Famous Composer Dakshinamoorthy Dies at 94

3 August 2013
Alappuzha

V Dakshinamoorthy, the legendary music composer who gifted more than 850 songs in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil, died at his house in Mylapore on Friday. He was 94 years old.

Veteran film director K S Sethumadhavan once recalled his first meeting with Dakshinamoorthy, “It was my first Malayalam film ‘Jnanasundari’ in 1961. I was introduced to Swami and he was not very different from how he is now, with his prayer beads, thin cotton kurta and greeting others with prayers”.

Watches, diamond rings and gold chains were typical of music directors of those days. So Dakshinamoorthy’s appearance seemed strange. But it was only when I heard his composition that I realised that in his case, all the beauty, fragrance, diamonds and gold were in his songs”, Sethumadhavan had recalled.

Dakshinamoorthy, the maestro of semi-classical songs, introduced several singers like P Susheela to films; he also played a major role in the career of three generations of the Yesudas family, including his father Augustine Joseph and son Vijay Yesudas.

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