D. K. Pattammal

Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal (19 March 1919 – 16 July 2009), popularly known as D. K. Pattammal or DKP, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil.

Pattammal, along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari, are popularly referred to as the female trinity of Carnatic Music.

This trio initiated the entry of women into mainstream Carnatic Music.

She has been appreciated all over the world by Carnatic music lovers.

Pattammal was born in a Brahmin family in Kancheepuram of Tamil Nadu, India.

She was named Alamelu, but fondly called "Patta" as a child prodigy.

Her father, Damal Krishnaswamy Dikshithar, who was deeply interested in music, inspired her to learn Carnatic music.

Her mother, Kanthimathi (Rajammal), although a talented singer herself, was not permitted to sing even for friends or relatives in line with strict orthodox tradition.

Despite her orthodox background, Pattammal sang and showed considerable music talent at an early age.

Her parents initiated her into devotional singing.

Pattammal did not receive formal training in a systematic manner beginning with the basics.

She also did not receive regular gurukula training; in accordance with those times, women, especially from conservative families, were constrained from attending gurukula training.

She initially received tuition from an unnamed Telugu-speaking musician, whom she called "Telugu vadyar" or "Telugu teacher", who also taught her Telugu and Sanskrit.

She later learnt music from her mother, some disciples of C Subramanya Pillai (popularly known as Naina Pillai), as well as Rajalakshmi, daughter of Veena Dhanammal.

Pattammal also learnt from Ambi Dikshitar, a grandson of prolific composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar.

Pattammal subsequently continued learning compositions of Dikshitar from musicologist and former Supreme Court judge, T. L. Venkatarama Iyer.

She also studied directly under Papanasam Sivan, a prolific Tamil composer.

As a child, Pattammal sat through Carnatic music concerts, and on returning home, notated the kritis she heard, and key phrases of ragas.

Her brothers D. K. Ranganathan, D. K. Nagarajan, and D. K. Jayaraman – later her vocal accompanists, helped her in this task.

She also sang simple devotional hymns and songs her father taught her.

There was no radio or recorded music which was available in those times.

In 1929, at age 10, Pattammal gave her first radio performance for Madras Corporation Radio (now known as AIR).

In 1933, at age 13, Pattammal gave a full-length public concert at Madras Rasika Ranjani Sabha; she is considered the first woman from a Brahmin-caste family to do so.

In the same year, her music was first captured in recording discs by the Columbia Company, as it was then known.

One year later, she moved to Chennai to become a regular performer in concerts and gave her first performance at the Mahila Samajam (the Egmore Ladies Club), and won acclaim.

She quickly rose to stardom, and her musical career spanned more than 65 years.

In 1936, she gave her maiden performance at the Madras Music Academy.

D. K. Pattammal's knowledge was encyclopaedic; she was considered as an authority on Muthuswami Dikshitar's compositions, and is also known for her renditions of these.

She learnt authentic versions of these compositions from Ambi Dikshitar, a descendant of Muthuswami Dikshitar, as well as Justice T. L. Venkatrama Iyer, an authority on Dikshithar's compositions.

She popularised several Dikshithar's compositions in her concerts, and also sang Tiruppugazhs and Tevarams that she learnt from Appadurai Achari.

Pattammal also learnt many compositions of Papanasam Sivan, directly from the composer himself.

She went on to popularise these compositions of Papanasam Sivan, as well as those of Subramania Bharathiyar, both in film and Carnatic music.

Pattammal started a few revolutionary trends in Carnatic music.

She was the first Brahmin woman to have performed this genre of music publicly.

Brahmins ranked as the highest in the caste hierarchy prevalent in India in the early 20th century, and society considered it taboo for a Brahmin woman to perform on stage.

Pattammal was also the first woman to have performed Ragam Thanam Pallavi in concerts.

Ragam Thanam Pallavi, which was classed as a male stronghold, is the most difficult concert item in Carnatic music, as it calls for great skill and a high degree of concentration to handle the rhythmic complexities involved.

After she married R. Iswaran in 1939, Pattammal continued her pursuit in music while fulfilling the domestic duties of a traditional housewife, getting up as early as 4am to begin her day.

At age eight, Pattammal won first prize for singing Thyagaraja's "Raksha Bettare" in Bhairavi, at a competition conducted by C Subramanya Pillai (popularly known as Naina Pillai), whom Pattammal admired deeply.

According to Pattammal, Naina Pillai would host Thyagaraja Utsavams (festivals dedicated to Tyagaraja) in Kancheepuram every year, and was a veteran in the art of singing Ragam Thanam Pallavi.