Renowned Carnatic musicologist and vocalist Dr Nookala China Satyanarayana, who was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2010 by the central government, passed away at his residence in Padmaraonagar in Secunderabad on Thursday. He was 89.
“He was quite healthy and was speaking normally with us. Though he was a diabetic and had hyper tension, he appeared alright this morning. At around 9:30 am he went to the rest room and, after 10 minutes, breathed his last. It was all very sudden,’’ his third son Nookala Annaji Rao told Express.
Satyanarayana was born at Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district on August 4, 1923. He was a performer on All India Radio and Doordarshan and took part in Sangeeta Sammelans, outdoor broadcasts and national programmes innumerable times. He was TTD’s Asthana Vidwan at Tirupati and Pittsburg, USA.
He also served as principal of government colleges of music at Tirupati, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Secundrabad, and as professor at Telugu University, Hyderabad.
Nookala was a widely travelled musicologist. He went abroad several times and visited the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and some other countries. He gave performances and lecture demonstrations.He founded Viswakala Parishat, a non-profit organisation, for the cause of music and related activities.
He was a prolific writer. A few of his works include Sangeeta Sudha, a course of lessons including Saralis, Alankaras, Geetams and Varnams with notation published in English and Telugu, Ragalakshana Sangraham, a reference book of the lakshanas or features of 250 ragas with examples in sanchari listing the compositions and viseshana prayogas in detail.
The Monograph of Tyagaraja’s Pancharatna Kritis covers every aspect of the five monumental compositions of the saint.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday expressed grief over the demise of the famous musician Dr Nookala China Satyanarayana. Reddy said that Nookala was a great Carnatic classical vocalist and musicologist.
He conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members.