Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi (1896–1983), better known as Amma Maharani, was the Junior Maharani (Queen) of Travancore as well as a promoter of Indian Classical music. She was the mother of

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore ...

, the last King of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

. Sethu Parvathi Bayi was distantly related by birth to the royal house of Travancore in the direct female line. In 1900, following the absence of heirs in the Travancore Royal Family she, along with her elder maternal cousin

Sethu Lakshmi Bayi Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI (5 November 1895– 22 February 1985) was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her yo ...

, was adopted by her maternal

great-aunt An aunt is a woman who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Known alternate terms include auntie or aunty. Children in other cultures and families may refer ...

, Senior Maharani Lakshmi Bayi. At the age of five, she became the Junior Maharani of

. Sethu Parvathi Bayi chose Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Thampuran of the

Kilimanoor Palace Kilimanoor Palace is a palace located in Kilimanoor, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the birthplace of painter Raja Ravi Varma and Raghava Varma, the father of king Marthanda Varma. The Palace The Palace complex covers more than six hectare ...

as her consort owing to his high educational achievements. Their wedding took place in 1907. In 1912, after giving birth to the

Heir-Apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Sree Chithira Thirunal at the age of fifteen, she became the Amma (mother) Maharani (queen), or the Queen Mother of

. Sethu Parvathi Bayi was an accomplished ''

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

'' (stringed instrument) player, and a famous promoter of

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 ...

and other arts. She played a major role in bringing to light the compositions of her ancestor Maharajah

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...

of Travancore. She and cousin

, were the grand daughters of Indian artist,

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...

Birth and adoption

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was born on 7 November 1896 the daughter of Thiruvathira Nal Bhageerathi Bayi Uma Kochukunji Amma Thampuratty of the Utsavamadom branch of the Mavelikkara Royal House and Sri Thiruvonam Nal Kerala Varma Thampuran of Paliyakkara Eastern Palace. She had four brothers and three sisters. Two of her sisters, Srimathi Avittam Nal Bhawani Amma Thampuratty (artist and illustrator) and Srimathi Makayiram Nal Rajamma Amma Thampuratty (landscape artist under the name Amma Thampuran) were artists. Sethu Parvathi Bayi's grandmother belonged to the

Kolathunad Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along with Za ...

royal house in

. Srimathi Makayiram Nal Rajamma Amma Thampuratty's grand daughter, Lekha Varma, was also adopted into the Travancore Royal house in 1996. Sethu Parvathy Bayi was also the younger grand daughter of the world-renowned artist Sri

of the

Kilimanoor Kilimanoor is a panchayat and a town in the Chirayinkeezhu taluk of Trivandrum district in Kerala, India. It is located on MC/SH 1 Road, North-west of the city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), 14 km east of Attingal and east of Var ...

Palace. The

Mavelikkara Mavelikkara is a taluk and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Located in the southern part of the district on the banks of the Achankovil River. Etymology The name Mavelikara ...

royal house was closely associated with the Travancore Royal Family as her great-aunts, the then Senior and Junior Queens of Travancore, had been adopted and installed into the Royal Family of Travancore in 1858. This adoption, which was the sixth in the Travancore Royal House, was without results as the Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi, who was married to

Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran ( ml, കേരളവർമ്മ വലിയ കോയിത്തമ്പുരാൻ; 19 February 1845 – 22 September 1914) also spelt Kerala Varma Valiya Koilthampuran and known as Kerala Varma, w ...

, was childless while the Junior Queen Parvathi Bayi had only sons. As the Travancore Royal Family follows

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

inheritance, the presence of females to continue the line and dynasty is crucial. With the death of the Junior Queen and her sons between 1893 and 1895, the royal family came to consist solely of

Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Moolam Thirunal Sir Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma (1857–1924) was Maharajah of the princely state of Travancore between 1885 and 1924, succeeding his uncle Maharajah Visakham Thirunal (1880–1885). Early life and education Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma was bor ...

, Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi, and her two nephews. The Senior Queen decided to adopt the daughters of her nieces, Mahaprabha and Kochukunji of Mavelikara ''Utsavamadhom Palace'', into the Travancore Royal Family. In 1900, Maharani Lakshmi Bayi petitioned Maharajah

for the adoption of her grand nieces, to perpetuate the ruling line. Thus, she became Princess Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, the ''First Princess'' of Travancore. The adoption itself was met with some opposition from other branches of the

family who nominated females from their families. There were also objections from the First Prince Chathayam Thirunal Rama Varma, but these were overcome due to the insistence of the Senior Queen of Travancore. But after a year the Senior Queen Lakshmi Bayi died in 1901 and five-year-old Sethu Parvathi Bayi was elevated to the position of H. H. Sree Padmanbhasevini Maharani Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, Junior Maharani of Attingal.

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

of the late Senior Maharani (Queen) Lakshmi Bayi, was appointed the

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

of the two minor Queens and

tutors Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...

were appointed to teach them.

