2006 July Matrix
2006 July Matrix
2006 July Matrix
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In this issue...
Sanmar Engineering Corporation turns 30 5 ITM Business School honours Sarada Jagan 14
Milestones 6
Constituents and Products/ Services of SEC 7 Employees’ Corner
Living on the edge 15
Record year for Sanmar Engineering Corporation 8
Chemplast Sanmar Limited
BS&B (India) celebrates silver jubilee 9 Farewell to veterans 17
Bags Nuclear Power Corporation order Long service award to N C Chellappan
S Ramasamy felicitated
Fisher Sanmar & Sanmar Foundries
cross Rs 100 crore mark Chemplast Sanmar Limited
‘Golden harvesting’ at Salt Works 18
Sanmar Weighing Systems divested Kavipuram gets new drinking water connection
Medical education and health camp at Mettur 19
Madhuram Narayanan Centre
Chemplast projects on the move 20
14 children complete Upanayan Program 10
Chitra Narayanaswamy Centenary
Brilliant performance by Sri Sankara Schools’ students Finance Minister P Chidambaram pays rich tributes 21
Suman Prava Giri
State topper in CBSE exam Chemplast Sanmar on winning spree
Ends season with 4 titles 23
TAP programme back in full swing 11
Legends from the South
Laras’ theme: Leadership training at Sanmar 13 The Trinity of Carnatic Music 26
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4
Sanmar Engineering
Corporation turns 30
5
Milestones
1981 - BS&B Safety Systems and Sanmar Weighing Systems commence commercial operations
1983 - SEC operations extended to Viralimalai Complex, near Trichy— Xomox Valves inaugurated
1984 - FMC Sanmar commences commercial production of Smith Meters and Crosby Safety Relief Valves
1994 - Xomox adds Fisher Control Valves to its range and the company changes name to Fisher – Xomox to
reflect this
1996 - Sanmar Industrial Systems is formed out of an internal restructuring of the group’s presence in the
electronics business
1999 - To reflect the world wide restructuring of operations, the existing operations of Crosby in FMC Sanmar
are separated out as Tyco Sanmar
2001 - Sanmar Alloy Castings commissions the state-of-the-art Investment Castings facility at Viralimalai
2002 - Sensortronics Sanmar begins to operate as a joint venture with Vishay Transducers, pursuant to the
acquisition of Sensortronics Inc., USA by Vishay
2003 - Demerger of the operations of the Fisher & Xomox divisions of Fisher-Xomox Sanmar, following the
restructuring of the operations of the joint venture partners
2003 - Merger of Sanmar Alloy Castings with FMC Technologies Sanmar; in-house machining capacity at the
Viralimalai complex
2003 - Sanmar Alloy Castings Limited name changed to Sanmar Foundries Limited
2004-2005 - Sanmar Weighing Systems Limited name changed to Strategic Weighing Systems, a Division of
Sanmar Engineering Services Limited
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Constituents and
Products/ Services of SEC
7
Record year for Sanmar
Engineering Corporation
8
BS&B (India) celebrates
silver jubilee
Bags Nuclear Power Corporation order
It is the silver jubilee year for BS&B a Maintenance and Replacement Order
Sanmar Weighing
in India. The BS&B (India) team in (MRO). The team had to go through
Systems divested
Mumbai has performed some sterling the acid test of passing through various
feats to celebrate the occasion. On stages of approvals with NPCIL. As the Sanmar Engineering Services Limited,
18 March 2006, the Mumbai team enquiry was for large rupture disks and (a constituent of Sanmar Engineering
completed the processing for the single it was a high value order, the team had Corporation) has sold the Strategic
largest order in the history of BS&B a lot of explaining and convincing to do Weighing Systems (SWS) business to
(India), an order for rupture disks before bagging the order. the Sudhir Jalan Group from Kolkata.
from the Nuclear Power Corporation of For SEC this is another step in line
The order is expected to bring about
India Limited (NPCIL). This feat was with the earlier ones taken to sharpen
sustained demand for rupture disks from
achieved through sheer determination the focus on its core engineering
NPCIL and other such plants as well.
