Composers
and Musicians Oothukadu Venkatasubbayyar (1700-1765) |
Oothukadu Venkatasubbayyar, popularly known as Venkata Kavi, is an important
pre-trinity composer in Carnatic music. He is considered as a link between
Purandaradasa and the trinity.
Oothukadu Venkatasubbayyar lived in the 18th century in the Tanjavoor
district of present day Tamil Nadu. His parents were Ramachandra Vathoolar
and Kamalanayani Ammal. and his brother an important singer in the Tanjavur
court. His attempts at formal music
Venkata Kavi has composed in several formats - kriti, javali, tillana
and kavadi chindu. By his time, Keertana form had evolved into krithi
format. His compositions are in popular as well as rare raaga-s. He also
had very good command over taala-s and has composed using several difficult
taala-s. His compositions are in Tamil and Sanskrit. He was fluent in
both. Lord Krishna was his main diety and so the theme of many of his
krithis is Lord Krishna. But he has also composed about other dieties,
mythological figures and even about great personalities like Jayadeva
and Valmiki. He has also composed operas, on Krishna, a set of songs narrating
the story on Lord Rama’s childhood and even a ragamalika piece ‘Sri
Rama jayame jayam’ which covers the whole Ramayana.
His famous group krithi-s are Saptaratnas, Kamakshi Navavaranam, and Anjaneya
Pancharatnas. This concept may have prompted Thyagaraja's Pancharathna
Krithis and Dheekshithar to compose his Kamalamba Navavaranam. Kamakshi
Navavaranam is considered a masterpeice and has some complex rare taala-s
like Khanda Triputa, Khanda Dhruva and Khanda Matya. His pen name was
Venkata Kavi, but is mentioned in only one of his Krithi-s. He was a prolific
composer and may have composed more than a thousand kritho-s of which
some 300 are available to us now, thanks to diligent recording of his
compositions by his brother, nephews and contemporaries.
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