Personal life

At the age of ten, according to the prevalent tradition, alliances were sought for Sethu Parvathi Bayi's marriage. A select group of young men of high accomplishments were presented to her. She chose the twenty-one-year-old graduate, and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, Sri Pooram Nal Ravi Varma Thampuran of the

royal house, after being impressed by his erudition and his high level of education (college graduates were a rarity in those days). Their wedding took place in 1907; when she turned fourteen in 1911, their marriage was consummated. In 1912 she gave birth to her eldest son, the then

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, Sree

, the last ruling Maharajah (King) of

. Thus she became the Queen Mother at the age of fifteen. Sethu Parvathi Bayi gave birth to three more children. Her second child, a baby girl, was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

. Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi born in 1916 and

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma (22 March 1922 – 16 December 2013) was the titular Maharaja of Travancore. He was the younger brother of the last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Travancore, Maharajah Chithira Thiru ...

in 1922 are her other children.

Contributions

Sethu Parvathi Bayi was very interested in Carnatic Music and started learning music and the ''veena'' at a young age. According to musicologists and researchers, she made memorable contributions to Carnatic Music by organizing different music festivals, revamping

Swathi Thirunal ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...

compositions, and promoting musicians like

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer (25 July 1908 – 31 October 2003) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day ...

, and

Muthiah Bhagavathar Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar (15 November 1877 – 30 June 1945), commonly known as Muthiah Bhagavatar, is one of Carnatic classical music's famous twentieth-century composers. He also created about 20 '' ragas''. Early life Muthiah was bo ...

among others. She also made great efforts to bring compositions by Maharajah

back into prominence. She gave the task of revamping Swathi compositions to

and

assisted him with this task. Sethu Parvathi Bayi's eldest son, the then

Maharajah of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was annex ...

, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, established the

Swathi Thirunal College of Music Swathi Thirunal College of Music is a music college in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1939. It was first named as "The Music Academy". The name was renamed as Swathi Thirunal College of Music in 1962. The founder of this ...

in 1939, and

became its first principal. The task was continued by legendary musician, Sri

. It was due to Sethu Parvathi Bayi's efforts that the Navarathri Music Festival became a huge event after the 1930s. Previously only Mullamudu Bhagavathars were allowed to sing at the festival. She invited the likes of

, M. D. Ramanathan and others to sing there. T. Lakshmana Pillai in his treatise ''Music And The Royal House Of Travancore'' says the following about Sethu Parvathi Bayi :

I cannot close this brief narrative about “ Music and the Royal House” , without making specific mention of Her Highness the present Junior Maharani whose knowledge of the theory and practice of music is simply astonishing. No one who has had the good fortune of listening to her conversation about music can fail to be struck with Her Highness high, keen and refined intelligence, her profundity of knowledge and the vast fund of her information on the subject of music. As a player on the Veena, Her Highness takes rank with the best artists in the field.

Allegations and controversies

According to Lakshmi Raghunandan's book on her grandmother Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the birth of her eldest son, Sree Chithira Thirunal, changed Sethu Parvathi Bayi's position within the royal family as well as in Travancore as she became the Amma Maharani (Queen Mother) of Travancore at the age of fifteen. Raghunandan alleged that the constant hateful comments made by Kochukunji Thampuratty (Sethu Parvathi Bayi's mother) to her daughter led to the estrangement between the former and her elder cousin, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. Raghunandan also alleges that Sethu Parvathi Bayi resented the fact that, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and not herself, was chosen as the

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for her minor son, Sree Chithira Thirunal who became the King (Maharajah) after the death of Sree

in 1924. Rama Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran, the consort of Regent

, prevented his wife from handing over the control of the financial allowance of the then Sree

Chithira Thirunal Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore ...

to his mother Sethu Parvathi Bayi. There were also rumours of an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt on the young Maharajah Chithira Thirunal, allegedly at the behest of Rama Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran, the consort of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. All of these incidents further fanned the enmity between the two Queens. The heirs of Sethu Parvathi Bayi, and her other descendants have never commented on the allegations by

's family, so their side of events remains unknown. Sethu Parvathi Bayi is known to have visited the Sabarimala temple, which is known for refusing entry to women of menstruating age. Decades after her death, the Kowdiar palace clarified that she entered the temple after the forbidden age, at 53 years. However, her recorded entry to the temple was at 1940, when she would have been only 44 years of age.

References

{{authority control 1896 births 1983 deaths Indian princesses Queen mothers Travancore royal family Women of the Kingdom of Travancore 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people 20th-century Indian women Carnatic musicians Veena players Indian women classical musicians 20th-century Indian women musicians Indian women composers 20th-century Indian composers Indian classical composers Women Carnatic musicians People of the Kingdom of Travancore Women musicians from Kerala 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century women composers