[2] Venkata Kavi's compositions reveal that he was a complete master of the science and art of music in all senses of the term – melody, rhythm, and lyrics.

[8] Venkata Kavi, named Venkata Subramanian, was born in Mannaargudi town in Thiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (about 200 miles from Chennai) as the eldest of five children to the Tamil Smaartha couple of Subbu Kutti Iyer and Venkammaa, according to the family records in the possession of the descendants of his brother Raamachandra Vaathoola's family.

One of his nephews, Kattu Krishna Iyer was a musician in the royal court of the Thanjavur Maraatha King Prataapa Simha Bhonsale in the later part of the 18th century.

According to family sources, Venkata Kavi was passionate about music but could not find a Guru of his choice in that area, which prompted his mother to suggest that he appeal to the God Krishnaa himself, in the Kaalinga Narthana Temple in Oothukkaadu.

[11] He is believed to have received initiation from the Lord himself, as asserted in one of his Tamil compositions, Guru paadaaravindam komalamu - in the raga Abhogi, he declares: "I have never studied the scriptures or yoga nor pretended to have done so.

He used a wide variety of raagas ranging from the well known such as Todi, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Sahana, through minor ones like Kannadagowla, Jayantashri, Maalavi, Umaabharanam and a few that are seldom used today such as Balahamsa and Rasamanjari.

For instance, his krtis in Madhyamavathi – Shankari Sri Raajaraajeshwari, Sundara nandakumaaraa and Aadaadu ashangaadu vaa Kannaa - bring out different facets of this beautiful raga.

For instance, in the pallavi of his Aabhogi kriti, Mahashaya hrdaya, he has composed three variations in the madhyamakaala passage as given below:[16] Similar examples can be seen in pieces like Aganita mahima (Gowla).

The words are superbly woven in lilting Sanskrit: There are many other instances of similar endings in krtis such as Alavadennalo in Pharas (5th charanam) and Mummada vezhamugattu Vinayakan in Nattai.

His fluency in Sanskrit rivalled that of his command of Tamil, a commentary not only on his erudition but also a pointer to his immense vocabulary- words such as kalamba (arrow), charatha (wandering), shileemukha (bee) are just a few examples out of hundreds seen in his works, which are especially unique in Carnatic literature.

The most popular of his songs are on Lord Krishna but he has composed on a number of other deities as well,[21] such as Vinayaka, Radha, Tyagaraja of Tiruvarur, Kamakshi, Rama, Kartikeya,[22] Narasimha, Anjaneya, Ranganatha, Surya and other divine figures.

It is now well known that many popular songs on Krishna like Taye yashoda, Alaippayude kanna, Pal vadiyum mukham, Parvai onre podume and Pullai piravi tara venum are part of this opera.

For instance, ‘Bhajanamruta’ in Nattai, pays tributes to great philosophers and spiritualists and cites numerous mythological and historical devotees of Vishnu (examples: Prahlada, Sanaka, Narada, Anjaneya, Guha, Sabari, Sugreeva) as well as Shiva (such as Nandi, Matanga, Vyagrapada, Manickavachagar and Sundarar) and Subramanya (such as Arunagirinathar).

[33] These are: While the pieces showcase the composer's high caliber approach to melody, lyric, poetry and culture, they stand out for his masterly handling of intricate time measures of 9, 17 and 20 units per cycle in the 4th, 5th and 6th avarana kris respectively.

[34] This is further augmented by the immense scholarship seen in Venkata Kavi's Kamakshi Navavarana krtis dealing with the intricate details of avarana pooja (Srividya worship).

Venkata Kavi's works have been automatic choices for hundreds of dancers for the scope they offer for visual interpretation, dance-specific jatis (syllables), dramatic appeal and creative content.

However, there are innumerable compositions such as Nalladella enru sholladi (Shankarabharanam), Bhuvana moha (Dhanyasi), Neela malar (Vasanta), Ettanai kettalum (Bhairavi) and operas such as Pranavopadesham which are yet to be explored in the dance field.

Needamangalam Krishnamurthy Bhagavatar (descendant of the poet's brother's family) was known for his gripping renditions of the composer's unique works like Kalinga Nartana Natangam and Krishna Padaadi Keshaanta varnanam.

[37] In recent times, several of Venkata Kavi's compositions such as Udajagopa (Umabharanam) have been arranged & presented by various Western Classical Orchestras in various parts of the world.