Doraiswamy Iyengar

Who was Doraiswamy Iyengar?

Doreswamy Iyengar, generally known as Mysore V. Doreswamy Iyengar, was a Carnatic musician and one of the greatest exponents of the Veena in modern history. Born into a family of musicians, His father, Venkatesha Iyengar, was himself a Vainika and a musician in the court of the Maharaja of Mysore.

He started learning the Veena from his father at an early age and soon became the disciple of Veena Venkatagiriyappa, one of the foremost Vainikas of the day in Mysore. He performed in the esteemed presence of the then Maharaja of Mysore at the age of 12. The Maharaja liked his performance and awarded him a 50 rupee silver coin. The Maharaja also asked Veena Venkatagiriyappa to nurture the boy as he thought Doreswamy Iyengar would bring laurels to the state of Mysore.

He gave his first public performance in 1943, in the Bangalore Gayana Samaja. He participated in music conferences including the one in Shiraz, Iran in 1969 where he also performed at the Shiraz - Persepolis Festival of Arts. Over the course of his career, accolades poured in.