- He was born Polagam Ramaiah. He in 1890 at Polagam near Tanjavoor. He and his brother passed a lot of their time in Papanasam ( between Kumbakonam and Tanjavoor ), hence the "Papanasam" stuck to his name. Also, it was a tradition to address men of respect (men of God, as Rangaraamaanuja Aiyyangaar says) as Sivan, Sivanvaal, etc. in those days - and hence this gets suffixed to persons names. Also, he came in a long line of composers and performers whose names ended in Shivan. Hence the name Paapanaasam Shivan. It is said that there was lot of influence of mahavaidyanatha iyers style on his compositions.