Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi

Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi (Tamil: ஊத்துக்காடு வேங்கட கவி) (c. 1700-1765) or Oottukadu Venkata Subbaiah Iyer was one of the pioneering composers in Indian classical Carnatic music.He lived in South India in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. Also known by the name Oothukkadu Venkatasubba Iyer, he composed hundreds of compositions in Sanskrit, Tamil and Marathi of which over 500 are available. These were handed down from generation to generation by the descendants of the composer's brother's family.

Venkata Kavi's compositions reveal that he was a complete master of the science and art of music in all senses of the term – melody, rhythm or lyrics and was eloquent in Sanskrit and Tamil. Renowned for his rare depth, scholarship and sublime appeal, he was proficient in a variety of musical forms such as the kriti, tillana and kavadichindu. He used talas and themes that not many other Carnatic composers have preferred to handle. His compositions are a blend of a high degree of scholarship on a variety of subjects and inspired expression. During a lecture demonstration on the composer by Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar in December 1955, The Music Academy Madras Experts' Committee noted that "Venkata Kavi's compositions filled a gap between Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) and the Carnatic Music Trinity of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, who lived around 1760s-1840s.

Several pieces also reveal his humility, reverence for the great personalities before his times and the high state of bliss that he probably experienced almost ceaselessly. His works scarcely contain autobiographical notes and show that he had reached great spiritual and philosophical heights. Deeper studies have dispelled myths about some of his compositions like "Alaippayude kanna" (Kanada) being autobiographical, and shown that this and numerous other pieces on Krishna in lilting Tamil were parts of his opera based on Bhagavatam. His works also reveal the proximity he felt towards God and show his deep devotion.

Venkata Kavi, named as Venkata Subramanian, was born as the eldest of five children to the Tamil Smartha couple of Subbu Kutti Iyer and Venkamma, according to the family records in the possession the descendants of his brother Ramachandra Vathoola's family. Though his ancestors had resided in various villages in South Indian around the temple towns of Mannargudi (about 200 miles from Chennai), Venkata Kavi moved into the village of Oothukadu (referred to as "Dhenushwasapuram" in Sanskrit), near Kumbhakonam. One of his nephews, Kattu Krishna Iyer was a musician in the royal court of the Thanjavur Maratha King Pratapa Simha Bhonsale in the later part of the 18th century.

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