Palghat Rama Bhagavathar was an Indian musician.
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Palghat Rama Bhagavathar । Indian musician
Birth and Childhood
Palghat Rama Bhagavathar was born on 5th June, 1888 in The Village Munda Mukha near Shoranur to Shri Kasturi Ranga Iyer and Shrimathy Alamelu Mangai, as their fifth and last son, His father was a village revenue official. The family of Shri Kasturi Ranga Iyer was by no means affluent.
Palghat Rama Bhagavathar had a modest income which helped meet the barest needs of a typical family of Shri Iyer, his wife and five sons. They had a small and an unpretentious home which in those remote days neither had electric power supply nor piped water supply. A well in the backyard of the house supplied their needs of water. The village was on the banks of the Bharath Puzha. The presiding Deity of the village was Lord Ayyappan.
Much is not known about the early childhood days of Rama Bhagavathar except that he attended the village school and also learnt Vedas and Shastras. Rama Bhagvathar’s elder brother Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar had a flair for classical music and he started learning Kathakali Padams and in course of time became an exponent of the Padams.
He taught young Rama Bhagavathar who had a natural aptitude for classical music to sing along with him Kathakali padams. Rama Bhagavathar was then eight years of age. His Brother Venkatakrishna Bhavathar’s endeavor in instilling by frequent repetitions the Padams laid a firm foundation in Rama Bhagavathar to learn not only Kathakali Padams but the nuances, intricacies and complexities of classical Carnatic Music.
Discipline and learning
At the recommendation of some elders in the Village Munda Mukha, Rama Bhagavathar and his elder brother Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar began to learn Carnatic Music from one Shri Vadankkancheri Rama Bhagavathar and his brother subbarama Bhagavathar.
In a sense one could day Vadakkancheri Rama Bhagavathar was the first “guru” of Rama Bhagavathar. Shri Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar, the elder brother of Rama Bhagavathar was fully into Kathakali Padams (which he had learnt from a Nambudari).
Since Kathakali performances in those days used to be held only during nights and that too for hours at a stretch, it began to tell on the health of the young Rama Bhagavathar. So his brother Venkatakrishna Bhagavathar advised him to quit singing Kathakali Padams and instead focus on classical Carnatic Music, which then was attaining popularity, thanks to the Kumbakonam and Thanjavur schools.
Career
His first Carnatic concert was at the Kalpathy Kasi Viswanatha Swamy Temple and so was his last concert.
He launched the Palghat (Palakkad) edition of the Tyagaraja Aradhana at Kalpathi Ram Dhyana Madom.
Honours and titles
Rama Bhagavathar was regularly invited by Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wodeyar to his durbar during Dasara for a special performance and honoured him.Maharaja and Maharani of Travancore too honoured him.
Nobel Laureate C.V. Raman bestowed on him the title of Gayaka Kesari.[1]
Personal life
Palghat Rama Bhagavathar died in May 1957 in Kalpathi, Kerala. His wife, Rugmani Ammal, died in 1991. The couple had 7 sons and 4 daughters.The author A.Ramachandran is the last Son-in-Law of Rama Bhagawathar married to Jayam, his last child and daughter.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to place on record and acknowledges gratefully and thanks Shri.M.R.Sesha Mani, Shri.M.R.Ramanan and Shri.R.Lakshmi Narayanan, all Sons of Rama Bhagawathar and Shrimathy R.Kanakam, Daughter of Rama Bhagawathar for providing him with the details of their father’s birth, life and achievements and for giving useful suggestions in writing this monograph.
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