Over the years, Carnatic music has become isolated and was learnt and taught only by a certain community. Given such roots, it is natural that the state would produce more singers,” said Ravikumar, a music artist. He organised six music conferences in the state between 19, through his ‘Sangeetha Vidhyalaya Mahajana Sangam’.

It was here that the renowned musicologist Abraham Pandithar authored Karunamirdha Sagaram, a seminal work in the field of music.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that Tamil Nadu is an epicentre of music and singing, given it was here the Trinity of Carnatic Music – Shyama Sastri, Thiyagarajar and Muthuswami Dikshithar born – was born. Female singers (Paadini) and male singers (Paanar) were considered custodians of music. When we start looking at the voice culture of Tamil Nadu, the act of singing either as an amateur or professional can be traced to the Sangam Age. However, more than the reality shows, the innate social culture of the state has helped to produce singers.

Even then, Tamil Nadu has a huge number of singers than any other states. They do get opportunities to sing in films. It is probably because of this reason there are so many Tamil singers. It is because of the proliferation of film songs and other non-film songs that many a people has been attracted towards them. TV reality shows provide a platform to express singing skills. It is all pervasive and enjoys a popularity that has only a few parallels in the history of music,” says renowned film historian S Theodore Baskaran in his Music for the Masses: Film Songs of Tamil Nadu, in an article published in Economic and Political Weekly in 1991. “One of the most striking features of the cultural history of Tamil Nadu in the past few decades is the growth and dominance of film music. When those elements are said through film songs, they easily get registered in one’s mind. As the above-mentioned song rightly says, moral values, religious thoughts and general public awareness continue to be taken to the masses through songs. So sang music composer Ilaiyaraaja. The songs are not only entertaining, they also act as educational tools.

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