Neelakanta Sivan 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...

. Although he did not receive any formal musical training, his compositions exhibit deep technical brilliance. Neelakanta Sivan was born in 1839 at Vadiveeswaram

Vadiveeswaram

Vadiveeswaram is a village, now part of the town of Nagercoil, in Kanyakumari district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The village was originally an agraharam, or a traditional double line of houses occupied by Brahmins and flanking a temple or pair of temples...

, a part of Nagercoil

Nagercoil

Nagercoil is the 12th largest city in the southernmost Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District...

, he stayed at Padmanabhapuram, the capital of the old Travancore. His father, Subramanya Iyer, was an official in Neelakantaswamy temple at Padmanabhapuram. His mother was Alagammal.

He worked as a village magistrate for a few years and left this profession to take up religious practices.

The songs Sambo Mahadeva Saranam (raga

Raga

A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...

 Bowli); Ananda nadamaaduvaar Thillai ambalam thannil (Purvikalyani); Enraikku Sivakirupai varumo (Mukaari) Enna vanthalum naan unnai marapathillai (Kambhoji); Oru naal orupozhuthakilum Sivanai ucharikka venum (Kamas); Vaa vaa kalaimathi (Shankarabharanam

Dheerasankarabharanam

Dheerashankarābharanam , commonly known as Shankarābharanam, is a rāga in Carnatic music . It is the 29th Melakarta rāga in the 72 melakarta rāga system of Carnatic music....

); Oraru Mugane (Reetigowla); Kadaikkan paaraiyya (Darbar); and Sivanai ninai- thu thuthi paadikkol maname (Kambhoji) are very popular songs in Tamil.

Some of his compositions are Enraikku shiva krpai (mukhaari) and Shambho mahaadeva (bowli).

Compositions

Composition	Raga Raga A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...	Tala Tala Tala may refer to:* Samoan tālā, the monetary unit of Samoa* Tala , a DC Comics supervillainess of the Phantom Stranger* Tala , the goddess of stars in Tagalog mythology* Tala , a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music...	Type	Language	Other Info	Audio Links
Ananda naTamAduvAr tillai	Purvi Kalyani	Adi Adi Adi may refer to:Peoples and places:*Banu Adi, a clan of the Quraish tribe of Mecca*Adi people, a tribe living in Arunachal Pradesh, India**Adi language, the Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Adi...	Kriti Kriti -Structure:Kritis typically contain three parts#Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music.#Anupallavi. The second verse, which is sometimes optional....	Tamil 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...		'
SambhO mahA dEva SaraNam sri kALadhISa	Bowli	Rupakam	Kriti Kriti -Structure:Kritis typically contain three parts#Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music.#Anupallavi. The second verse, which is sometimes optional....	Telugu Telugu language Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...		'