Dakshinamoorthy was born in a
Tamil Brahmin family on 9 December 1919 as Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy Iyer, to Parvathiammal and D. Venkateswara Iyer a Bank Officer, at
Mullakkal in
Quilon, Travancore (Present-day
Alappuzha district,
Kerala). He was the eldest among the seven children of his parents, whom he funnily described as 'those like seven notes'. He had two brothers and four sisters. His interest in music was nurtured by his mother, who taught him
keerthanas of
Thyagaraja Swamikal when he was still a child. He had grasped at least 27 songs just by hearing them when they were being rendered by his mother and sister. When he was ten years old, Venkatachalam Potti in Thiruvananthapuram taught him Carnatic music and the tutelage continued for three years. His first public performance was when he was 13 years old, at the Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna temple. It was his habit to offer prayers to "Vaikkathappa Annadhaana Prabho" or
Lord Shiva daily, in the morning, and before going to bed. His primary schooling was in
Sanaathana Dharma Vidyashaala, Alappuzha, till 5th standard. He continued in Kiliparam School. He completed his HSC at Shri Moola Vilasa High School, Thiruvananthapuram, then he decided that music has to be his future. After finishing S.S.L.C., he learned
carnatic music from Venkatachalam Potty in
Thiruvananthapuram. Swami came to Vaikom at the age of 16, practiced and taught music. During that period when he was 20-22, he received "The Nirmaalya Darshan" of Vaikathappan for three and a half years continuously. This feat played a big part in his route to greatness.
The Marriage at Vaikom There is an incident which happened in Ambalapuzha. One midnight as Ambalapuzha was lashed by torrential rain, Ganjira Vidwan Kaduva Krishnan knocked at the doors of Dakshinamoorthy's house, inviting him to perform at a marriage
Katcheri at Vaikkom the next day. His mother permitted him to do so and the two walked up to the Karumaadi boat jetty at Ambalapuzha and reached Vaikkom the next morning, 8 a.m. After having a bath and a good darshan of Vaikkathappa's, they reached Kaidarathu Madam for the concert. On the request of Kochi-based Konkini Tavil Vidwan to teach music to his relatives, Dakshinamoorthy remained at Vaikkom. He stayed there for 42 months and during this stay, he would sing daily at the temple, attend Nirmalya Darsanam and sang on all Ashtamis at the temple.
Music career Entry into film industry In 1948, he came to
Chennai with his parents. He married Shrimathi Kalyani on 28 January 1948. He entered the film world in 1948. He debuted in the film industry in 1950 with
Nalla Thanka, produced by
Kunchacko and K. V. Koshy under the banner of
K & K Productions. The hero of the film was Augustin Joseph, a well-known stage actor and singer, who was also the father of renowned singer
K. J. Yesudas. The film also had songs sung by
Augustine Joseph. The producers wanted Dakshinamoorthy to compose a song on Lord Vinayaka and that was the first song he began his film industry career with. He also composed music for "The Opera" at Kalamandalam during the same period, where he graced through 8 Operas and 30 dance dramas
Film career Dakshinamoorthy went on to set scores for
K. J. Yesudas, his son
Vijay Yesudas (for the film
Idanazhiyil Oru Kalocha, directed by Bhadran) and his granddaughter Ameya (for the film
Shyama Raagam, awaiting release) as well, thus achieving a rare treat. In 1971 he won the
Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director. The duo of Swami and Srikumaran Thambi contributed countless chart toppers to the Malayalam Film Industry. In 2003, he received the coveted 'Sangeetha Saraswathi' Award from the hands of revered Poojya Sri Guruji Viswanath of Manava Seva Kendra, Bangalore. In the year 2008, he composed four songs for the Malayalam movie
Mizhikal Sakshi. Even at the age of 93, his endeavors towards music had not slowed down. He was working on a movie project, "Shyama Raagam", rendering music for the same.
Performances His first trip to Madras was in 1942, when he was to sing in a 30-minute programme on AIR. He was a regular visitor to the AIR for the next 4 years after which he settled in Mylapore in 1948. Between 1942 and 1957, he performed around 500 carnatic concerts in Kerala. He has also performed at international venues such as the Dubai Dala Festival at Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. "Dakshinamurthy Sangeetha Utsavam" has been taking place every year since 2013 at Perungotukara.
Disciples His disciples included talented singers like N.C. Vasantakokilam, Kaviyoor Revamma, Kalyani Menon, Ambili, Mithun, Srilatha, Shereen Peters,
Bhavadhaarini, Mithun Jayaraj etc.
Singers/Composers Generations of singers have sung under the Bheeshmacharya of Indian Music including, P. Leela, Kamukara Purushothaman, Balamurali Krishna, K.J.Yesudas, P.B. Srinivas, Ghantashaala, T.M.S., S.P.B., Augustin Joseph, Jeyachandran, A.M. Raja, Vijay Yesudas and his daughters, M.L.V, P. Susheela,
S. Janaki, L.R. Eashwari, Madhuri, Ambili, Kalyani Menon, K.S. Chitra, Vaani Jeyaram, Sujatha, Madhubala Krishnan,
Unni Krishnan, Krishnaraj, Minmini, Swetha,
Unni Menon,
M.G. Sreekumar,
Jolly Abraham,
Biju Narayanan, and
Manjari.
Ilaiyaraaja, R. K. Shekhar (father of A.R. Rahman) and many more composers have been assistants in Swami's music recording sessions.
Introductions Dakshinamoorthy is to be highly credited for his introduction of P. Suseela to Malayalam cinema through 'Seetha'. The song 'Pattu Paadi Urakkam' sung by P. Suseela in that film is still popular in Kerala. He also introduced other singers such as Ambili, K.P. Brahmanandham, Shereen Peters, Vinodhini, Sree Latha, Kalyani Menon, etc.
Books He has written three books namely Thiagabrahmam (Tamil – 1965), Aathma Dheepam (Tamil – 1989) and Sathya Mithram (Malayalam – 1992). His private masterpieces bearing 108 of his own compositions (Keerthanas) was released as book during his first death anniversary at Makreri Temple, Kerala with the name "Raagaabharanam" honoring his priceless contribution to the field of music.
Pious nature A devout
Hindu throughout his life, Dakshinamoorthy started his speeches telling
Sarvacharacharangalkkum Namaskaram, Charachara Guruvinum Namaskaram (Welcome to all the living and non-living creatures in the world, and also to their teacher). He was a devotee of Lord
Shiva of
Vaikom Temple in
Kottayam district, after whom he was named, and he celebrated his 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays by offering
Sahasrakalasham at Vaikom Temple. He was also a devotee of Lord
Guruvayurappan, and used to visit
Guruvayur temple too. Being a
Brahmin, he was a
vegetarian as he adhered to the traditional diet. He offered his wooden model of the
Sabarimala Temple inside which he worshipped his revered idols to the
Subrahmanya-
Hanuman temple at Makreri in
Kannur district. The Saraswathi Mandapam is now a home ground bearing all the crowning jewels of his lifetime achievement in the form of Awards and Trophies. The Thiagaraaja Akandam started at Makreri Ambalam and has been taking place for more than 12 years. ==Awards==