Veteran singer was suffering from breathing problems for last few years
Pithukuli Murugadas
Chennai: Noted devotional singer, writer and composer Pithukuli Murugadas died on Tuesday at his Mylapore residence here. He was 95. He is survived by his sister. The veteran singer was suffering from breathing problems for the last few years.
Balasubramanian was born in Coimbatore on January 25, 1920, in a Brahmin family. While participating in freedom struggle in 1936, he was imprisoned for six months and was said to have been severely beaten up by police. He lost vision in his left eye completely.
Brahmananda Paradesiyar, a spiritual leader, named him Pithukuli (which means insane or mad in Tamil) and he was named Murugadas by Swami Ramadoss as he sang on Lord Muruga and thus he assigned the new name Pithukuli Murugadas.
He was the recipient of several awards including Kalaimamani and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards. His popular renditions and notable compositions include Arunagirinathar'sThirupugazh, Kandhar Alankaram, Kandhar Anubhuthi, Vel Vaguppu and Devendra Sanga Vaguppu.
Murugada's wife Devi Saroja fondly called as 'Devi Amma' passed away in 2011. Pithukuli Murugadas could be easily recognised by his black glasses and saffron bandana. He learnt bhajans from his grandfather Gopalakrishna Bagavathar. Having started his career as a musician in 1947, he wrote and composed thousands of songs, besides performing in India and abroad like Malaysia, South Africa and the US (to name a few.) Murugadas, founder of Sri Jyothir Maya Devi Charity Trust in Chennai, used to instruct organisers of his musical programmes to feed the poor.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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