Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy (15 November 1923 – 1 April 2002), often referred to as K. V. Narayanaswamy was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1986. He was described as the "Perfect Knight" of Carnatic music, a phrase from Geoffrey Chaucer, by V. K. Narayana Menon, art critic of India and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Early life and background
Narayanaswamy was born to Kollengode Viswanathayyar and Muthulakshmi Ammal in Palghat, Kerala, to a Palakkad Iyer family, a district renowned for its cultural and musical traditions, on 15 November 1923. Narayanaswamy was born into a family of illustrious musicians and artists. His great-grandfather Viswam Bhagavatar was renowned for his evocative Ashtapadis and rendered services for Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal, ruler of the princely state of Travancore from 1860 to 1880. In return Viswam Bhagavatar was bestowed with government aid and hereditary royal privileges. Viswam Bhagavatar's son, Narayana Bhagavatar continued his father's legacy. His son was violin maestro, Viswanathayyar (soon came to be known as 'Fiddle' Viswanathayyar), His father. K.V. Narayanaswamy learned basic music lessons under his father and grandfather. After studying in Palghat till the fifth form, he moved to Coimbatore, where he briefly dabbled in theatre. Narayanaswamy even managed a role as the young Kanappan in the movie Kannappa Nayanar. The movie bombed at the box office.
Narayanaswamy began extensive training under Mridangam maestro, Padma Bhushan, Palghat Mani Iyer. Mani Iyer proceeded to place Narayanaswamy under the tutelage of Sangeetakalacharya C.S. Krishna Iyer, a highly competent vocalist, musicologist and composer in Palghat, and then under violinist and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Papa Venkataramaiah. Viswanatha Bhagavatar was however very keen that Narayanaswamy should train under Sangeetha Kalanidhi Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar or Sangeetha Kalanidhi Padma Bhushan Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who were two of the four most dominant musicians of the first half of the twentieth century along with the likes of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and G. N. Balasubramaniam. Mani Iyer soon judged Narayanaswamy to be ready for gurukulavasam under Ariyakudi and in 1942, Narayanaswamy took the giant step. He entered the home of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and remained an ardent disciple until the latter's death in 1967.
Performing career
Narayanaswamy's major break came at a Madras Music Academy concert in 1951, when he was unexpectedly forced to substitute for his guru, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar who was not in a position to attend the conference under unforeseen circumstances. Accompanied by doyens Palghat Mani Iyer and Papa Venkataramayya, this concert proved to be a milestone in Narayanaswamy's career. The training under Palghat Mani Iyer allowed Narayanaswamy to develop a solid knowledge of rhythmic nuances. This in turn would enable him to be at ease in the company of such legends of percussion as Palani Subramaniam Pillai, Palghat R. Raghu, Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair, and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman to name a few. Narayanaswamy, Palghat R. Raghu, and violin maestro T.N.Krishnan soon became a frequent and much admired combination on stage.
K.V.Narayanaswamy was intimately connected to the Travancore royal family following his skilful rendition of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma's Navaratri compositions. Another landmark in Narayanaswamy's life came in 1964 when he participated in the East-West Encounter concerts in New Delhi. This was followed by a widely acclaimed concert at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in 1965.