Lakshminarayana Vaidyanathan was an acclaimed musicologist, music director and composer, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition. Vaidyanathan was born to V.Lakshminarayana, and Seethalakshmi, both accomplished musicians; he was also the elder brother of accomplished violinist duo L. Shankar

L. Shankar

Lakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...

 and L. Subramaniam

L. Subramaniam

Dr. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an acclaimed Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion.-Early years:Subramaniam was born to V...

. All three brothers received their musical training from their father.

Vaidyanathan started his career as an Assistant music director to G. K. Venkatesh and composed the score for over 170 films in languages including Tamil and Kannada.His notable works include Pesum Padam, Ezhavathu Manithan, Dasaratham and Marupakkam in Tamil and Aparichita, Ondu Mutthina Kathe in Kannada. He was one of the best music arrangers in the country and was known for his use of rare and unknown instruments, subtly mixing sounds from the mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

, flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

 and violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 with various folk percussion instruments before the advent of present day technological advances in sound mixing. He collaborated with C.Ashwath and composed music for many Kannada movies in the name Ashwath-Vaidi.

In 2003, the Government of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 awarded Vaidyanathan with the Kalaimamani

Kalaimamani

The Kalaimamani is an award in Tamil Nadu state, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram for excellence in the field of art and literature....

for contributions to cinema.