T.S. Subbiah was born in Tirunelveli. Once Kondiah Raju was engaged in painting at Tirunelveli and Subbiah a young boy was a curious bystander. The artistic bug bit Subbiah and he was watching the Master at work every day. Seeing his interest and keenness in learning art Kondiah took him under his wings at a very young age of 14 and he became a part of the drama troupe. Subbiah was the senior most of Kondiah’s students. Subbiah in addition to assisting Kondiah in the drawing and designing of backdrops was also the art director of the drama troupe for the plays “Dasavatharam, Krishna Leela and “Gnanasundari”. Subbiah’s art direction was very much appreciated and his use of trick shots in the drama was the highlight of these plays. Subbiah continued his art education with Kondiah Raju in Devi Studio and was instrumental in introducing his nephew MU Ramalingam to the art world and encouraging his talent. T S Subbiah’s son S. Marimuthu emulated his father and developed into a reputed artist and drew a number of paintings for the printers of Sivakasi.