and perseverance by the team. businesses. The Sudhir Jalan Group is
headquartered in Kolkata and occupies
When the first quarter of the fiscal year
a leading position in the businesses
began, the Mumbai unit had slipped
of tea, printing inks, agro, software
from the premier position it had so far
development and real estate.
enjoyed within BS&B (India) in terms
of sales. This was the situation when The Sanmar Group has through
Mumbai’s new team was put in place. its sale agreement ensured a strong
commitment from the new owners to
BS&B (India) was pitching for high the employees of Strategic Weighing
value orders for rupture disks from Systems – this includes protection
NPCIL. This was not a project order but of employees’ compensation levels,
assurance of continuity of service, etc.
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Madhuram Narayanan Centre
14 children complete
Upanayan Program
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TAP programme back in
full swing
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currently stipulated and observed, and The audience at the TAP programme sat
the role played by SEBI in raising the in rapt attention as Bhupendra Sharma
bar in good corporate governance. shattered the idea that generating ideas
is what innovation is all about. Mapping
Change Management - Dr S Ramnarayan,
the ideas generated to the strike rate
Professor, Indian School of Business (ISB)
of these ideas being implemented is
With increasing globalisation corporates the best way to assess the success of
are abuzz with change and the need to innovation. He highlighted the mental
manage change effectively. Time-tested maps and mindsets that hinder the
Dr S Ramnarayan practices can’t be done away with; yet, innovation ‘insights’ and went on to
they have to go through a metamorphosis detail the various types of innovation
to be in sync with the current climate. gravity and ways to confront them. We
Dr Ramnarayan’s presentation covered often align innovation to out of the
elements of change management - box thinking, but the question is out
the drivers of change, challenges of of which box? The session was replete
change management, critical aspects of with interesting cases drawn from the
managing change and the leadership real world of business and peppered with
attributes required for each of these innovative ideas conducive to innovation
aspects of change and leadership process like scapevelocity notion that challenges
drivers. fundamental notions and many more.
The April TAP session included three Excellence in Manufacturing: Girish
Rajeev Dubey speakers who spoke on optimising Baluja, Chief Operating Officer, Moser
human resource potential, managing Baer
innovation in the organisation and best
What insights did the COO of an
practices for manufacturing excellence.
essentially date storage device organisation
Unleashing the Human Potential: Rajeev have to share with the heterogeneous
Dubey, President (HR & Corporate Services) audience of the Sanmar Group at
and Member of Group Management the TAP session? Drawn from real
Board, Mahindra & Mahindra experiences, he spelt out the best practices
The plots on the path to achieving for excellence in manufacturing. In the
organisational goals are strategic and manufacturing process, it is best to restrict
diagnostic. Rajeev Dubey’s presentation complexity within the management
plotted the path to ascertain what we can discussion room and reduce the actual
do to utilise the vast untapped human process to a simple on/ off feature. He
Bhupendra Sharma potential. More than resource planning prescribed sustainable manufacturing
and operational initiatives, the unused that encompasses environmental and
human potential costs the organisation economic sustainability.
a lot more than we acknowledge. The
human source in an organisation has to
be ignited to reach its fullest potential
and this can be done only when leaders
inculcate the spiritual path of realising
the self into their behaviour in the
organisation and change the leadership
role into one of visionary leaders.
Innovation – no longer a matter of choice:
Bhupendra Sharma, Director and Senior
Girish Baluja Strategic Consultant, Erehwon Innovation
Consulting
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Laras’ theme: Leadership
training at Sanmar
by Ramkumar Shankar, Executive Vice President, Vishay Sanmar Limited
Before 2 September 2005, whenever Thus arose the need for a managerial
people at cricket-crazy Sanmar spoke of leader. While a leader is involved more
Lara(s), they were certain to be referring in the strategising and the team-building
to the dashing West Indian batsman activities, a manager is involved in
of that name and his exploits on the the execution of the strategies. The
cricket field. 2 September changed managerial leader bridges the gap
all that. That was the date when the between the top management who are
Managerial Leadership Development involved in setting direction, and the
(MLD) programme kicked off at Sanmar. front-line employees who are involved in
MLD is a programme that is conducted the day-to-day steps involved in getting
by an established consulting organisation to the targets.
