Thanjavur Brinda (1912-1996) was one of the representatives of the

Veenai Dhanammal Veenai Dhanammal ( ta, வீணை தனம்மாள்) (1867–1938) was a highly accomplished Carnatic musician, and the torchbearer of the school of Carnatic music that goes by her name. She was both a vocalist and a performer on the S ...

school 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 ...

. She was primarily a vocalist, although she also played the

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.< ...

. She is affectionately referred to as 'Brindamma', by her fans.

Musical Style

Brinda was born on 05-November-1912 in a family devoted to music. Brinda's grandmother, the legendary

, and mother Kamakshi were from Devadasi tradition. Her mother Kamakshi and father Soundararaja Iyengar were not legally married, and Brinda grew up in Dhanammal's extended family. Brinda had much of her initial training from her mother Kamakshi. This training was in the

style, a style of

known for its unhurried, alluring movements, as also for its use of intricate gamakas (graces) in the handling of

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

s (modes). Grandmother Dhanammal herself taught Brinda some compositions. Additionally, Brinda trained for a substantial length of time under Shri Kanchipuram Naina Pillai, whose style of music was marked by agility and robustness in laya (rhythm). After her training under Naina Pillai, Brinda learnt from her maternal aunt Lakshmiratnam. She rendered

s that featured complex patterns and subtle gamakas, such as Begada, Mukhari, Sahana, Suruti,

Varali Varali or Varaali (pronounced varāḷi) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is classified either as the 39th mela kartha raga or as a ''janya'' rāgam (derived scale) of the 39th ''melakarta'' scale ...

and Yadukulakambhoji. She was a repository of

Kshetrayya Kshetrayya ( Telugu:క్షేత్రయ్య) (–1680) was a prolific Telugu poet. He lived in the area of Andhra Pradesh in South India. He composed a number of ''padams'' and ''keertanas'', the prevalent formats of his time. He is c ...

padams and javalis (romantic compositions rich in musical content) and many rare compositions of the

Trinity of Carnatic Music The Trinity of Carnatic music, also known as The Three Jewels of Carnatic music, refer to the outstanding trio of composer-musicians of Carnatic music in the 18th century, being Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Prolific in compo ...

and

Patnam Subramania Iyer Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845 – July 31, 1902) was a composer and singer of Carnatic music. Subramaniya Iyer followed the traditions of the great composer Tyagaraja. He has left behind almost one hundred compositions. Subramaniya Iyer was bor ...

. In her earlier years, Brinda performed extensively with her younger sister, T. Muktha. Brinda and Mukta were often joined in their concerts by their violinist sister Abhiramasundari (1918-1973) but she succumbed to tuberculosis. In her later years (from 1970s onwards), she often performed with her daughter Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan. Like her mother, Vegavahini played Veena as well. Brinda did not wish to record commercially, hence only private recordings of her performances are available. Brinda was also a visiting artist at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

from 1968–69 and 1977-78. Brinda used to attend Tyagaraja Aradhana in Tiruvaiyyaru, but when their age slowed them in their 80s, she and M S Subbulakshmi would sometimes attend the one at the Tyagaraja Sangeeta Vidwat Samajam in Mylapore. She died on 06-August-1996, aged 83.

Legacy

Many talented and popular musicians were attracted by Brinda's musical scholarship and expertise, and trained under her.

ians such as

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

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

M.S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian ...

have learnt from her. The musicians

Ramnad Krishnan Ramnad Krishnan (14 September 1918 – 29 January 1973) was a vocalist in the Carnatic music, Carnatic tradition. Krishnan did his schooling in Ramnad in Madras Presidency. His elder brother Prof. V Lakshminarayana took him to C. S. Sankarasivam ...

Aruna Sairam Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy (India's premier ...

Chitravina Ravikiran Narasimhan Ravikiran (born 12 February 1967) is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iye ...

, B. Krishnamoorthy, Chitravina Ganesh, K.N. Shashikiran, Kiranavali Vidyasankar, Geetha Raja and B. Balasubrahmaniyan have been Brinda's full-time students. She taught music to other disciples like Sakuntala Narasimhan, R K Srikanthan, Dr Ritha Rajan, and Alamelu Mani. Her grandson and direct disciple Thiruvarur S. Girish is also an accomplished Carnatic musician.

Awards

Sangeetha Kalasikhamani Sangeetha Kalasikhamani or Sangita Kalasikhamani (Sanskrit: saṅgītakalāśikhāmaṇi) (sangeetha = music, kala = art, sikhamaṇi = A gem of a diadem or crest) is the title awarded yearly to an expert Carnatic music Carnatic music, kno ...

award bestowed by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai in 1973 * The

award, considered the highest honour for a Carnatic musician, in 1976

References

External links

An article on Brinda
from The Hindu, newspaper.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinda, T Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients 1912 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award