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D. K. Pattammal passes away |
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The Grand Dame of Carnatic music, D. K. Pattammal passed away on July 16 at about 1.30 p.m. at her home in the Kotturpuram area in south Chennai. She was 90.
The funeral was held at about 6 p.m. at the Besant Nagar crematorium.
Family members said she was ill for some time.
Scores of personalities from the field of music, arts, cinema and public life came to pay homage to the great artiste and offer their condolences to the family.
Pattammal was part of the trio of Carnatic music artistes - the other two being M S Subbulakshmi and M L Vasanthakumari who were instrumental in bringing women artistes to the mainstream of Carnatic music and creating a space for themselves.
Her songs on India's freedom movement and later, in early Tamil cinema are evergreen hits.
Till a few years ago, she made the effort to attend a few functions and when she went down memory lane her face was effulgent and her eyes shone bright.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
-Leela Samson, Head of Kalakshetra offering her respects to the departed
-Vyjayanthimala Bali with Pattammal's husband Iswaran
-Aruna Sairam being interviewed by media
-Writer Anuradha pays her respects
-Y G Mahendra and Vijaysiva
-Ramanujam, Secretary of Kartik Fine Arts sabha on his way to offer condolences
-Artistes Gayathri Girish and J. Vaidyanathan at the time the hearse departs to the crematorium.
Photos by C. P. Dhanasekar
<< We invite you to email your memories / anecdotes and experiences related to D
K Pattammal. Mail to - editor@kutheribuzz.com. We will post them on this page >> Tribute by Dr K. Parameswaran, Combatore.
The essential greatness about all great vidvans have been their uncanny ability to present complex things as if they were very simple. DKP was the very personification of this ability.
I remember, some time in the 80s, when she had come for a concert to my native city, Kozhikode. After two or three kritis she started out on an alapana of Sankarabharanam - I still find it hard to believe it was so - wherein she encapsulated the whole colour and 'gaurava' of the raga in a single akaara phrase.
This was followed by the presentation of one of the most appealing Sakarabhranam kritis I have ever heard - Akshayalinga vibho - the sangatis she sang were seemingly simple and easy. My tributes to the efflulgent genius!
Tribute by Sundaram Sankaran, USA
"Nothing grows under a banian tree" is an old saying. D. K Pattammal is one of those rare exceptions to the rule. She not merely allowed something to grow but allowed it to flourish. That is her younger brother D.K.Jayaraman.
To be D. K. Pattammal's younger brother and disciple is both an advantage and liability. But Pattammal and Jayaraman overcame the difficulties to become a unique sister-and-brother duo of 'Sangeetha Kalanidthi' awardees.
Pattammal may very well be the last of the tall giants who set the tone and goals for the glory days of Carnatic music. But she owes much to her own genius. There is no single guru who shaped her music. In fact she learnt kritis of great composers directly from their relatives.
She learnt Muthuswami Dikshithar's kritis from T. L. Venkatarama Iyer, a grandson of Ambi Dikshithar. She learnt Papanasam Sivan's compositions from Sivan himself.
She has dominated the Carnatic music for almost seven decades. She has many firsts to her credit.
She was the first woman musician to sing Pallavis in concerts. She could handle very difficult pallavis. This earned the admiration of great laya experts like Palghat Mani Iyer.
Tribute by Darshana, Chennai
The queen of Laya passes away leaving behind a wealth of music for posterity.
During a music class with DKP Amma's niece Sukanya Jayaraman, I had to learn a particular song by Shyama Shashtri called " Ennaramum Un Namam" in the raga Poorvi Kalyani for a competition judged by Pt.Jasraj to be held in Bombay.
My then teacher Sukanya mam was fondly remembering that DKP amma sang that song the best. She then spoke to DKP amma on the phone and mentioned it. DKP Amma magnanimously agreed to teach me the song herself and she actually taught me the song over telephone and passionately repeated certain portions of it to stress the importance of the bhava.
The song still keeps ringing in my ears. I get emotional whenever I perform that song. It is indeed a blessing to have learnt it from her. I later visited her in her residence at Kotturpuram and thanked her.
At that time, she enlightened me about the importance of Sadhaka, the power of listening to the performances of the stalwarts, and the need to focus on Bhava. I will never forget my moments with her.
Listening to her Shyamala Dhandakam - that was released decades ago amazes me. What a sweet voice, yet so deep. What a God fearing and humble disposition. She is, if I may say so, a perfect example of how one can do justice to the gift of music given by God. I draw inspiration from her and pay my respects to her. DKP Amma, you will always be remembered for your music and smile.
Tribute by Thrimoorthi Sangeetha Sabha, Chennai
The passing away of DKP is not only a loss to the world of Carnatic music, but a legend has gone in to the folders of history. She was a doyen of tradition in her life and in her music.
We the members of THRIMOORTHI SANGEETHA SABHA, Pozhichalur, express our heartfelt condolences and pray for her soul to rest in peace .
Tribute by Vikram Vasudevan, USA
I live in florida. I was a fan of Pattammal mami for a few years. I would just like to talk briefly about Pattammal mami. Mami was the most generous, gracious lady I ever met. I could also see in her the resemblence of her brother, Sri DKJ. I had the priviledge to meet her for the first time in 2004. When it was time for me to leave, she placed her hand on my head to bless me. I will never forget that about her. That will be memory about mami which I'll greatly cherish.
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