called Laras, set up by the very dedicated
The MLD programme was thus
husband-wife team of Ramakrishnan
introduced at Sanmar to build this
and Latha.
strong layer of managerial leaders. N Sankar, Chairman, The Sanmar
The programme is posited on the The programme itself was spread over Group, giving away a certificate to
difference between leaders and managers, two batches, and six months. The two Ramkumar Shankar on his successful
and the need for people at different levels batches covered over 40 people and completion of the leadership training
to assimilate the characteristics of both. included business and functional heads. programme.
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At the inception of the course, every the Sanmar businesses, P S Jayaraman,
participant took an online managerial P Natarajan and P Viswanathan.
leadership assessment test, to identify
Apart from the valuable inputs on the
his or her strengths and improvement
transformation to managerial leaders,
areas. This was then followed by ten
there were a few added benefits, which
modules of course work, with the
the participants derived. Every fortnight,
participants having to spend a full day
the group started off with a success-
at the programme every fortnight during
sharing session where all participants
this six-month period. The modules
had to share the successes that they had
started appropriately with preparing
that fortnight. It was amazing to see how
for leadership, and moved on to cover
many successes (small, big or middling)
goal setting, change management,
actually happen every month – and how
importance of attitudes, work-life
we unfortunately let the fast pace of our
balance, empowerment, mentoring
lives lead us away from the pleasures of
and emotional intelligence. The course
recognising and celebrating every such
ended appropriately with a module on
success (howsoever small it may be).
having fun at work.
This understanding of the power of
At the end of the sixth month, every recognising and celebrating successes
participant had to make a brief was one of the biggest wins from this
presentation on what he or she had programme. Another major gain from
gained from this programme and what this programme was the (re)discovery
he or she intends to do in the months by many of the joys of reading. Yet
ahead to take this learning forward. another important takeaway from the
This presentation was made to an programme was the power of goal setting
audience, which included the Group and tracking, and the immeasurable
Chairman N Sankar, the Directors benefits arising from the discipline in
M N Radhakrishnan and B Natraj, and both of these.
the Managing Directors of three of
Over and above all of these, the
camaraderie shared by the participants
and the closer relationships forged by
ITM Business School them led to a lot of them moving from
honours being colleagues to becoming friends.
Finally, the first batch had a ‘convocation’
Sarada Jagan
dinner where certificates were handed
The Institute of Technology Management out. This dinner, where spouses were
(ITM) Business School rated India’s greatest present, was a great occasion for letting
HR professionals and brought out a publication one’s hair down and having a lot of
highlighting their achievements. Sarada Jagan, fun. The second batch has to wait a
Chief Executive - HR, Chemplast Sanmar little longer for this – their programme
Limited, Sanmar Corporate Division, has been featured as “one among the extends for another six months.
greatest HR professionals in India”. According to the ITM Business School,
Ultimately, this programme just served
Sarada has been responsible for ushering in several cutting edge HR policies
to prove that there is a leader in every
in The Sanmar Group. Her major focus areas in HRD include:
individual just waiting to be discovered.
• Aligning HR processes to business needs. Hopefully, more such programmes will
• Change management. lead to the discovery of more leaders who
will take The Sanmar Group to greater
• Organisation development. heights in the years ahead.
• Use of technology in efficient and effective functioning of HR.
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Employees’ Corner
If you have problems with your PC or getting into the workplace at a very
laptop, whom would you call? If you early age. These are our future, fast-
have trouble handling the fancy mobile paced managers and every one of the
phone you bought, whom would you present generation executives will, at
run to for help? There are no prizes some point or other, interact, work-
for guessing. The youngest kid around with, or deal with these gizmo wizards
is the one who would come in handy. with brand new knowledge. They have
While the grown-up knowledge hulks the most advanced and fastest media
of the world grapple with Minesweeper and technology to access knowledge.
and Solitaire and struggle with the The playing field is already uneven and
humble mouse, the little nimble fingers fast paced. In this scenario, can we
(coupled with nimble reflexes as well), afford to be complacent with whatever
are out on the international gateway, ‘knowledge’ we acquired some time ago?
gaming with someone half a world away, Don’t we stand the risk of becoming
racing on digital tracks, strategising new-age dinosaurs if we fail to upgrade
for digital games. Welcome to the our skills and knowledge?
world of broadband, technology, optic
Welcome to life living on the edge.
fibres, communication and more!
