About | Bidaram

Bidaram Krishnappa

Bidaram Krishnappa (1866–1931) was a musician and composer of Carnatic Indian music in the court of King Chamaraja Wodeyar IX (1862–1894) and King Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV (1884–1940) of the Kingdom of Mysore.

Gana Visharada Sri Bidaram Krishnappa was a disciple of Veene Sheshanna, who was a disciple of Sadashiva Rao. He had the vision of a great Rama Mandira for music. He worked relentlessly to realize his dream.
As a result, The Prasanna Seetharama Mandira was constructed in 1928.

Mysore Vasudevachar states in “With Masters of Melody” (author: S. Krishnamurthy): “Rama Mandiras were the usual places of musical con- certs in those days. Krishnappa had performed in almost every one of them and associated himself with their work in many ways. None of them had a building that was impressive, or a concert hall which could be termed adequate. He decided to do something about this and set out on a musical tour of south India. His con- certs not only secured a place of pride in Mysore in a larger cultural heritage but also brought in ample funds for the Rama Mandira he wanted to build. The present Sri Prasanna Seetharama Mandira at Mysore stands as a glorious testimony to Krishnappa’s devotion to Rama and his own attainments in music.”

Krishnappa was a devout bhakta of Sri Rama and Hanuman. He developed a great desire to create a permanent, beautiful Rama Mandira as a sacred space for music.

Krishnappa started the construction of the Rama Mandira and spent all his life’s savings in making the Rama Mandira a reality. He even got his wife Smt. Thungamma to sell her mangalasu- tra to fund the construction of the Rama Mandira.

Krishnappa used great imagination in construct- ing the Rama Mandira. The Rama Mandira was built with a main hall that seated about 200 people and included four small rooms in the four corners. In the ornate wooden sanctum sanctorum at the west end was installed a large and extremely beautiful oil painting of Shri Rama Pattabhisheka depicting Lord Ramachan- dra and Seetha surrounded by Lakshmana, Bharatha, Shatrughna and Anjaneya, painted by Krishna Rao of Mysore. The south and north faced entrances featured triple-arched colon- naded portico design and the beautiful cornice work. Statues of Lakshmi and Saraswathi crowned those entrances.

Present Office Bearers and Committee Members :

Sri. R. Guru - President
Sri S. K. Lakshminarayana (Babu) – Vice President
Sri Raghunandan Rao – Secretary
Sri Diwakara K. N. – Jt. Secretary
Sri Sathyanarayana N. S. – Treasurer
Dr. Maya Sitaram – Member
Sri Anantharamu – Member
Dr. Purushotham Shastry – Member
Sri V. Gundanna – Member
Dr. D. V. Prahallada Rao – Member
Sri. A. P. Srinivas - Member

Past Trustees Of Ganavisharada : Bidaram Krishnappa Trust

Sri A. S. Narasimhachar - Retd. H. M. of Madarishala School, K. V. Agrahar, Mysore
Sri S. P. Ranganathachar - Advocate, Mysore
Sri R. Guru - M/S. N. Ranga Rao and Sons, Mfrs. of Vasu and Cycle Brand, Agarbathies, Mysore-4.
Sri M. Ananda Rao - Partner, Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works, Vinoba Road, Mysore-1.
Sri H. S. Bhaktavatsala - Superintending Engineer (R), No.3, Palace Quarters, Ittigegud, Mysore.
Prof. K. V. Arkanath - Prof. of Physics (R), K. M. Puram, Mysore-4.
Sri. T. Anantha Rao - 1383/1, 4th Cross, K. M. Puram, Mysore.
Sri K. J. Venkatachar - Principal, Ayyanar College of Music, N. Sastry Road, Mysore.
K. S. Keshava Murthy - Retd. D.D.A., No.28, Gokula II Stage, 4th Main, 14th Cross, V. V. Puram, Mysore-2.
Sri R. Vasudeva Murthy - Partner, Prabha Talkies, Gokulam Main Road, V. V. Mohalla, Mysore-2.