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D.K.PATTAMMAL

Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal (1919-2009), popularly known as DKP, was one of the most celebrated icons of the Indian classical music. Her music was known as much for its technical brilliance, as for its emotional appeal. Hailed as one of the “women trinity” of Carnatic music (other two being M.S. Subbulakshmi and M.L. Vasanthakumari), D.K. Pattammal carved a niche for herself, which was marked by strict adherence to tradition, deep engagement with technical nuances and emphasis on bhava and rakthi.

D.K. Pattammal exhibited immense flair and love for music from her early childhood. She learnt the art of music from gurus like Prof. P Sambamurthy, Justice TL Venkatatarama Iyer and Ambi Dikshitar and also from the legendary composer Papanasam Sivan. She gave her first concert in 1933. She tackled with great perfection the area of 'Ragam Tanam-Pallavi', which was for long considered as a male fiefdom. She was known for her rich repertoire, and particularly for her rendition of compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar. It is held that Pattammal, in all her over five decades of unbroken appearances in the annual conference of the Music Academy Madras, never repeated a single 'Pallavi'.

She was one of the earliest Carnatic musicians to sing in films, beginning with ‘Thyaga Bhoomi’ and later, for others, including ‘Naam Iruvar’, Pattammal is a recipient of several awards, which include Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1961), Sangita Kalanidhi (1970), Padma Bhushan (1971), Padma Vibhushan (1998), Kalidas Samman Award (1999) and Sangeeta Saraswathi (2006).