Musiri Subramania Iyer

Musiri Subramania Iyer
Musiri Subramania Iyer with disciple
Born	9 April 1899 Bommalapalayam, Trichy district, Tamil Nadu
Died	March 25, 1975(1975-03-25) (aged 75)
Occupation	carnatic vocalist
Spouse(s)	Nagalakshmi
Parent(s)	Sankara Sastri, Seethalakshmi

Musiri Subramania Iyer (April 9, 1899 - March 25, 1975) was a Carnatic vocalist whose stage performing career spanned the 1920s to the 1940s. After retirement from the stage, he remained an iconic figure in Carnatic music as a dedicated teacher and leader in the Carnatic community. His bhava-laden renditions of Carnatic songs have become the measuring stick for generations of Carnatic vocalists. Musiri Subramania Iyer is one of the giants of Carnatic music in this century.

Musiri Subramania Iyer, as he was universally known, was born in Bommalapalayam in the Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. His father, Sankara Sastry was a Sanskrit pandit. One of three siblings, he lost his mother, Seethalakshmi, as a boy and his sister Rajathi passed when she was but a child. His family was poor—in later life Musiri seldom spoke about those early years. He married Nagalakshmi when he was 14 years old. Musiri Subramania Iyer learned to fluently speak, read and write in English when he was 17. Inspired by the singing of a popular acting star of those days, S. G. Kittappa, he decided to become a musician. Like Kittappa, Musiri had a strong vocal range in the higher octaves, and could imitate the former's hit songs with ease.

Musiri Subramania Iyer's initial training in music was under S. Narayanaswamy Iyer for two years, before moving to Chennai for more serious studies with violinist Karur Chinnaswami Iyer. Due to a lack of time to devote to teaching, Chinnaswami sent him to become the of renowned vocal teacher T.S. Sabhesa Iyer who lived in Purasawalkam. Musiri Subramania Iyer trained with him for 9 years in the guru shishya parampara, learning his guru's particular way of performing neraval that Musiri Subramania Iyer would later become famous for. He made his debut in Chennai in 1920. His name was announced as "Subramania Iyer of Musiri" and the name stuck. (As per tradition in India, the town the artist hails from is sometimes added as a prefix to ones name, honoring the town while simultaneously giving a distinction of a specific geographical nature to the artist, such as Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, etc.) Given that Musiri was not born in Musiri, accounts differ as to why the name Musiri was added to his name. Musiri once stated that it was simply because Musiri was a more well known location than Musiri's home town of Bommalapalayam, and easier to say as a prefix. Whatever the case, Musiri Subramania Iyer was a prolific and expert performer, and within 10 years his reputation as a master musician across India was sealed.