Keeping pace with changes around us
Our little fledglings are more adept at
such technology than us, the current and upgrading knowledge are imperative
generation, who are witness to the these days. When the Earth was made,
development of that technology. it didn’t come with an instruction
manual or user guide. The evolutionary
One Sunday morning, while on an
process was paced evenly, allowing us
international call, unable to bear the
to experiment, learn and assimilate
badgering from my little son, I gave him
a chance to speak. When I suggested that new knowledge. The account of the
the call meter was running way too high, Dasavatara intrigues one endlessly.
that he should end the conversation, he Grandma’s rendition of the ten avatars
agreed meekly. The moment I stepped made you sit up and marvel at them.
out of sight, this illiterate little fellow, Looking deeper, I have often wondered–if
who could barely read and write, pressed the chronicles of the evolutionary process
the ‘Redial’ button and continued of the Earth were to be ‘unearthed’ it
with the conversation that was rudely would be adapted from the Dasavatara;
halted minutes earlier! Marketing gurus the world was replete with natural
are indeed foxed when it comes to calamities, earthquakes, under-water and
profiling the audience for WAP-enabled space forays, need for ecological balance,
marketing campaigns. If the moms in barbarians and stone-age civilisations,
the house decide consumer durable intelligent civilisations, best practices for
purchases, tech upgrades are clearly mankind, conflicts, chemical and nuclear
decided by the Chintus and Chotus of weapons, mechanised flight, psychics,
every household. telepathy, every development that we
The point being driven is this. These are familiar with today has an allegorical
‘tech-savvy’ Chintus and Chotus are mention.
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The current era is one of speed, of
man on a vehicle of speed, racing
against time. Speed in thought, speed
in communication, technology to ‘speed
up’ things, processes to bring us ‘up to
speed’- Speed, fast-track, on the move,
in motion, 24/7. Now in the current
fast-paced evolution of the future, can
we stand still with time-tested methods
and ideologies? There is no time for
user-guides or chronicles to rely on.
Current knowledge would quickly get
transmuted into new knowledge. One
has to continuously feel the pulse for
new knowledge and be in sync with the
process of transmutation all around-
morph ourselves in tandem with the
changes around us or we would lose
the edge.
The very thought of new knowledge
ruffles up the comfort zone we are so
familiar with. This familiarity doesn’t
breed contempt – it breeds insecurity.
New knowledge simply calls for a shift
in perspective and this makes the rest
easy.
Richard Bach’s famous lines can be
interpreted as an impetus to gain new
knowledge. “ What the caterpillar sees as
the end of this world, the master sees as a
butterfly.” Each time we feel stonewalled
with old knowledge, there is a tendency
to hold on to what we have, hoard it and
make it inaccessible. Loosening up and
shifting perspectives throws up a whole
new possibility of unexplored knowledge
ahead of us. We can get an edge if we tap
into this unexplored knowledge zone.
The sky is the limit to upgrade and seek
knowledge. And apply this knowledge
to add value to all our actions.
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Chemplast Sanmar Limited
Farewell to veterans
Long service award to N C Chellappan
N C Chellappan receiving the award from V Ranganathan, T AN Thenappan, Vice President - Operations, Chemplast Sanmar,
Chief Executive - Operations, Chemplast Sanmar. giving away plaque to Chellappan.
S Ramasamy felicitated
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Chemplast Sanmar Limited
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Medical education and
health camp at Mettur
A section of the audience who attended the Continuing Medical Education (CME)
programme at Mettur.
