Carnatic music legend D.K Pattammal dead

[sgmane]

Carnatic and Tamil film playback singer D.K. Pattammal died on 16 July 2009. She was 90

Pattammal was part of the female trinity of carnatic music, with two other popular musicians M.S. Subbulakshmi and M.L. Vasanthakumari, who were instrumental in the large scale initiation of women into the main stream carnatic music world.

She was a recipient of Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1971 and 1998.

A trend setter, Pattammal was the first brahmin female who gave public performances.

Her younger brother D.K. Jayaraman is also a noted singer and was awarded Sangeetha Kalanidhi title in 1990

Source: Headlines india - 16 July 2009

 

[Asit]

For a person like me who has learned Indian classical music mostly in the North Indian form, it is perhaps hard to gauge the greatness of DK Pattammal. She did not have the popularity of MS and MLV probably because she did not have the tonal qualities of those two, especially MS who was absolutely great in singing a composition (even I know several songs sung by MLV, for example, compositions by Kanaka Dasa 'Yaake nirdaya nadeyo, hariye', 'Krishna ni begane baro' etc) . DK Pattammal was extremely knowledgeable about Ragas. I have heard her recordings (not very extensively) and have seen the emphasis she puts on the 'Ragam' part of the renditions. I have also seen the great respect senior artistes of Indian classical music in the Karnatic form have towards DK Pattammal.

Regards.