Oct 11 2026 to Oct 11 2026 11 a.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

There is always more to a musician than just their music.

This talk uncovers the life of Harikeshanallur Dr. L. Muthiah Bhagavatar (1877–1945), a flamboyant and larger-than-life figure who found joy in every form of expression available to him. He was a renowned musician, a prolific composer, a consummate Harikatha performer, a well-regarded teacher, and the author of a treatise on Carnatic music theory.

Trained first as a Carnatic musician, Bhagavatar soon turned to Harikatha, finding in its blend of storytelling, song, and stagecraft a fuller outlet for his gifts, quickly becoming one of its most popular exponents. As an important figure at the Mysore court, under the patronage of King Krishnaraja Wodeyar, he composed one hundred and eight songs in praise of Goddess Chamundi, each one a fresh attempt at devotion. At the invitation of Maharani Sethu Parvathy Bai, he later moved to the Travancore Palace, where he became the first principal of the Trivandrum Music College, turning his private joy in music into a public institution for teaching it.

Even scholarship, for Bhagavatar, became another register of expression. He was the first musician to be awarded a doctorate, for his thesis, Sangita Kalpadrumam. Published only after his death, his theoretical work was born of the same curiosity that drove his performances. Across his lifetime he composed more than four hundred songs in multiple languages and introduced around twenty new ragas into the Carnatic tradition. In 1920, he founded a gurukula, the Tyagaraja Sangita Vidyalaya, in Madurai, ensuring that this capacity for joyful reinvention would outlive him, carried forward by students such as Madurai Mani Iyer.

Presented by:

Venue: Auditorium
Speaker

V. Sriram
Historian & Columnist
Sriram Venkatakrishnan, born in 1966 in England, pursued engineering and later earned an M.B.A. in Marketing and Advertising. He held various roles in advertising and marketing before becoming Chief Operations Officer of Broadgate Technical Services (India) Pvt Ltd. He is also involved in his family’s industrial hydraulics business. Sriram’s deep passion for Carnatic music led him to co-found the website Sangeetham in 1999, promoting Carnatic music and its heritage. He conducts heritage walks in Chennai, has authored books on Carnatic music, and has contributed to publications including Sruti and The Hindu. He has also written biographies and collaborated on books commemorating Carnatic music stalwarts, and is currently working on a biography of Harikatha exponent C. Saraswati Bai. He serves as Secretary of the Music Academy and Editor of Madras Musings.