Koteeswara Iyer was a composer of Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

. He was a grandson of Kavi Kunjara Bharati

Kavi Kunjara Bharati

Kavi Kunjara Bharati was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He was born in a family with long involvement in music and scholarship.- Ancestry :...

(1810–1896). Koteeswara Iyer studied music under Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar

Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar

Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar , also known as Ramanathapuram Srinivasa Iyengar, was a singer and composer of Carnatic music. He was born in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu on August 16, 1860. He studied music under Patnam Subramania Iyer , a singer of Carnatic music and came in the sishya parampara of...

 (1860–1919) and Patnam Subramania Iyer

Patnam Subramania Iyer

Patnam Subramania Iyer was a composer and singer of Carnatic music. Subramaniya Iyer followed the traditions of the great composer Tyagaraja. He has left behind almost one hundred compositions....

 (1845–1902). He composed mainly in the Tamil language

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and used the mudra

Mudra (music)

Mudra is the unique signature of a Carnatic music composer, which is woven into some or all of their respective compositions. Not all composers have mudras, and they do not necessarily relate to the composer's name....

Kavi Kunjara Dasan in tribute to his grandfather.
He is one of the first vaggeyakara who composed songs in all the 72 melakartha ragas.His contribution to the illustration of vivadhi ragas is invaluable.