noted arts institution in Chennai.{{cite book|author=Avanthi Meduri|title=Rukmini Devi Arundale: (1904 - 1986) ; a Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the Performing Arts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNYZ1vp-xFIC&pg=PA95|access-date=19 July 2013|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publisher|isbn=978-81-208-2740-0|pages=95–}}

He was awarded the first Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Veena in 1952, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.{{cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm |title=SNA: List of Akademi Awardees |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530204253/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm |archive-date=30 May 2015 }} Also in the same year, he was awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi Award, one of the highest awards in Carnatic music, given by Madras Music Academy.{{cite web |title=Sangita Kalanidhi recipients |url=http://www.musicacademymadras.in/sangita_kalanidhi.php |publisher=Madras Music Academy website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230220008/http://www.musicacademymadras.in/sangita_kalanidhi.php |archive-date=30 December 2012 |df=dmy-all }}

He died in 1958.

Amongst his noted disciples are Kalaimamani and President's award winner (late) Ranganayaki Rajagopalan, Rajeshwari Padmanabhan, Jayalakshmi Sugumar and Karaikudi Subramhanian.{{cite book|author=Jeff Todd Titon|title=Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzWmpqPTCwYC&pg=PA289|access-date=19 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-534-59539-5|pages=289–}}

Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer is not to be confused with his namesake musician Padinaindumandapa Sambasiva Iyer. PSI was much older, and guru to two recipients of Sangeet Kalanidhi award : Muthiah Bhagavatar, and his (PSI's) son Sabhesha (सभेश) Iyer.

Bibliography

{{cite book|title=Birth Centenary of Sangita Kalanidhi Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer 1888-1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLQlQwAACAAJ|year=1988|publisher=India International Rural Cultural Centre}}

References

External links

{{cite web |title=Reminiscences: K. Sambasiva Iyer and Mysore Vasudevachar |url= http://www.narthaki.com/info/profiles/profil90.html|publisher=narthaki }}
[https://www.veethi.com/images/people/profile/Karaikudi_Sambasiva_Iyer.jpeg Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer Profile picture]
[https://karaikudiveenaisubramanian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/KARAIKUDI-SAMBASIVA-IYER-slider.jpg Conducting Veena class at Kalakshetra, Chennai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312094053/https://karaikudiveenaisubramanian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/KARAIKUDI-SAMBASIVA-IYER-slider.jpg |date=12 March 2022 }}

Category:1888 births

Category:1958 deaths

Category:Saraswati veena players

Category:Tamil musicians

Category:Indian music educators

Category:People from Sivaganga district

Category:Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients

Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship

Category:20th-century Indian musicians