Carnatic musician, Thanjavur Venkatesa Iyengar, passed away in Thanjavur on March 8. He was 86. Iyengar learnt music from Embar Srirangachariar, Harikatha exponent, Embar Vijayaraghavachariar and violin vidwan Mayavaram Govindaswamy Pillai. He came under the tutelage of Thanjavur Lakshminarayana Bhagavathar (Thanjai Nanu) and accompanied his guru in several concerts.
When he presented concerts illustrious vidwans such as Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai, Tiruvalangadu Sundaresa Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Kandadevi Alagirisamy, T.K. Murthy and Palghat Mani Iyer. He served the cause of Melattur Bhagavatamela as chief mentor of music. Refusing to leave his native soil, Iyengar remained in Thanjavur and was professor at the Tiruvaiyaru College of Music.
Asthana vidwan of Kanchi Math, Venkaesa Iyengar was recipient of Gana Praveena title conferred by Tirupati Devasthanam, Gana Kala Visaradha from Murugan Asramam, Thanjavur, Tiruppugazh Mani by Kripananda Warrier and so on.
