Papanasam Sivan

Papanasam Sivan (Tamil: பாபநாசம் சிவன்) (September 26, 1890 - October 10, 1973) was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a famous singer. A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S. Subbulakshmi.

Sivan's early years were spent in the Travancore area of Kerala where the kings patronised fine arts. Sivan's real name was Ramadass. Because of his devotion to God Shiva, he is better known by the name Papanasam Sivan. He was born in the district of Thanjavur, which was home to the illustrious musical trinity of Carnatic music. His original name was Ramaiyya. In 1897, when Ramaiyya was just 7, his father died. His mother Yogambal, along with her sons, left Thanjavur and moved to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, where her brother-in-law was a Ramayana Sastri in the renowned Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple. At Thirunanthapuam, Ramaiyya learned Malayalam and Sanskrit and later earned a degree in grammar. Ramiyya was very religious and with death of his mother in Yogambal when he was 20, it made him even more religious he wandered from place to place visiting temples and singing devotional songs. Ramaiyya used to be an active participant in the devotional music sessions at the home of Neelakandasivan in Thiruvananthapuram. Thus he learned many of the musical compositions of Neelakandasivan. In this period, his wanderings would take him regularly to the temple at Papanasanm where he would smear bhasma all over his body. Hence people began to refer him as Papanasam Sivan, the name by which he was to become well known later.

He picked up his first music lessons from Noorani Mahadeva Bhagavatar, son of Parameswara Bhagavatar. Later he became the disciple of Konerirajapuram Vaidyanath Iyer, a well-known musician, under whose tulelage Sivan blossomed into a consummate artiste that he was.

In spite of his deep knowledge of music, Papanasam Sivan was more interested in the devotional aspect of music. He preferred to sing devotional songs and encouraged other singers take part in sessions of devotional music with him. Papanasam Sivan was regular in all the major temple festivals in South India with his devotional songs.

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