Parassala B. Ponnammal | |
|---|---|
 Ponnammal in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1924-11-29)29 November 1924 |
| Died | 22 June 2021(2021-06-22) (aged 96) Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala, India |
| Genres | Indian classical music |
| Occupation | Classical vocalist |
Parassala B. Ponnammal (29 November 1924 – 22 June 2021) was an IndianCarnatic musician from the south Indian state ofKerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in thelineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at theNavaratri Mandapam inThiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of theSri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
Ponnammal was a recipient of thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 2017. She was also a recipient of theSangeet Natak Akademi Award,Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award,Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship and the Kerala state government'sSwathi Sangeetha Puraskaram.
Ponnammal was born on 29 November 1924 inParassala, in the present-dayThiruvananthapuram district in the south Indian state ofKerala, to R. Mahadeva Iyer and A. Bhagavathy Ammal in aKerala Iyer family.[1] She started her studies incarnatic music as a child; during the early 1940s, she was the first female student to enroll in the newly startedSwathi Thirunal College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram, which was then known as Sree Swathi Thirunal Music Academy. She graduated from the academy with a first rank in "Gana Bhushanam" and "Gana Praveena" courses.[1]
She learned from several notable figures in carnatic music, includingPapanasam Sivan,Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar andSemmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.[2]
Ponnammal started her career as a music teacher by joining theCotton Hill Girls High School in Thiruvananthapuram. She later became the first female member of the teaching faculty at theSwathi Thirunal College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram.[3] She was the first woman principal to head theRLV College of Music and Fine Arts atTripunithura.[4] As a teacher, some of her disciples includedKumara Kerala Varma,Neyyattinkara Vasudevan,K. Omanakutty,A. K. Raveendranath,Nedumangad Sasidharan,M.G. Radhakrishnan,Palkulangara Ambika Devi,G. Seethalakshmi,S Mahadevan, Amruta Venkatesh.[5] Renowned Carnatic vocalist Mangad K. Natesan, his daughter Prof. (Dr.)Mini N and her husband Dr. Sajith E. N. and their daughter Dr. Mythili E. S. have also learned from her.[1]
Ponnammal was a carnatic musician in thelineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. Some of her performances included theGuruvayur Puresa Suprabhatham,[6]Trisivapuresa Suprabhatham,Ulsava Prabhandam,Navarathri Kriti,Meenambika Sthothram, in addition to compositions ofIrayamman Thampi andK. C. Kesava Pillai.[7][1]
She became the first woman to perform at theNavaratri celebrations of theSri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala when she performed at theNavarathri Mandapam in 1996. In doing so, she broke a centuries-old restriction that forbade women from performing at the temple.[8] She went on to perform there for the next ten years. She continued to perform across India and abroad through her 80s.[9][1][10]
Ponnammal was a recipient of thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor in 2017. She also received theKerala State Government'sSwathi Sangeetha Puraskaram, theSangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2009, and theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.[1]
Ponnammal was married to R. Devanayagam Iyer, who pre-deceased her. The couple had three sons - D. Mahadevan, D. Subramanian, D Ramaswamy - and a daughter, D Kamala. Her children Ramaswamy and Kamala pre-deceased her.[11][12] She died on 22 June 2021, at her home in Valiyassala, Thiruvananthapuram, aged 96.[13][14]
Her awards include: