Biography

It is an interesting case of transformation of a senior executive of IBM, into a notable Harikatha exponent.

Aaravamudachariar chose to relinquish his prestigious official position to dedicate himself totally to this excellent art. Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar is the disciple of late Sri Embar Vijayaragavachariar and has been in the field of Harikatha since 1979.

Aaravamudachariar was born on 25th July 1936 in Kalyanapuram, a serene village on the southern bank of river Cauvery, adjacent to Thiruvaiyaru, a little town known for its rich heritage of Carnatic music. His father Sri Nathamuni Renganatha Iyengar (popularly known as Raju Vadhyar) was a great Vedic scholar besides being well versed in music, Divya Prabandam etc. His mother Sengammal, was a pious home maker.

During the early years, Aaravamudachariar learnt Vedas, Prabandam, and initial music lessons from his father. It is worthy to note that Sri Raju Vadhyar had enacted as Naradar and Nigamantha Maha Desikan, in the drama Sankalpa Suryodayam and had also provided vocal support for Harikatha performances of Sri S.T. Srinivasachariar. These genetic traits perhaps rubbed on Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar for him to become a reputed Harikatha artist in his later years.

After the completion of secondary schooling in Thiruvaiyaru; Aaravamudachariar, moved out of Kalyanapuram for further studies & employment. He served in reputed organizations such as Remington, IBM and IDM for over 20 years before deciding to pursue his interest in Harikatha on a full time basis. He was 43 when he took this important career decision.

Aaravamudachariar learnt sampradaya grantham from H.H Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan. He learnt intricacies of Harikatha and music from the doyen, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Embar Vijayaraghavachariar, whose style he predominantly follows in his performances. On the recommendation of Embar Vijayaraghavachariar, the Madras Music Academy invited Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar to perform Harikatha in their auditorium 1979, which was his maiden performance.

There has been no looking back since then. It was in the same year All India Radio (AIR) Trichy started offering him programs as a graded artist and in a short span of time, they gradually upgraded him as their top grade artist. Since 1979, Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar has performed in all leading sabhas across the country. He also imparts training on Harikatha at Sri Rangantha Paduka Vidyalaya run by Srirangam Srimath Andavan Ashramam.

He has received numerous titles and accolades from various prestigious institutions. Some of them are listed in the section under Awards and Accolades

Sri Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar currently resides in Coimbatore (address below). He can be reached at +91 422 2222473 or +91 94442 06473. He can also be reached through emali at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kalyanapuram Aaravamudachariar

'Vasudha', B103, Sreevatsa Shreyas

New Damu Nagar, Puliyakulam Road, Coimbatore - 641037