Violin vidwan Chittoor Appanna Bhagavathar, 91, passed away recently in Chennai. Born in Chittoor, in 1919, he learnt both vocal and violin from his father Vedachala Iyer. Belonging to a family of musicians that included his brothers Chittoor Gopalakrishnan, Chittoor Subramaniam and Chittoor Thiagarajan, Appanna Bhagavathar shifted to Chennai in 1958 and started teaching music to children, something he continued for almost 50 years.
Man of dignity, he never clamoured for chances to play in concerts.
He was a great admirer of Purandaradasar. In fact, he used to conduct a music festival every year in his memory.
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This was started in 1960 and went on till 1998. The festival culminated in a Tyagaraja akandam on the last two days. Many leading musicians have participated in the festival.
During the akandam (24-hour non-stop singing of Tyagaraja kritis) this writer recalls the hospitality of Appanna; he and his wife Madhurambal would personally serve snacks and tea to all those present, with a smile, even till the wee hours.
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Appanna Bhagavatar was a graded Harikatha artist of All India Radio. He also notated kritis of Purandaradasar and published a book titled ‘Purandaradasar Kriti Mani Malai' that went into three editions.
He is survived by four sons and two daughters. One of his sons C.A. Rajasekar of CARVA is carrying on the legacy of his father by teaching violin to many aspiring musicians.