Syama Sastri

Syama Sastri
Born	1762 Tiruvarur, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu
Occupation	Composer
Nationality	Indian
Genre	Carnatic music

Music of India
A Lady Playing the Tanpura, ca. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Hindustani Folk Baul Bhajan Rabindra Sangeet Thumri Dadra Ghazal Qawwali Chaiti Kajari Sufi Modern Bhangra Filmi Pop Rock Bengali Raga Blues Jazz Trance
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Punjabi Music Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Tyagaraja Aradhana
Music media	Sruti The Record Music Magazine
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Classical Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Syama Sastri (also commonly transliterated as Shyama Shastri) (1762–1827) is one of the most renowned composers of Carnatic music. He is the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.^[1]

Career

SYAMA SASTRI was born to Visvanathayya and Vengalakshmi on April 2, 1762.^[2] He was a Tamil speaking Brahmin known as Auttara Vadama. Visvanathayya and his forefathers were archakas in the temple of Goddess Bangaru Kamakshi. Syama Sastri's actual name was Venkata Subrahmanya.

Although Śyāma Śastri did not compose as so many kr̥ti-s as his two prolific contemporaries, his compositions are still well known due to the literary value. It is said that he composed about three hundred pieces in all.

He did not have many disciples to propagate his compositions, nor was the printing press an easy convenience during his time. More importantly, the scholarly nature of his compositions was not appealing to the layperson, they needed to be studied to be savoured.In his compositions there is a perfect blend of Supreme Bhakti (Utmost Devotion), Manodharma Bhavam with adequate Sahityam, but very important all put into the cup of Absolute Talam (Rhythm).

He composed in Telugu and Sanskrit, mostly on goddess Meenakshi.

He composed kritis, varṇa(s) and svarajati(s) with the ankita or mudra (signature) Śyāma Krishna. He was probably the first to compose in a new form of the svarajati musical genre. Prior to this, the svarajati was primarily a dance form, and was close in structure to the dance Varṇaṃ (padavarṇaṃ).

His set of three famous svarajati(s) are intended to be sung in concert rather than danced, and are sometimes referred to as "Ratnatrayam" (Three jewels). They are in ragas Bhairavi, Yadukula kambhoji and Todi, and are called Kāmākṣhī Anudinamu, Kāmākṣhī Padayugamē, and Rāvē himagiri kumāri, respectively. The former two are set to Miśra Cāpu Tāḷa, while the third is set to Ādi Tāḷa.

He was known for his ability to compose in the most complex of Tāḷa(s).^[3] He was also known as "Talaprasthara Shyama Sastri" in music circles in those days. He was as adept in composing in rare ragas as he was in composing the popular ones. He was widely revered for his voice and singing ability during his time.

Descendants

Syama Sastri's son, the illustrious Subbaraya Sastri (1803–1862), had the unique privilege of learning under each of the trinity. His kritis with the signature 'Kumara' are known for encapsulating the entire structure of a raga in the space of a single composition. Syama Sastri's adopted grandson, Annasvami Shastri (1827–1900), was also a fine composer.

Compositions

The below sections mention some of his compositions.

Svara Jati

Kriti

See also

• List of Carnatic composers

References

External links

• Website dedicated to Shyama Shastri
• Shyama Sastri’s descendants live in penury