Veteran veena artist Pichumani dead at 96

CHENNAI: Veteran veena maestro R Pichumani passed away at his Madipakkam residence on Saturday. He was 96.
A disciple of Tiger Varadachari and Trivandrum K S Narayanasamy, Pichumani was an A grade artist of All India Radio since 1942.
He was honoured with several awards, including the state government’s Kalaimamani and Sangeet Natak Academy award.He was also the ‘asthana vidwan’ of Kanchi Sankara Mutt.
Tributes started pouring in for the graduate of Annamalai University who took up playing the veena as a career. “His contemporaries include Emani Sankara Sastri and Kalyan Krishnamurthy,” said Krishna Gana Sabha secretary Y Prabhu.
Adhering to the traditional Thanjavur style, Pichumani trained many artists, including P Vasanth Kumar, Vasantha Krishnamoorthy and the Iyer Brothers.
The Iyer brothers, who migrated to Australia, established the Pichumani School of Carnatic Music in Melbourne in 1990 as a tribute to their guru.
The mortal remains of Piuchumani will be consigned to the flames at the Besant Nagar crematorium on Sunday. His wife P Rajalakshmi died three months ago. Pichumani is survived by two sons and three daughters.