THE PAST - VOCALISTS
MADURAI N. KRISHNAN
A disciple of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Madurai Krishnan had his initial training from his father and Harikatha exponent, Narayana Iyengar, and his brother and violin vidwan, Srinivasa Iyengar.Regarded as a Vaggeyakara, Krishnan composed numbers for several dance dramas and music for works such as Thiruppavai and Divya Prabandham. He was one of the founders of Bharatalaya, an institution of fine arts.
Ranked as "A top" artiste of All India Radio, he received several awards and titles such as UNESCO award (1970), Kalaimamani (1981), Sangeet Natak Akademi (1988), Padma Shri (1992) and Padma Bhushan (2003). The "Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani" title, instituted by the Indian Fine Arts Society, was given to him in December 1999.
Madurai N. Krishnan passed away in Chennai on Sunday, Oct. 9th 2005 after a brief illness. He was 76.
