Isaiselvamani V Karthiegasen Pillay
Karthiegasen and I have been childhood friends for as long as I can remember. From child stars appearing at school concerts and youth programs, to time spent as little boys with all the mischief that came along with it. Little did we know then, how crucial a role young Karthiegasen would play, in the renaissance of Carnatic music in South Africa.
Karthiegasen was known as a child prodigy, playing the tabla for his mom and dad at the tender age of 2 and half years old. A video of mine posted a few weeks ago bears testament to early start in music. He was a regular at the Natal Tamil Vedic society, Andhra Maha Sabha and Hindi Eisteddfods. A gold medal for singing and playing the Mirdhangam at these events were the norm. Music was always part of his lineage as his paternal grandfather Parasuramen Rao who was from kalahasti , Andra Pradesh was a folk singer of Villu Paatu.
Looking back, I think we were very fortunate to have had each other’s company, as it is said that the company we keep shapes our future. Although we started as equals on stage, I couldn’t help but notice that Kartiegasens musical abilities were starting to surpass all the musicians that we knew of. His progressive knowledge in music and singing spiralled upward at each sitting and he started to become a real challenge for us as accompanying artist. But he pushed us to do our best and that inadvertently created better abilities in us as musicians. There was a time when my Guru Harry Arunachalan and I concurred that we have a very limited audience that could hear Karthiegasens brilliance in South Africa.
After having joined Kamal Sungeet, the Radio Lotus Resident Band, I saw a weakness in South Indian content and asked Ramu Gopidayal and Fakir Hassen if I could introduce Karthiegasen to help me with this aspect. They were only too keen on the idea and a new era in South Indian music came to the fore with S.A.B.C radio and T.V music productions. A young man who had the ability to sit solo in a Carnatic concert, with the world’s best, sat next to me, producing light music of excellence. Together, we produced hundreds of songs in many genres and languages which all led to our greater experience in music. Karthiegasen features in a lot of my video footage from the past and this will remain some of the most memorable years of our music together.
It was an emotional day when we had to part as close family friends when he had to go to India to take up his studies in music. Likewise, it was a great sacrifice that his parents had to make but they persevered in making this dream possible. This became the turning point in his life as he finally could interact with musicians and masters that could relate to his abilities.
Karthiegasen qualified with a B A in music from the world renowned Annamalai University and an MA in Music from the world renowned Madras University in South India. He has been performing at India's season concerts from 1989 to 2016. He is the disciple of Padma Bhushan Sangitha Kalanidhi Madurai T N Seshagopalan. Many regard Karthiegasen's highest achievement as being the only foreigner in the world to win the national award in classical singing held in Delhi in 1990 and he was also conferred with the title Isai Layavidyaarchariamani at the Nandikeshwar Sabha in December 2016. He is an international artist who has performed in Germany, London, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Zambia and Botswana. There was never a serious lack in Carnatic music in South Africa, thanks to the many who have studied overseas in the 50’s and 60’s and came back to teach the art thereby providing us the tangible clarity of the genre. Without a doubt as far as my generation is concerned, Kartiegasen has brought about a Renaissance in classical music in South Africa. Many of the current exponents in the art will agree on allegiance to Karthiegasen as their inspiration.
Isaiselvamani V Karthiegasen Pillay is known for his strict adherence to Raga, Thala and Manodharma (spontaneous creation) in his renditions. He is the Director of The Karthiegasen Pillay School of Music which have produced many students of note. Karthiegasen together with his son Kirthan Pillay, an exponent on the Thabla and Mridhangam, have taken on the challenge of the Covid 19 Lockdown by utilising the digital domain and teaching music online.
His studies in music will never end and as a musicologist, he is presently involved in doing further research in music. His brother Poovendran Pillay and his family continue the good work in Gauteng with his school of music.
Isaiselvamani V Karthiegasen Pillay, another Legend that walks amongst us that will continue to inspire and satiate the thirst of the musical connoisseurs.

Tansen Nepaul