The violin was first introduced to Carnatic music in the 19th century. But for most part of that millennium, it played second fiddle (no pun intended) to the vocals. Gradually, though, the musicians playing the instrument found prowess, making it an integral component of the overall melody. But this posed a problem at concerts, since the human voice could reach audible levels that the four-stringed instrument could only aspire to. And its melody was thus lost to people sitting in the back rows of an auditorium.

That changed thanks to T Chowdiah. The Mysore local came up with the genius idea of adding three extra strings to his instrument. This helped amplify his decibel level to match that of the vocals, filling auditoriums up with an equal harmony. And it also helped establish Chowdiah as a doyen of the Carnatic tradition.