Carnatic music, one of the two major streams of Indian Music, is indigenous to southern India It flourished under the patronage of Krishnadevaraya in Vijaynagar, the capital city of Vijaynagar Empire.

Purandara Dasa, also known as 'pithamaha (father) of Carnatic music', has made great contributions to this genre. He is one of the persons who devised a basic scale for teaching Carnatic Music. Even though instruments are used, Carnatic music is basically a vocal art. The golden period of South Indian classical music was during the time of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Sauna Sastri.  These contemporaries are called the 'music trinity'.  

Famous Carnatic Musicians  

Thyagraja, Syama Sastri, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Semmangudi R Srinivasalyer, M S Subbulakshmi, M Balamurali Krishna, DK Pattammal

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