Profile, Kalyanapuram Veeraraghavan, Embar Kalyanapuram Veeraraghavan, Embar-s Kalyanapuram Veeraraghavan, Harikatha vidwan, Singer, Drama Artiste, Harikatha vidwan Kalyanapuram Veeraraghavan, Harikatha vidwan Veeraraghavan,Singer Veeraraghavan, Drama Aritiste Veeraraghavan, Sangeetha Anjali Nadaka Kuzhu, Krishnam Vandhay Jagad Gurun, Embar Veeraraghavan.

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Kalyanapuram R.Veeraraghavan is a singer, drama artiste, Harikatha vidwan and poet. Born in Kalyanapuram village, near Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur, Veeraraghavan was deeply influenced by the keertanas of Thyagaraja and Narayana Theerthar. His uncle K.Santhanam was a freedom fighter. As a child, Veeraraghavan would accompany his parents, Raju Vadyar and Sengamalam, to the Sri Srinivasa perumal temple in the village where Vadyar conducted the kalyana utsavam.

It was at the temple that young Veeraraghavan came in touch with Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Maharajapuram Viswanath Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, Perur Subramania Dikshitar, Flute Sanjeevi Rao, T.N.Rajaratnam Pillai, Thiruvidaimarudur P.S.Veerusamy Pillai, Kulikarai Pichaiappa and others who used to visit. Although he had formal training in Carnatic music, these stalwarts inspired him. However, it was Embar Vijayaraghavachariar that Veeraraghavan and his brother, Aravamudhan took as their guru to perform Harikatha. Veeraraghavan studied at the Srinivasa Rao High School, Thiruvaiyaru and passed the SSLC Examination with the secondary rank in Sanskrit. Family circumstances and the lack of a college nearby led him to learn shorthand and typewriting. After a temporary job in a state government office, Veeraraghavan, in 1957, joined Simpson & Company in Madras as stenographer. He served the company for close to four decades, retiring voluntarily in 1995 to pursue what he loved most-music.

While working with Simpson’s, he staged several devotional plays under the banner, ’Sangeetha Anjali Nadaka Kuzhu’ along with Manachanallur S.Santhanam.

Veeraraghavan has composed and presented, Krishnam Vandhay Jagad Gurun 720 times, Pibaray Rama Rasam 325 times and Kundrathilay Oru Kulir Nilavu 82 times. His song on blood donation, ’Ratham Alippavargal Rathinam’ was telecast on Doordarshan’s national network.

Veeraraghavan teaches children aged 5 to 15 years slokas on Fridays and Saturdays at Shreyas, established by Aravamudhan. He also conducts mass chatting of the Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Parayanam at the K K Nagar Ayyappan Temple every evening between 5:30 and 6:15pm.

An All India Radio and Doordarshan artiste, Veeraraghavan can be reached at 245-F, MB Flats,39th Street,8th Sector, K K Nagar. (Ph: +91 44 23662076).

A veteran in the field of devotional music he wants to spread religious harmony through music. He has composed songs on Christ and Prophet Mohammed. He recalls that the song ‘Siluvayil Sirithu Kondirikkum Nilavinai Kandene’, which was written on a request from his daughter, became so popular that it was made the prayer song in the school.