Sankaranarayanan was a law student, but his love for Carnatic music was immense. He used to spend more than seven hours a day singing.
Sankaranarayanan was a law student, but his love for Carnatic music was immense. He used to spend more than seven hours a day singing. (Supplied)
“His voice was the only thing that drew me inside auditoriums, and I always wished to sound like him,” vocalist TM Krishna told South First while mourning the death of noted Carnatic vocalist TV Sankaranarayanan.
“I followed him concert to concert in awe and nagged him for one raga or song, and he generously obliged me,” Krishna said.
“When I began singing, I so wished to sound like him. His music was filled with passion, romance, flourish, and unrestricted flow. He made me fall in love with music. The memories will remain forever,” he added.
Sankaranarayanan was a famous Carnatic singer from Mayiladuthurai. He was born in 1945, and his family shifted to Chennai in the 1950s.
He passed away on Friday, 2 August, at his house in Chennai. He was 77 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Sankaranarayanan won the Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy in 2003 and was conferred the Padma Bhushan the same year.
He was the nephew of Carnatic vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer. Sankaranarayanan carried on the glorious tradition of Iyer, who was considered one part of the male trinity of Carnatic music in the 20th century, the others being his contemporaries Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and GN Balasubramaniam.
Sankaranarayanan was a law student, but his love for Carnatic music was immense. He used to spend more than seven hours a day singing.
Jeyaraaj and Jayasri, a famous South Indian classical musician couple from Tamil Nadu, told South First, “Even though Sankaranarayanan was the nephew of Iyer, he remained a trendsetter on his own and by his energetic voice.”
Jeyaraaj told South First: “He was the most promising Carnatic singer.”
He reminisced, “Sankaranarayanan was deeply rooted in his passion, and was aesthetically supreme. He has always been an encouraging and simple man with a smiling face.”
He added: “In one word, his contribution to Carnatic music is immense. His songs can last a lifetime. They are conservative yet fresh, and it’s a difficult balance. He had the ability to pull in anybody who was not into Carnatic music, and his songs are immortal.”
Sankaranarayanan’s famous song Viruttam, according to Jeyaraaj, was one of his best. He said, “The song is a powerful combination of whatever is necessary for a Carnatic musician to bring in. Sankaranarayanan made it look so easy and simple.”
“Sankarnarayanan’s demise is a massive loss to the Carnatic music world,” he added.
“He once came to our concert and would have come for our future shows had he been alive”.
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