Chakra Tanam
Introduction


**Chakra Tanam** (Sanskrit चक्र तानम्) is one of the styles of [tanam](/wiki/Tanam "Tanam") singing in [Carnatic Classical Music](/wiki/Carnatic_Music "Carnatic Music") tradition. It owes its name to the circular or cyclic approach adopted by the performer.

Tanam singing itself is regarded as a dying art today with musicians not having the patience or the aptitude to take up such scholarly rigorous pursuits.

Subba Iyer of Chembai village (in [Palakkad District](/wiki/Palakkad_District "Palakkad District")), who lived in the early 19th Century and was a contemporary of the [Carnatic Music Trinity](/wiki/Trinity_of_Carnatic_Music "Trinity of Carnatic Music") and Maharaja [Swathi Thirunal](/wiki/Swathi_Thirunal "Swathi Thirunal"), was such a famed exponent of Chakra Tanam that he came to be popularly called Chakratanam Subba Iyer.

Chakra Tanam is an almost extinct style of Tanam singing, its last major exponent being [Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar](/wiki/Chembai_Vaidyanatha_Bhagavatar "Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar"), the great\-grandson of Chakratanam Subbaiyer. Another exponent of the style was [Shadkala Govinda Marar](/wiki/Shadkala_Govinda_Marar "Shadkala Govinda Marar"), who was known as *Chakra Tanam Govinda Maram* because of his Tanam.


What is Chakra Tanam?