The inauspicious Karkataka Masam dawned with the sad news of the demise of Smt. D K Pattammal, the doyen of Carnatic Music.
She was the last surviving member of the trinity of female musicians who broke all barriers and created a niche for themselves - the other two being M S Subbalakshmi and M L Vasanthakumari. D K Pattammal was the first Brahmin woman to sing a concert on stage at a time when it was taboo for women from the community to even sing in front of friends and relatives at home.
Though M S Subbalakshmi attained more fame due to deft marketing by her husband Kalki Sadasivam and M L Vasanthakumari's style more pleasing to the ears, D K Pattammal undoubtedly stood head and shoulders above them for sheer jnanam, technical perfection and vidwat.
Those who have once heard her baritone voice ( an anachronism for a female singer) will never forget it.
I was exposed to her magic one saturday evening is Rani Seethai Hall in Chennai way back in 1989. She was sick even then, and had to be physically lifted to the stage by 3 people. She could barely stand. As a young man of 25, I was skeptical as to how she could sing when she could barely stand. But once she sat on the dais, she was totally transformed. She gave a masterly performance of pure, unadulterated classical carnatic music for nearly 3 hours. I became an ardent fan there and then. For the next 4 months I was in Chennai during my probation period, I used to scan the newspaper for announcements of her concert and was lucky to have the privilege of 2 more top class flawless concerts. Unfortunately, I didnt hear any more since then as my professional commitments took me elsewhere.
Apart from her musical achievements which saw her being conferred the Padma Vibhushan amongst many awards, DK Pattammal was famous for her ability to teach music. She was one of the foremost Guru's of her genre and had under her tutelage her own brother, the redoubtable D K Jayaraman, who prematurely died at a younger age in 1990's. It is rumoured that D K Pattammal never really recovered from her brothers death.
Palghat Mani, the grand master of Mridangam, had an aversion towards female singers and would never play for any of them, with the sole exception of D K Pattammal, whom he respected immensely. The mutual respect ended up in their children getting married to each other, and the offspring of that marriage is the famous Carnatic and Film Musician, the highly highly talented Nithyasree Mahadevan. Nithyasree learned under her grand mother. Though Nithyasree has not taken after either D K Pattammal's or D K Jayaraman's singing bhaani, D K Pattammal can rest in peace that her lineage is in safe hands.
The soothing singing of D K Pattammal is still resonating in my ears. What stood out for me was the intense devotional mood DK Pattammal was able to create. It pierces the soul and elevates you to a totally different plane.
With D K Pattammals passing away, what we are seeing is the end of a magnificient generation of singers who learned their craft much before audio system came into existence.
Her death creates a vaccum that cannot be filled.
Let me in my heart sing a silent 'Mangalam'
(P.S: If you are interested to know more about her, you may read her interview in Frontline a decade ago - http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1616/16160670.htm )
