The
voice
that
was
behind
hundreds
of
music
concerts
in
Indian
as
well
as
in
abroad;
the
voice
that
produced
hundreds
of
Kannada
albums
and
the
voice
that
had
enthralled
millions
for
decades
has
now
become
silent.
Do
you
know
whose
voice
I
am
talking
about?
It
is
none
other
than
the
voice
of
'Sugama
Sangeetha'
exponent
C
Ashwath
(C
Aswath).
Singer
C.
Ashwath
was
born
on
December
29,
1939
at
Chennarayapatna
in
Hassan
district.
He
graduated
in
science
from
Bangalore
University.
Later,
he
worked
in
Indian
Telephone
Industries
for
27
and
he
served
as
an
Executive
Engineer
before
he
retired
in
1992.
He
started
his
musical
career
as
a
disciple
of
Devagiri
Shankararao
Joshi
in
Hindustani
Music.
He
entered
music
field
through
the
Kannada
film
Kakana
Kote.
He
became
a
household
name
in
Karnataka
after
he
sang
the
songs
of
Santa
Shishunala
Sharifa.
He
breathed
new
life
into
Kannada
folk
songs.
He
carved
a
niche
of
his
own
in
all
three
fields
that
demand
music
as
an
element
of
expression:
Theatre,
Sugam
Sangeetha
and
Film.
C
Ashwath
has
produced
over
75
albums
and
presented
them
in
many
concerts
abroad.
Some
of
the
more
popular
among
them
are
Shishunala
Sharif
Sahebara
Geethegalu,
Barako
pada
Barako,
Shravana,
Mankuthimmana
Kagga,
Kannadave
Sathya,
Mysoru
Mallige,
Spandana,
Deepika,
Bannada
Hakki
(Makkala
Kavitegalu),
Subba
Bhattara
Magale,
Maavu
Bhevu,
Anuraga,
Kengulabi,
Sampada,
Kailasam
Geethegalu
and
Nagamandala.
The
Sugama
Sangeetha
exponent
had
a
great
demand
to
sing
for
films.
He
had
worked
with
popular
musicians
like
Gurukiran,
V
Manohar,
Nagendra
Prasad,
Mano
Murthy,
S
Narayan,
Sadhu
Kokila,
Ravichandran
and
Venkat
Narayan.
He
had
rendered
his
voice
for
the
movies
like
Shubam,
Matha,
Shishya,
Amrutha
Dhaare,
Deadly
Soma,
Veeru,
Devi,
Yentha
Tamaasha
Kano,
Hatavaadi
and
Thimma.
The
singer
became
exponent
of
Bhavageete
(expressive
poetry),
Janapada
Geete
(folk
songs)
Vachanas.
Besides
being
a
singer,
he
used
to
compose
songs
on
his
own
and
sing
them.
According
to
Dr.
GS
Shivarudrappa,
along
with
bringing
a
dignity
to
the
field
of
Sugama
Sangeeta
with
his
compositions,
Ashwath
has
successfully
explored
the
secrets
and
the
depths
of
Sugama
Sangeeta
with
his
analytical
skills.
He
has
the
voice
and
mental
makeup
apt
for
Sugama
Sangeeta.
His
voice
had
even
mesmerized
the
late
Hindustani
Classical
vocalist
Gangubai
Hangal.
Once
she
had
said,
“His
voice
touches
the
heart.
I
immensely
like
his
songs
of
Shishunala
Sharif,
Bendre
and
Narasimhaswamy.
I
have
heard
the
same
songs
in
different
tunes
by
other
singers.
But
I
think
the
way,
he
has
composed
them
gives
them
a
new
meaning."
Ashwath
was
one
of
the
creative
giants.
As
a
singer,
he
has
the
same
creative
sensibilities
as
poet.
Siddalinga
Pattanashetty
once
said,
“Ashwath
has
the
capabilities
to
sing
a
variety
of
bhavageetes.
His
voice
has
the
versatility
of
singing
'shrungara',
'veera',
'shanta' rasas
equally
well.
Another
quality
of
Ashwath
is
constant
unsatisfaction.
And
because
of
this
he
never
grew
stagnant
was
able
to
surprise
his
audiences
by
improving
his
standards
and
give
new
meanings
to
the
songs
by
singing
them
with
fresh
emotion,
style,
pace
and
energy
every
time.
His
style
of
Sugama
Sangeetha
stands
out
because
of
his
deep
understanding
of
classical
music.
C
Ashwath
was
so
dedicated
to
music
that
he
never
even
cared
to
sell
his
car
or
home
to
organize
his
music
concerts.
He
had
performed
at
mammoth
Kannada
program
called
'Kannadave
Satya'
in
Bangalore
in
2005.
Later,
this
program
with
ten
new
poems
was
repeated
in
Mysore
and
Hubli
too.
He
had
even
toured
USA
and
Muscat,
Oman
for
the
same
programme.
Before
his
death,
he
had
also
intended
to
perform
in
USA,
Maldives,
Australia,
Singapore
and
England.
However,
C
Ashwath
was
suffering
from
abdominal
pain
for
the
past
a
few
days
and
was
undergoing
treatment
for
liver
and
Kidney
problem
at
Columbia
Asia
Hospital
Yashwanthpur,
Bangalore.
It
was
his
71st
birthday
on
29th
December
2009.
His
friends
and
fans
had
made
all
the
arrangements
to
celebrate
his
71th
birthday
in
a
special
way.
But
his
sudden
demise
on
his
birthday
has
left
millions
of
his
fans
in
a
pool
of
tears.
His
death
has
created
a
irreplaceable
void
in
the
field
of
music.
We,
at
Oneindia,
pray
that
may
his
soul
rest
in
peace.
May
god
give
courage
to
his
family
to
bear
his
loss.