"Others abide our question but like the bard of Avon Thyagaraja is free. There are, too, some half a dozen illumined souls like Bhadrachalam Ramadas and Purandara Dasa, whose story is well known in glistening detail. Several others, not so well known, have made rich contribution peripherally and at the base to the grand design that is Carnatic music. And it is the work of some of these that we propose to chronicle in this series". It is in these words that India's National Newspaper, The Hindu introduced a series of 65 biographical essays on 64 Carnatic Music Composers authored by distinguished scholars and musicologists, published one on every Sunday during the period from 21.12.1969 to 21.03.1971. The objective of the present compilation remains the same. While reproducing all the articles true to their original presentation, a few more biographical essays are included to make the work more comprehensive.