A tribute to vidwan KV Narayanaswamy's music

Sri Ariyakudi and K.V. Narayanaswamy Memorial Trust celebrated the 24^th Remembrance Day of vidwan Palakkad K.V. Narananaswamy from 3-5 April 2026 at Arkay Convention Center, Mylapore.

The three-day event was a tribute to KVN’s music, lineage, and lasting contributions to the Carnatic fraternity, bringing together his family and disciples to remember the legend.

Each day featured a concert by one of his direct disciples, with each musician reflecting a different facet of their guru. One could sense his melodic imprint in Anuradha K.N.’s alapana, his distinct accent and phrasing in Pattabhirama Pandit’s brisk passages, and his signature repertoire choices in HS Prashanth’s concert.

K.V. Narayanaswamy – The voice

The event also featured a one-of-a-kind lecture demonstration by voxologist Dr. Shyamala Vinod on the voice of KVN. Scientifically, a vocalist’s voice can be evaluated through a set of core attributes, she said.

#      Calmness – a calm current even in the most hurried singing

#      Reduced strain – activating the pit of the throat without tightening the voice

#      Abdominal breathing – controlled breath support without visible or audible surges

#      Phonetic clarity – accurate articulation of sound, including nasal textures

#      Phonetic transliteration ability – minimal fragmentation of words; reduced ‘pada chedham’

#      Volume consistency – even tonal presence across registers, without forcing or shouting

KVN’s voice exemplified the ideal balance of all these attributes, according to Dr. Shyamala Vinod. His voice was like a piece of ironed cloth, she says.

Dr. Shyamala, who has worked extensively with voices in both the Carnatic and film worlds, studied KVN’s singing as part of her research. In her lecture, she demonstrated how these attributes manifested naturally in his music. “KVN Mama was a voice that could reach the heart of the listener, not just their ears”, she said and one has to agree.

Kritis from the KVN collection

Dr. Shyamala substantiated each vocal aspect by playing snippets of KVN’s singing – viz., Varugalamo in Manji, Tharuni Gnyaan (javali) in Dwijavanthi, Raghuvara Nannu in Pantuvarali and a brisk alapana and niraval in Kambhoji. Through this, one begins to understand more precisely why KVN’s music continues to move audiences so deeply.

The compositions presented by the artists, including the opening invocations, reflected the repertoire closely associated with KVN and the pieces he had popularised through his concerts. The prayer on the final day was a ragamalika composed in tribute to the legend KVN by Harikatha exponent Balakrishna Sastrigal and set to music by Padma Narayanaswamy.

Anuradha KN and the KVN melody

The opening concert was presented by Anuradha K.N., daughter and disciple of KVN, and she was accompanied by Ambika Prasad on the violin, Mannarkoil Balaji on the mridangam, and Madipakkam Murali on the ghatam.

She opened the concert with a four-speed presentation of the Mohanam varnam. This was followed by Tatvamariya tarama in Reetigaula, a composition on Lord Ganesa, and Jaya jaya jaya Janaki in Nata. After presenting kalpana swaras with porutham in Nata, she moved to Kedaram and rendered Ananda natana prakasham.

The main piece of the concert was the much-loved Kapi kriti Intha Sowkhya by Tyagaraja. It featured an elaborate, three-tiered niraval, followed by swara passages and a structured koraippu, with the percussion closely aligning to the evolving tempo and gait.

She briefly outlined raga for each piece of the concert, setting the tonal context with clarity. Anuradha’s alapana phrases came closest to reflecting the KVN style, yet retained a sense of freshness, perhaps because of listening to the same musical lines through a female voice and in a lower pitch. Her control in the lower register stood out in particular, lending depth and weight to Kapi.

The concert found a fitting culmination in an ragam-tanam-pallavi (RTP) in Poorvikalyani, built around the line Kanakkidaikkumo Sabesan dharisanam kandal kali theerume.

Tiruppavai¾set to tune by KVNs guru Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar¾ is indispensable in a KVN tribute concert, and she rendered Oruthi maganai pirandhu in Behag. This was followed by the popular Poorvi tillana, before concluding with Arunachala Kavi’s mangalam, Sree Rama Chandranukku.

