| Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Vaidyanathan |
| Born | September 1, 1895 Chembai, Palghat, India |
| Died | October 16, 1974 (aged 79) Ottapalam, Palghat, India |
| Genres | Carnatic Music |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1904–1974 |
| Labels | HMV, Inreco, BMG, Vani Cassettes |
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (Malayalam: ചെമ്പൈ വൈദ്യനാഥ ഭാഗവതര്, Tamil: செம்பை வைத்தியநாத பாகவதர்) was a Carnatic music singer from the Indian state of Kerala. Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1895.[1] Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style[2] of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. He was a recipient of several titles and honours. He was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians, and also for his ability to spot new talent.[1] He was responsible for popularizing compositions like Rakshamam, Pavana Guru, among others.[citation needed] The music critic 'Aeolus' describes him as "the musician who has meant the most to Carnatic Music in the first fifty years of the 20th century"[3] Some of his prominent disciples include Yesudas, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, V.V.Subramaniam, P.Leela, among others.[4] Many memorial music festivals are held in his honour annually since his death in 1974, the most important being the annually celebrated Chembai Sangeetholsavam.
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The family's tryst with classical music had spanned about five centuries. Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar's great-grandfather Subbier, had been the recipient of the title "Ghana Chakratanam" from a local Maharaja indicating his mastery of a special style of singing tanam. Chembai's father Anantha Bhagavatar was a vocalist and violinist.[2] Chembai learnt Carnatic music from his own father, from his third year,[1] in the customary guru-sishya tradition, as a part of overall Vedic learning. Chembai also received violin and flute training in 1912.
Some of the noteworthy early events that helped shape Chembai's career include his arangetram (debut concert) in Ottapalam in 1904, his performances at Vaikom & Guruvayur in 1907, his year with Kaliakudi Natesa Sastry (1909) and the accolades he received from Palghat Anantharama Bhagavatar (1911). Between 1913 and 1927, he performed at many different music festivals and sabhas for the first time, notably including the Madras Music Academy.
Chembai has many recordings to his credit. Between 1932 and 1946, Chembai's music was captured on several phonograph discs. Those were the days before the advent of the microphone in concerts and a singer was entirely dependent on the timbre and reach of his voice for a successful concert. Chembai was uniquely blessed in this respect, for his voice which had great depth, was a special attraction.[2]
Chembai had an old friend called T.G.Krishna Iyer in Tripunithura, who had settled in Madras (now Chennai) and offered a house to Chembai on Palace Road near Santhome, in a locality called 'Lalita Nagar' he had himself developed. He had composed some 155 kritis in Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit under the mudra 'Lalita dasar' and requested Chembai to set them to music and popularise them. Chembai accepted the invitation and set the kritis to classical music, and got them published under the name Lalita Dasar Keertanaigal. He made it a practice to sing these kritis in most of his concerts. He also released a record containing selected kritis from Lalita Dasar's kritis like Evariki Telusunamma (Dhanyasi), Ennil Kaninda (Shankarabharanam), Pavana Guru (Hamsanandi), Varijadala Lochani (Arabhi), among others.[1]
He could do a niraval and swaraprastara from any given point, which bespoke of mental alertness in a concert.[5] His empathy for his accompanists and disciples was noteworthy and he would go to great lengths to encourage them.[5]
Chembai had many students, including noted musicians like T. V. Gopalakrishnan,[6] P. Leela,[7] the Jaya-Vijaya twins,[8] and K. J. Yesudas, among others.
Chembai died on 16 October 1974. Shortly before that, he performed his last concert at a temple in Ottapalam (the venue of his first concert), and concluded the concert with his favourite song "Karunai Cheivan Endu Thamasam Krishna" (Why is there so much delay in conferring your bliss, Krishna?).
Chembai received several awards and titles throughout his career, most notably including:
Chembai had been conducting a music festival in his native village right from 1924 onwards. This is now continued by his disciples and others in his memory. The concerts are called Chembai Smaraka Concerts and held annually in February-March in the same village. Chembai had also been conducting a Sangeetholsavam (Music Festival) on Guruvayur Ekadasi Day (mid November) at Guruvayur every year. This festival, now called Chembai Sangeetholsavam in his honour, is officially conducted by the Guruvayur Devaswom Board.[11]
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