Background
Govindarajan, was born at Sirkali, a small town in Madras Presidency (Present day Tamil Nadu) to Siva Chidambaram and Avayambal Ammal.
Govindarajan, was born at Sirkali, a small town in Madras Presidency (Present day Tamil Nadu) to Siva Chidambaram and Avayambal Ammal.
He graduated from the Tamil Isai College in Chennai in 1949 with the Degree "Isaimani".
Sirkali was the birthplace of Thirugnanasambandar, one of the Samaya Naalvar and the 63 Nayanmar of the Saiva faith. lieutenant was little wonder that he became a child prodigy performing at the Tirupurasundari Temple at the age of eight on the occasion of the Gnana Paal Festival. He also graduated with the Degree of "Sangeetha Vidwan".
At the same time, he started rigorous training (Gurukulavasam) under his Guru Sri.Thiruppampuram Swaminatha Pillai, who was then a Professor at the Central College of Carnatic Music, Madras.
Under his tutelage and in-depth study, he gained knowledge of the nuances and intricacies of Indian Music, especially, Classical Carnatic Music. He was the proud recipient of three Gold Medals(First Place) in the austere and hallowed halls of Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha (Music Academy) from Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer.
The Central College of Carnatic Music was the next institution for his musical enrichment. Govindarajan had also done playback singing in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films.
Madras University conferred a doctorate (Honoris Causa) on him in 1983.
He died in 1988, aged 55.