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C. Aswath
ಸಿ. ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ್
The master of Bhavageethe — the voice that set Kannada poetry to song
Years
1939 – 2009
Known as
C. Aswath — the singer and composer
Birthplace
Karnataka
Field
Artists & Performers
“The poem must be sung as the poet dreamed it — the song is the poem's true life.”
— C. Aswath
The Story
Born in 1939, Aswath was trained in music and drawn to the songs of the poets. He developed the art of Bhavageethe — the musical setting of the great Kannada poems — and his concerts, beginning in the 1970s, made him one of the most popular musicians of the state.
His voice and his arrangements brought the poems of Kuvempu, Bendre, and the other great poets of the language to the people in a way that made them live again. His songs — from the soaring to the tender — became the soundtrack of the Kannada cultural awakening, and his concerts drew audiences that filled the halls.
He died in 2009, and the whole of Karnataka mourned the voice that had sung its poetry for four decades. He is honoured as the master of Bhavageethe — the musician who gave the Kannada poem its song.
Core Ideas
Bhavageethe
The art of setting Kannada poetry to music.
The Poet's Voice
He carried the great poems into every home.
The Concerts
His performances drew the people of the state.
The Awakening
His music was the sound of the Kannada renaissance.
The Beloved
Mourned by all of Karnataka at his passing.
Why it matters today
C. Aswath is honoured as the master of Bhavageethe — the musician who set the great Kannada poems to music and carried them into every home of the state. His songs remain the sound of the Kannada cultural awakening, and his name is remembered with love across Karnataka.