DK Pattammal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
DK Pattammal (right) singing with her younger brother DK Jayaraman, early 1940s

DK Pattammal (then Krishnaswamy Pattammal ; Tamil : தா. கி. பட்டம்மாள்; born March 28, 1919 in Kanchipuram , Tamil Nadu ; † July 16, 2009 in Chennai ) was an Indian singer of South Indian classical music . Together with her contemporaries MS Subbulakshmi and ML Vasanthakumari, she was considered the “female trinity of Carnatic Music”. Her career spanned over 65 years.

Life

Pattammal made her first public appearance at the age of 14 in Madras (today's Chennai), becoming the first Brahman to perform Carnatic music in public. At the beginning of the 20th century this was still taboo for women of the Brahmin caste .

Pattammal was also the first woman to perform Ragam - Tanam - Pallavi , the most difficult concert piece of Carnatic music and thus a male domain, on stage. She also sang very complex Pallavis with complicated talas , which earned her respect and recognition from her male colleagues and the name “Pallavi Pattammal”. Nowadays many carnatic musicians choose Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi as the main piece of their concerts.

During her singing career, Pattammal developed into a connoisseur of the compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar and Papanasam Sivan , whose pieces she interpreted frequently. She also popularized nationalist compositions by Subrahmanya Bharati and other composers.

Pattammal's full voice is in the range of a low alto . Her singing strengths include technical accuracy, strict adherence to pitch and rhythm, and clear pronunciation of the lyrics. Her lectures of Shlokas and Viruttams (poems or verses that are sung improvised without rhythmic accompaniment) were particularly emotional.

Her singing style attracted many students, first of all her younger brother DK Jayaraman , who often performed with her in concerts. Pattammal has taught students from several countries, the most famous of which are Lalitha Sivakumar , Geetha Rajashekar , Nithyasree Mahadevan and Bhavadhaarini Anantaraman .

Pattammal has received numerous awards throughout her career, including a 1962 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and 1970 Sangeetha Kalanidhi , the highest recognition in carnatic music. The Indian government honored her with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

supporting documents

  1. ^ Carnatic vocalist Pattammal passes away
  2. ↑ Chennai-Online ( Memento from October 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ The Hindu ( Memento of August 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pattammal, DK
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pattamal, Damal Krishna; Pattammal, then Krishnaswamy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Kanchipuram , Tamil Nadu
DATE OF DEATH July 16, 2009
Place of death Chennai