Pattabhirama Pandit and the KVN swiftness

The next concert in the series was presented by Pattabhirama Pandit, accompanied by Mullaivasal Chandramouli on the violin, B Ganapathyram on the mridangam, and Trichy Murali on the ghatam.

He chose Sankarabharanam as the central raga, opening with Veena Kuppayyar’s varnam and presenting Swati Tirunal’s Navaratri kriti, Devi Jagajjanani as the main piece. The two-stage alapana built anticipation, briefly suggesting an RTP, though the kriti itself unfolded with enough depth and detail.

The Tiruppavai selection for the concert was Nayakanai Nindra presented in Darbar, following the Ariyakudi school, as opposed to the widely heard version in Mohanam. The prati madhyamam sub-main was a well-chosen Vachaspati, featuring Papanasam Sivan’s Parathpara, with niraval developed at Ari ayanum kaana.

The highlight of the concert was the Ranjani composition Dattatreya, composed and popularised by KVN in the 1990s. Written by Ganapathi Sachidhanandha Swami, this Sanskrit piece, set in Misra Chapu, features a tightly structured chitta swaram. Pattabhirama Pandit shared an anecdote about witnessing the creation of the piece. He recalled how Padma Narayanaswamy wrote the chitta swaram during a car journey, which was then complemented by KVN with an intricate korvai, bringing the composition to a striking finish.

Pattabhirama Pandit’s nasal timbre lent itself well to the tightly structured, brisk rendition of Brovabarama in Bahudari. Even compositions such as Mayamma in Ahiri and Mokshamu galada in Saramati were presented at a measured, medium tempo, maintaining momentum throughout the concert. He concluded with Krishna Nee Begane in Yamuna Kalyani and a tillana in Kanada.

Hemmige Prashanth and the KVN repertoire

The final concert in the series featured H.S. Prashanth, accompanied by Gayathri Shivani on the violin and V.R. Srinivasan on the mridangam, all tracing their lineage to the celebrated combination of yesteryears – K.V. Narayanaswamy, M. Chandrasekaran, and Palghat Raghu. Trichy Murali returned on the ghatam.

Prashanth’s selection of compositions remained true to the repertoire associated with KVN, yet he chose the less-heard pieces. He opened with a varnam in Nata by Parameshwara Bhagavatar, and then moved on to Tyagaraja gurum ashraye in Kedaram, composed by M.D. Ramanathan, a musician synonymous with said raga.

The manodharma exchanges between Prashanth and Gayathri were marked by a deep sense of pleasantness (sowkhyam). Whether in the Anandabhairavi alapana preceding O Jagadhamba, or in the unhurried, no-frills elaboration of Kambhoji leading into Evari maata, the music flowed with ease and clarity.

While the main item in Kambhoji explored the raga in depth, with a three-stage niraval and two levels of swaras, what lingered longer in memory was the Mayamalavagaula piece, Manam Irangaada. Following a graceful alapana, one might have expected familiar choices like Deva Deva or Tulasi Dhala, but instead came this composition of Swarna Venkatesa Dikshitar, popularised by KVN. The niraval at Paadi panindu was crisp, and the dhatu prayogams in the kalpana swarams were articulated with striking clarity.

He rendered kalpana swarams for most of the compositions, yet they never felt repetitive or excessive. There was a distinct azhutham in Prashanth’s voice, but it remained consistently soothing, never turning forceful. In that sense, he stood as a clear example of what the voxologist earlier described as depth without strain.

Other compositions included Purandara Dasar’s Nambikettavar Illaro in Kalyani, and a viruttam followed by a Tiruppavai pasuram, Andru Ivvulagam, in Sindhu Bhairavi.

Across the three days, what emerged was not just homage, but continuity. The music did not attempt to recreate K.V. Narayanaswamy as much as it revealed how deeply his aesthetics have been absorbed, internalised, and carried forward.

By Vid Dev

(a teacher and student of Carnatic Music)