The Thanjavur quartette

Ponnayya, chinnayya, sivanandham and Vadivelu were known as the Tanjavur Quartette. Their ancestor was Gangai muthu who lived in the 17th century and on whom not much information is available.It is said that he was from Tirunelveli.GangaiMuthu had two sons Ramalingam and Gangamuthu. This Gangaimuthu had two sons Subbarayan and Chidambaram.Subbarayan had 4 sons: Chinnaya[1802],Ponnayya [1804],Sivanandam[1808],and Vadivelu[1810]. The quartette and their father were in Sembonar Kovil or Senkanar koil where they were doing the temple tiruppani.It was here that the King of Tanjavur recognised their talent and brought them to Tanjavur.It was here that they learnt music from Muthuswami Dikshitar.They wrote a set of nine songs called navaratna mala where they glorify their guru.In the kriti , mAyAtIta svarUpiNi in mAyAmAlavagaula they write 'mA guruguha svAmiki ne dAsudaiti' Ponnayya Ponnayya was the one who built the foundations of Bharatha natyams.He formalised the adavus and built a systematic way of learning dance.It is said that when these were taught to a set of dancers a and on completion of the arangetram Dikshitar had praised his shishyas as Bharata shreshtas. It was due to Ponnayya that a nartana vinayaka and a tanneer pandal were constructed by the king. He was devoted to the temple and gave his navaratna mala as a donation to the temple. Chinnayya He was also a great composer and later he shone in the court of the Mysore king. Sivanandham Sivanandam had a fine voice and it was said that he used to sing all the songs he composed in his wondeful voice.He was very close to the king.A story goes that once during Holi when Sivanandam was sick and the king missing his close friend came to his house. Vadivelu Vadivelu was the youngest and the most intelligent among the four.He was born in 1810 and was barely 37 years old when he died.It is said that Dikshitar appreciated him as an ekasandhagrAhi as he had the ability to repeat a song once heard.Later he served as asthana vidvan in the court of the king Swati Tirunal who was a great connoiseur and a patron of fine arts.