Seethamma Doraiswamy ("Seetha Amma Doraiswamy") or Seetha Doraiswamy ( 27 January 1926 – 14 March 2013), was a renowned
Carnatic multi-instrumentalist. She was the last recognised female exponent of a dying Indian instrument, the
jal tarang
The ''jal tarang'' (Hindi: जलतरंग) is a melodic percussion instrument that originates from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of a set of ceramic or metal bowls filled with water. The bowls are played by striking the edge with bea ...
. She was the first (and till date youngest) female musician ever to be awarded the Gold Medal of Honour from The Music Academy, the first Carnatic music Institute.
She is the only Jal Tarang exponent to have ever received the
Kalaimamani
The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...
award by
Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...
, in 2001, with the citation reading "(Seetha) has tirelessly worked to prevent the
jalatharangam from becoming extinct and is often recognized only for that; it is time to bring to notice the fact that she championed for the cause of equal female representation during a time where our cultural norms may have not."
Biography
Early years
Seetha or Seethamma ("Amma" being a respectful suffix used for south Indian ladies) was born in Adachani, a village in
Tirunelveli District of present-day
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
(then the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
) into a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-speaking
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
family, the daughter of Pumpu Ganapathy Iyer and his wife Meenakshi Amma.
Under encouragement of her parents, the young Seetha started learning
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...
at an early age locally from Kodaganallur Subbiah Bhagavatar and later under
Gottuvadhyam
The chitravina ( sa, चित्रवीणा) (also known as chitra veena, chitraveena, chitra vina, hanumad vina, or mahanataka vina) is a 20 or 21-string fretless lute-style veena in Carnatic music. Around the late 19th and early 20th ce ...
vidhwan Seetharama Bhagavatar. After receiving an acceptance letter despite being 10 years old to become a member of the first Music Department established in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
by Prof.
P. Sambamoorthy, Seetha moved to Chennai in 1937 and trained alongside
D. K. Pattammal where she became the first female recipient of the Gold Medal of Honour. She still holds the record of being the youngest recipient of the award.
She was married at the age of 14. Her husband, who understood her yearning to continue with her music lessons, encouraged her to enrol for a course conducted by the Music Academy. She completed the course under
Valadi Krishnaiyer who played a pivotal role in her music development. She was top of the class in her batch and she won a Gold Medal.
She is the grandmother of Author
Jaya Madhavan
Jaya Madhavan (born 1 October 1972) is an Indian author, poet, ''The New Indian Express'' columnist and comic creator. She is a winner of The Children's Book Trust All India Competition for Writers of Children's Books.
Biography
Jaya Madha ...
.
Jal Tarang Training
Students who excelled in the theoretical aspect of Carnatic music were given the choice to learn either the
gottuvadhyam
The chitravina ( sa, चित्रवीणा) (also known as chitra veena, chitraveena, chitra vina, hanumad vina, or mahanataka vina) is a 20 or 21-string fretless lute-style veena in Carnatic music. Around the late 19th and early 20th ce ...
or the
jal tarang
The ''jal tarang'' (Hindi: जलतरंग) is a melodic percussion instrument that originates from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of a set of ceramic or metal bowls filled with water. The bowls are played by striking the edge with bea ...
at the Academy. When asked why she inclined towards the jal tarang, Seetha answered that she "was only ten then, and the dishes used by jalatarangam artistes reminded me of the miniature vessels children use when they play 'house.' Striking dishes containing water seemed a lot of fun".
The teacher charged with the task of teaching the jal tarang, Ramaniah Chettiar, was not convinced that any of the students at the Academy were intelligent enough to pick up the instrument.
Under the urging of Prof. Sambamoorthy, he entertained Seetha's request and put her to a test by tuning the instrument to
Sankarabharanam and asked her to set it to
Mayamalavagowla
Mayamalavagowla (pronounced ) is a raga of Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is classified as 15th ''melakarta'' raga under Venkatamakhin's ''melakarta'' system. Originally known as ''malavagowla'', "maya" was pref ...
. After successfully tuning it, Seetha was given the opportunity to begin training. She learnt under the tutelage of Prof. Sambamoorthy and Ramaniah Chettiar for one and half months, and was told that her knowledge of theory would suffice in complementing her training for the rest of her career.
Recognizing her financial position, Prof. P. Sambamoorthy bought Seetha her first set of jal tarang cups.
Career
Although her training began at a young age, familial obligations prevented her from performing. Seetha was married at age 14 to N. Doraiswamy and gave birth to 10 children. The death of a prodigious son left her shattered, and it was under the encouragement of her family that she began to perform again at the age of 41. Citing this particular circumstance, she is often referred to and has received awards as a pioneer female Indian musician for having been one of the few who performed despite the social connotations that prevented her colleagues from doing so.
Awards and honours
See also
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doraiswamy, Seetha
1926 births
Tamil musicians
People from Tirunelveli district
2013 deaths
Jal tarang players
Carnatic instrumentalists
Indian multi-instrumentalists
Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award
20th-century Indian musicians
Indian women classical musicians
20th-century Indian women musicians
Women musicians from Tamil Nadu
Musicians from Tamil Nadu