Noted violinist M.S. Anantharaman, an exponent of Parur style of violin playing, died here on Monday. He was 94 and is survived by his sons M.S. Sundaresan and M.A. Krishnaswamy and daughter M.A. Bhagirati, all of whom are proficient in Carnatic music.
Mr. Anantharaman was the son of Parur Sundaram Iyer, who migrated to Chennai from Kerala in 1932. His younger brother was the late M.S. Gopalakrishnan.
“Both my father and uncle had a close association with the film music world and it was my father who accompanied M.S. Subbulakshmi in the memorable song Katriniley Varum Geetham . They gave up performing for the film world as they could not find time to meet the call sheet, as they were equally busy as classical musicians,” said Ms. Bhagirati, the head of the department of music, Queen Mary’s College.
Mr. Anantharaman worked as music teacher of the Government Music College for 28 years and had students from all over the world. He even spent three months in the Venkateswara temple in Pittsburg and conducted music classes.
In an interview to The Hindu in 2011, Mr. Anantharaman said he started accompanying his father at the age of five, and subsequently performed with all the great doyens of the music world. He was equally proficient in Hindustani and Western classical music.
“For many years, he accompanied K.B. Sundarambal and the concert would begin at 6 p.m. and end early morning. He also played for Radha-Jayalakshmi,” said Ms. Bhagirati.
