Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ஜெயலட்சுமி) and Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ராஜலட்சுமி), popularly known as Soolamangalam Sisters ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் சகோதரிகள்) were

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 ...

sister-pair vocalists and musicians known for their devotional songs in Tamil. They were early singers in the trend of duo singing in

, which started in the 1950s, with performers like

Radha Jayalakshmi Radha (born 1932) and Jayalakshmi (1932 - 2014), popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi ( ta, ராதா ஜெயலட்சுமி), were an Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Th ...

, and later continued by

Bombay Sisters The Bombay sisters, C. Saroja (b. 7 December 1936) and C. Lalitha (b. 26 August 1938), are a Carnatic music singing duo. Early life The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha, were born in Trichur, Kerala to Mukthambal and N. Chidambaram Iye ...

, Ranjani-Gayatri, Mambalam Sisters, Bangalore Sisters and

Priya Sisters Shanmukhapriya and Haripriya, popularly known as the Priya Sisters, are Carnatic music singers. Early life They hail originally from Amalapuram in East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. They attended Little Flower School in Chittoor, Andhra Pr ...

. The Soolamangalam Sisters are best known for singing the

Kanda Shasti Kavasam Kanda Shashti Kavacham or Skanda Sashti Kavasam ( ta, கந்த சஷ்டி கவசம்) is a Hindu devotional song composed in Tamil by Devaraya Swamigal (born c. 1820), a student of Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, on Lord Muruga, the son ...

, a hymn on the Hindu god

Muruga Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

Early life and background

Born in Soolamangalam, a village with musical heritage in

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River ...

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 ...

, of Karnam Ramaswmai Ayyar and Janaki Ammal, the sisters had their training in music from K. G. Murthi of Soolamangalam, Pathamadai S. Krishnan, and Mayavaram Venugopalayyar. The duo-sisters were very popular for their matchless rendition of national and devotional songs. They had a hectic practice for about three decades and were much sought after for providing background music in films. Their

album is very popular with the

Lord Muruga Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

devotees.

Notable songs

Awards

* Muruga Ganamrtha * Kuyil Isai Thilakam * Isaiarasi * Nadhakanal *

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 ...

in 1992 by Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Mandram.

Filmography

Among the two of them, Jayalakshmi had rendered only a few songs in films and most of it would be duets with Rajalakshmi, whereas Rajalakshmi had more chance as a playback singer in films. Her voice suits all the categories of youthful, soft mellifluousness, evocative feelings, perfection of pronunciation and the best in devotional songs.

Music composers Rajalakshmi sang for

Many of Rajalakshmi's songs are under K. V. Mahadevan's music direction all the while. Many of her songs were under

T. G. Lingappa Thiruchirappalli Govindarajulu Lingappa (22 August 1927 – 5 February 2000) was an Indian music director who worked predominantly in Kannada language films. He also worked in Tamil and Telugu movies. He was the son of G. Govindarajulu Naidu w ...

. She also sang under her own music compositions. She sang more often in the 1950s while during the 1960s, she was only sought in songs that needed more than one female voice.

Playback singers Rajalakshmi sang with

Rajalakshmi sang immemorable duets mostly with

T. M. Soundararajan Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...

. Other include

Seerkazhi Govindarajan Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. Early life Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...

P. B. Sreenivas Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...

S. C. Krishnan S. C. Krishnan (1929-1983) was an Indian actor and playback singer who worked mainly in Tamil dramas and films. Early life He was born into a Saurashtra family as the fourth son of a jeweller ''Chelvam Achary'' in Sivaganga that was part of ...

, M. Balamurali Krishna,

A. L. Raghavan A. L. Raghavan (1933 – 19 June 2020) was an Indian playback singer, who sang many songs in Tamil-language films. Biography Raghavan was born to a Saurashtra Brahmin family in Ayyampettai near Thanjavur to Lakshmana Bhagavathar, Raghavan ...

, T. S. Kumaresh, Saibaba, K. Veeramani,

Pithapuram Nageswara Rao Pithapuram Nageswara Rao (5 May 1930 – 5 March 1996) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the early period of Telugu cinema. He sang thousands of songs, mostly of a comedic nature, in the 1950s and 1960s along with Madhavapeddi Satyam a ...

, Kovai Soundarajan, Kumar and K. J. Yesudas. She also sang duets with female singers with most notably with her sister Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi,

P. Leela Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...

and

P. Susheela Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...

. Others are

L. R. Eswari Lourde-Mary Rajeswari, better known as L. R. Eswari, is an Indian playback singer who has sung several songs in Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi language, Hindi, Tulu language, Tulu, and English. She wa ...

M. L. Vasanthakumari Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari (popularly referred to as MLV) (3 July 1928 – 31 October 1990) was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulak ...

T. V. Rathnam Tenkasi Vallinayagam Rathnam ( ta, தென்காசி வள்ளிநாயகம் (டி.வி.) ரத்தினம்) (1930 - 17 October 1984) hailed from Tenkasi, Madras Presidency, British India. She was a playback singe ...

K. Jamuna Rani K. Jamuna Rani (born 17 May 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian playback singer who has sung over 6,000 songs in Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam lnguages. Life and career Rani was born to K. Varadarajulu and violinist ...

S. Janaki Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...

Jikki Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese languag ...

, T. S. Bagavathi, B. Vasantha, A. G. Rathnamala,

, K. Rani, Swarnalatha, A. P. Komala, M. R. Vijaya, Renuka, Kamala, Sarala and L. R. Anjali. The singing actors she sang with were

M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors in Tamil cine ...

V. Nagayya V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1978) also known as Chittoor Nagayya was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. ...

, T. R. Mahalingam, J. P. Chandrababu and K. R. Ramasamy.

Music director

Rajalakshmi assisted

S. M. Subbaiah Naidu Subburayulu Munuswami Subbaiah Naidu (a.k.a. SMS) (15 March 1914 – 26 May 1979) was an Indian composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was one of the oldest music directors. He worked as an in-house music composer for Central Studios an ...

Konjum Salangai ''Konjum Salangai'' () is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language musical dance film directed by M. V. Raman. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, R. S. Manohar and Kumari Kamala. It was released on 14 January 1962. The film was dubbed into Telug ...

. Both Jayalakshmi and Rajalakshmi as music directors by the name Soolamangalam Sisters composed music for films like

Dharisanam ''Dharisanam'' is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by V. T. Arasu. The film stars A. V. M. Rajan and Pushpalatha. It was released on 6 February 1970. Plot Cast * A. V. M. Rajan * Pushpalatha * Srikanth * Cho * Ma ...

(1970), Tiger Thaathachari (1974), Appothe Sonnene Kettiya (1979) and Pillaiyar (1984). They also sang under their own compositions.

Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi

Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi

Deaths

Rajalakshmi died on 1 March 1992, aged only 51, because of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

and

gastritis Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...

which lasted for about 12 years. Jayalakshmi was strongly affected by her sister's death. She outlived her for 25 years and died at her home in Chennai on 29 June 2017, aged 80.

References

External links

Article on Soolamangalam Sisters in Kalyana Malai
* {{Authority control 1937 births 2017 deaths Tamil singers Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Sibling musical duos Indian musical duos Indian women classical singers Singers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian singers People from Thanjavur district 20th-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Tamil Nadu