GNB, a disciple of violinist Madurai Subrahmania Iyer, never missed an opportunity in listening to Ariyakkudi or Tiruvaaduthurai Rajarathnam Pillai, who is deemed unrivalled in the realm of Nagaswaram. He is with Chowdiah and Mani Iyer. Mysore Vasuvevachar once with a new composition approached Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar who had the gift of make a krithi click thro' his concerts.Iyengar told the other he can show a person who would make krithi popular with just one rendering. Who was he.G.n.Balasubrahmaniam B.A.(Hons) Thus 'Broche Vaa' was made monumental by the doyen in Music Academi,flanked by Palani(mridangam) and Chowdiah bowing his special violin.

M.S. with R.K Venkatarama Sasthri and V. Nagarajan who later became a ghanjira maestro performing at the RLV music college at Tripunithura.

Paaliyathu Jayachandran-mridangam. What a wonderful, if not a weird combination
.(By Courtesy- Announcer Ramabhadran Thampuran of Tripunithura.) Who is the singer?

Chembai Maama as happy as ever .Chalakkudi and Krishnankutty Nair, with Jaya-Vijaya at the rear.

Mundaaya Rama Bhagavather the brother of Kathakali vocalist Venkata Krishna Iyer, with Khandadevi Alagiri Swamy and Mani Iyer.

15-Veena prince, Chittibabu with TVG

14-Musiri, Alathur Subbu, GNB etc. Unforgettable combination

13- Unchavrithi in which Mani Iyer plays the Thoppimaddalam. Also seen are Alathur Subbu and Paappa

Pancharathnam at Tiruvayyar. Mysore Chowdiah, Paappa, Lalgudi, TNK etc.

KVN with Chalakkudi and Krishnankutty Nair. .Palghat Mani Iyer sat with a ghanjira when he taught Raghu and there was also one Narayanan from Kollengode whom Mani Iyer taught the basics in vocal, who remained nearby. .Then Mani Iyer took the boy to the noted violinist Paappa Venkitaramayya with a request to teach Narayanan. Venkittaramayya said that he being a mere violinist did not know much about teaching vocal. Mani just wanted the boy to be taken around wherever Paappa went to accompany the great vidwans. When Mani felt that Narayanan has become weather- beaten, he was taken to Ariyakkudi. But the boy one day ran away from Iyengar’s house as he realised that he could not sing as vigorously as his mentor. He reached Wardha and dcided to remain there. But Gandhiji stumbled upon him one day and asked how he happened to be there. Then Mahatma advised him to go back to his Guru and do service through the chosen profession of his. One morning when Ariyakkudi opened the front-door of his there was Narayanan in a bewildered state. The guru asked sishya not to repeat the running away any more. Narayanan stayed on.

Two stalwarts side by side.

Chembai honouring Yesudas.

-T.R.Mahalingam ailas Maali performing at Kerala Fine Arts hall, with T.Rukmini and Madhurai Krishna Iyengar. Maali had always a passion for the game of cards and had the gall in cancelling a concert if he found the playing session too absorbing. He was also fond of cricket and in his native place, namely, Tiruvidamaruthoor, as a child, he used to play the game. There were many Nagaswaram players and Bhatathanatyam Nattuvanars around his house, where daily lessons were taken in Pipe music and dance. Eye-witnesses say that Maali used to reproduce on his flute at night whatever he had picked up by way of music when he played cricket during the day

Layavadyalahari by Lalgudi, Remani Umayalpuram etc

Chembai with MSG and TVG.

Semmangudi,Lalgudi and TVG. Vocal support by Kumara Kerala Varma

Ariyakkudi with Chowdiah and Mani. It is said that Iyengar used to know about 70 compositions in Thodi alone. Mani Iyer had once remarked that Iyyerval’s music was as alluring to him as is Ramayana to Hanuman.

Neyyantinkara as a juvenile

Tripunithura Viwanatha Bhagavathar Gopalakrishnan (TVG) with Kobai Balu and Palakkad Raghu.Sitting behind Raghu is his senior desciple Maniappan

Illustrious trio

the personalities seen in the picture
are Kalamanadalam Kalianikutty Amma, the noted Mohinattam exponent, the famous malayalam cine music director G.Devaraajan, the irrepressible M.S. Tripunithura, Kalamandalam Vimala Menon and Dr.T.P. Sukumaran when they converged at the Seema Auditorium of Tripunithura.

M.L.Vasanthakumari, the foremost disciple of GNB who always combined artistry with tradition and the first woman vocalist to venture into the realm of ragam-thanam-pallavi. She is with Kanyakumari and Krishnamoorthy Rao.

Semmangudi whose Kharaharapriya and its derivatives gave immense pleasure to the music lovers. He is with T.N. Krishnan and Palani Subramania Pillai who revitalised the Pudukkotta ‘bhaani, incorporating in it the aspects of Tabla playing. He had played ghanjira with Mani Iyer, sitting face to face, their hierarchy being of equal stature.

Madurai Mani Iyer whose Swara singing kept the multitude in an aura of bewitchment, with B.A.Chidambaranath(a prominent music director of the Malayalam tinsel world who had accompanied Rathnam Thampuran of Tripunithura) and B.Doraiswamy.

M.S.Subbalakshmi and Sadasivam received at the RLV College of Tripunithura in the late Fifties.

A very rare and old photograph of the great flautist Palladam Sanjivi Rao, with Balakrishna Iyer and T.K. Moorthy. Sanjivi, the disciple of Sarabha Sasthri gave a new dimension to flute solo concerts.

A mikeless concert at Kalikotta Palace of Tripunithura by Challam Iyengar in the late Seventies, at the behest of Palghat Mani Iyer who wanted the mike to be banished from the concert scene, since it, according to him robbed mridangam of its original tonal strength. Kadappakkadal Veeraraghavan is the violinist.

Alathur ‘Bros’ with Mayavaram Govindaraja Pillai and Mani Iyer.

T.K.Rangachari, noted for his individualistic style at the Ernakulam Siva temple. Tiruchi Sankaran the ace mridangist, who is settled in York (Canada), in company of Chandrasekhar.

Mudikondan Venkitarama Iyer a scholarly musician of yore, accompanied by Lalgudi and Sivaraman.Sitting immediately behind Mudikondan is his chief desciple and pallavi expert, R.Vedavalli.

Radha-Jayalakshmi the disciples of GNB, who inveigled the Carnatic music scene with their telepathic understanding of each other. It was Jayalakshmi nearer to the viewers of the photo who took the lead. She is the maternal aunt of Radha.

K.J. Yesudas rehearsing for the first Gaanamela of his career at T.D.M hall, in 1964.