T N Rajarathinam Pillai was born on 27 August 1898 to Shri Kuppuswami Pillai and Smt. Govindamani in Thiruvaduthurai in Thanjavur District which is the cradle of culture in Tamil Nadu. He learned music at very young age. Later he learned to play Nadaswaram, a wind instrument from Shri Ammachatram Kannuswami Pillai, a vidwan (scholar) of great repute. He became a great exponent of music. His playing of Nadaswaram attracted people from all walks of life and held them spell bound. This great music maestro passed away on 12 December 1956.