Mysore V Doraiswamy Iyengar - Veena

Interestingly, in my esnips collection, I have found that there are more visitors in the Instrumental music folder than in Vocal.

To listen to Vocal music, perhaps the language, its meaning etc., will also be considered to be adding to the interest. When it is instrumental you can listen to the music for any amount of time, without distraction. On the other hand, if you are listening to instrumental and are also well versed with the lyrical part, you would be looking for the verbal nuances to be reflected in the instrument.

I really don't know the difference. I listen to instrumental as well as I do with vocals.

for the listening pleasure of friends who visit my blog for music, here is an excellent Ragam Tanam and Pallavi on Veena by none other than Sriman Doraiswamy Iyengar.

Doreswamy Iyengar, generally known as Mysore V Doreswamy Iyengar, was born into a family of musicians. His father, Venkatesha Iyengar, was himself a Vainika and a musician in the court of the Maharaja of Mysore.



He started learning the Veena from his father at an early age and soon became the disciple of Veena Venkatagiriyappa one of the foremost Vainikas of the day in Mysore. He gave his first public performance in 1943, in the Bangalore Gayana Samaja. He participated in music conferences including the one in Shiraz, Iran in 1969.


He studied BA in the Maharaja’s College in Mysore. He was the music producer of the All India Radio in Bangalore. The University of Mysore conferred on him an Honorary Doctorate in 1975.


In an age when most of the other Vainikas started using the contact microphone, Doreswamy Iyengar remained a purist and stuck to the ‘acoustic’ Veena. His style of playing is sometimes referred to as the Mysore style. This style is marked by the movements from one note to another, achieved with the playing fingers (the index and middle fingers of the left hand) parted. This, along with his unique style of plucking the strings enabled him to achieve the continuity of sound so essential to Carnatic music.


Normally Veena is a solo instrument and is accompanied only by percussion instruments. However, the concerts of Doreswamy Iyengar accompanied by Mysore T Chowdiah on the violin became very popular. He has participated in many ‘Jugalbandis’ including other famous musicians such as Ali Akbar Khan. He also composed music for dance dramas, especially those of P T Narasimhachar, a renowned poet of Kannada.


His son, D. Balakrishna is among the foremost Vainikas of the day. Another Vainika of note, who was Doreswamy Iyengar’s disciple, was C. Krishnamurthy.



I never had the fortune of listening to his live concerts or talikng to him.
I saw him in Madras Muisc Season.
I am told he was a perfect gentleman of the old style.

Here is the link to my mediafile folder where his music is waiting for you.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=10f3f26dc390f408ab1eab3e9fa335cace69c081814054ed

There is a Kmbhoji RTP for almost an hours duration in the folder.

Let us enjoy good music!!
@@@@@@@