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Chemplast projects on
the move
Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman, The Karaikal the same day. He inspected the
Sanmar Group, visited the PVC project caustic soda facility at Karaikal and also
site at SIPCOT, Phase II, Cuddalore, the progress of other projects.
on 16 May 2006 followed by a visit to
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Chitra Narayanaswamy
Centenary
Finance Minister P Chidambaram pays rich
tributes
(L to r): Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, N Sridhar, son of Chitra S Narayanaswamy and P R Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha,
Chairman, Ramco Group, at the centenary celebrations.
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who was a Chairman of these companies. businessman, dedicated social worker,
He was acknowledged as a financial connoisseur of art, an ardent lover of
wizard and an economist. But I soon music, gifted speaker and a voracious
realised his depth of knowledge extend reader, Narayanaswamy was affable,
to all matters concerning the companies jovial, witty and ever careful not to hurt
where he was a Director. His practical others. He gave his time liberally for a
advice and guidance were invaluable wide variety of causes. Endowed with a
to me.” photographic memory and a fine sense
of humour, he was a much sought after
Narayanaswamy was the President
speaker at seminars and other public
of the Southern India Chamber of
fora.
Commerce and Industry and a Member
of the Tea Board for two terms. He was
the President of the Voluntary Health
Services, Adyar, the Children’s Club
Society, the Brahma Gana Sabha, the
CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Foundation, the
Besant Centenary Trust and a host of
others. He succeeded C Subramaniam
as the Vice Chairman of the Madras
Kendra of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
and was a Trustee of Kalakshetra.
An outstanding economist, a
distinguished philanthropist, successful
Dignitaries at the centenary celebrations (l to r): V Ganesan, Past President, Madras Stock Exchange, R V Ramani, Member Secretary,
Kalakshetra Foundation, B Shivkumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Alpump Limited, P Chidambaram, N Sridhar,
Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha and Mrs Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Trustee, Sathyamurthy Trust for Democratic Studies.
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Chemplast Sanmar on
winning spree
Ends season with 4 titles
The Sanmar cricket team capped a splendid season by recapturing The Hindu Trophy
after a lapse of 14 years. Earlier, the team won the all India Mumbai Cricket Association
Corporate tournament in April 2006. Other national level triumphs this season have been R Sathish
the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup at Hyderabad and the Canara Bank trophy at Bangalore.
We excerpt below newspaper coverage of the last two tournament victories.
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N Sankar, Chairman, N Kumar, Vice Chairman and Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman of The Sanmar Group with the cricket trophies won by Chemplast Sanmar this season.
Superb spell
Then Yohannan got into the act. The
paceman, who moved the sphere away,
had D Dandapani (5) pouched at first
slip by Sujith Somasundar and uprooted
V Devendran’s off-stump (9) when the
batsman swung across the line.
The Hindu Trophy
To make matters worse for Pistons,
R Sathish, who was adjudged the Man
of the Series, sent back S Lakshmikumar
(2) with a direct hit from point. And
when Yohannan, whose first spell read Chemplast team pose here with The Hindu Trophy.
5-0-25-3, shifted his line well to have
the left-handed Sunil Viswanathan (5) between Sportstar Man of the Match Siva in the Pistons’ attack - and nicking to the
caught by Somasundar in the slip cordon, (he received a cheque for Rs. 10,000) keeper, Siva (90, 75b, 8x4, 5x6) had put
the contest was going to end only one and skipper Hemang Badani (45, 41b, Chemplast well on the path to victory.
way. Pistons was 48 for five after ten 2x4, 1x6). This was also an afternoon, when
overs. Ramesh, fluent through the off- Pistons’ bowlers could not maintain
Siva, who used his feet well, whipped
side, kept his end up, but received little discipline over length and line. They
paceman Devendran past the ropes,
support. For Chemplast, off-spinner provided width and were taken to the
danced down to strike off-spinner
J Ramdas (6-0-19-0) bowled tightly. cleaners by the Chemplast batsmen.
M A Satish Kumar for a straight six and
Crucial stand swung S Mahesh, sending down off- N Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, was the chief
spin, over the square-leg fence. guest. C R Vijayaraghavan, secretary,
Earlier, Chemplast, which elected to
bat, gained momentum due to a second Before he ‘walked’ after flashing at TNCA, and N Sankar, Chairman, The
wicket partnership of 99 in 12.5 overs paceman M R Shrinivas - the best bowler Sanmar Group, were present on the
occasion.
Brian Lara at IIT- Sanmar cricket ground The scores (final): Chemplast Sanmar
224 for six in 30 overs (Subramania Siva
90, Hemang Badani 45) bt India Pistons
128 for nine in 30 overs (S Ramesh 52
not out).
Courtesy: The Hindu
The IIT Sanmar cricket ground has played host to some of the world’s leading cricket
personalities from time to time. We have featured many of them in our pages in the past.
Seen in this picture is Brian Lara, one of the greatest batsmen in the world and captain
of the West Indies cricket team.
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Legends from the South
The Trinity of Carnatic Music
26
memory. These and similar aradhanas theme (anupallavi), otherwise an integral Tanjavur. Pacchimiriyam Adiappayya
in other places in and outside India part of the modern kriti form. was his teacher.
culminate in congregational singing
In Madras, Muttuswami Dikshitar heard Syama Sastri is believed to have
of his compositions specifically meant
Western music played by the military composed some 300 pieces (kriti,
for singing at temple processions, after
and dance bands which inspired him to swarajati, tanavarnam), though only
singing an elaborate series of songs
write Sanskrit lyrics, some addressed to about 50 have been preserved. His lyrics
known as the Pancharatna kritis (‘five
Saraswati, the consort of Brahma and are mainly written in Telugu but some
gems’).
goddess of wisdom, for tunes such as are in Sanskrit and Tamil. Many of his
Muttuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835) God Save the King, the English anthem. songs are in praise of the feminine aspect
wrote around 400 verses, mainly of These pieces are known as nottuswara of the Divine.
the kriti type. Though he composed sahitya or ‘quasi-European airs’. Out of
Syama Sastri created a new raga
in Telugu as well, he mainly used the 40 compositions of this type which
(Chintamani) for which he wrote
Sanskrit in his compositions. His he wrote in his youth, 36 are preserved
the only known kriti. Otherwise he
father Ramaswami Dikshitar was a in notation. Many of these were used
composed in well-known ragas of
distinguished musician, composer and as didactic pieces by music teachers of
universal appeal, particularly those
administrator of music at Tiruvarur, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
which unfold their charm at a leisurely
Tanjavur district. His teacher, a mystic century.
tempo. He also established the swarajati,
known as Chidambaranatha Yogi took Muttuswami Dikshitar was the teacher a rare form believed to have been
him to Varanasi. There he remained of four brothers, known as the Tanjavur derived from dance music in the concert
for five years and was exposed to the Quartette who spread his musical repertoire through his compositions in
dhrupad style of North Indian temple heritage all over South India. There three ragas. Syama Sastri employed an
music. This influence is reflected in are some ragas which he alone has intricate compositional device known
many of his slow compositions. employed. His brother Baluswami as swaraksara by which a syllable that
Dikshitar was the first Carnatic musician denotes a given musical note is made
The compositions of Muttuswami
to specialise in violin play while Vadivelu to coincide with a syllable of the lyrics.
Dikshitar are mostly in praise of various
of the Tanjavur Quartette, his disciple, He wrote some manuscripts containing
Hindu deities whose temples he visited
is credited with gaining wide acceptance complex rhythmic patterns and used an
all over the south. A deeply religious
for the violin for use in classical South inverted form of one of the rhythmic
person, he was initiated early into a cult
Indian music. cycles in use in Carnatic music. His
dedicated to the feminine aspect of the
son, Subbaraya Sastri, was a disciple
Divine. He was also trained as veena Syama Sastri (1762 or 1763-1827) was
of Tyagaraja and became a reputed
player and developed an original style a scholarly composer who led a secure
composer in his own right.
of composition characterised by a slow, and uneventful life as hereditary priest
majestic pace and rich ornamentation in the temple of Bangaru Kamakshi at Main source: The Illustrated Companion to South
Indian Classical Music by Ludwig Pesch (Oxford
tempered by a feeling of inner stillness. Courtesy: S Rajam University Press).
His compositions thus constitute an
ideal synthesis of vocal and instrumental
styles.
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