If you look closely at the names of some of the most famous Carnatic Music singers, you will find that most of them are men. That is because classical music has, for far too long, been a male-dominated space in India. In fact, women were not even allowed to give public performances until a few years ago. This scenario changed drastically when rule-breakers like the famous trinity MS Subbulakshmi, DK Pattammal, and ML Vasanthkumari arrived onstage. Following their footsteps, some of the notable names are listed below.
- M. S. Subbulakshmi – Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi is the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna. Born in the temple town of Madhurai, she started performing at concerts from a very young age by accompanying her mother, a veena player. She trained under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, followed by learning Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas.
- D. K. Pattammal – Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal belonged to the ‘female trinity of Carnatic Music’ along with M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari. Pattammal’s singing career began at the age of 8 when she won first prize for singing Thyagaraja’s “Raksha Bettare” in Bhairavi. That was followed by her first public performance in Chennai at the age of 14.
- M. L. Vasanthakumari – Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari was a prime disciple of G. N. Balasubramaniam. She is the youngest female awardee to receive the Sangita Kalanidhi award. That was followed by a solo recital in Bengaluru two years later. One of her strongest suits is that she handled her ragas in a leisurely, exploratory, and adventurous manner.
- R. Vedavalli – Vidushi Smt. R. Vedavalli’s talent for music was identified early on by her father, Madurai Srirangam Iyengar. Later on, she came under the tutelage of Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer and, right from the early stage of her career, started winning several awards in prestigious competitions. She is one of the few women Carnatic singers to have received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award.
- Aruna Sairam – Aruna Sairan is the recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, which is India’s premier national institution for music and dance. Aruna learned under the guidance of Sangeeta Kalanithi, T.Brinda, and others. Sairam has recorded over 60 records as of 2019.
- Bombay Sisters – C. Saroja and C. Lalitha are famous Carnatic music singers’ duo born in Trichur, Kerala. Their musical training occurred under the tutelage of H. A. S. Mani, Musiri Subramania Iyer, and T. K. Govinda Rao. The Bombay sisters won the Padmashri award in 2020. The duo began singing in 1963 with light classical music, followed by a progression to classical Carnatic music.
- Nithyasree Mahadevan – Also known as S. Nithyashri, she is one of the top Carnatic singers who has performed all major sabhas in India and has been known to have released more than 500 albums throughout her singing career till now. The most well-known is her rendition of the A. R. Rahman composition, “Kannodu Kaanbadhellam.”
- Sudha Raghunathan – Besides being a Carnatic vocalist, Sudha is also a distinguished singer and composer. She started training under her mother, Smt. Choodamani began at the age of 9. Later she continued to learn under Sri. B.V. Lakshmanan. She was one of the few young vocalists who received an Indian government scholarship that prompted her to study music under Dr M.L Vasantha Kumari.
- Bombay Jayashri – Bombay Jayashri Ramnath began her early years of training with her parents Smt. Seethalakshmy Subramaniam and Shri. N.N. Subramaniam. Later continued to learn under Lalgudi Jayaraman and T R Balamani. She has recently been the recipient of the Padmashri award by the Government of India.
- Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam – She is a famous Carnatic music singer who began her career at the age of 12 by performing extensively in India and abroad. She is a notable researcher of music and penned a book called Apoorva Kriti Manjari – a collection of twenty rare compositions of the Trinity of Carnatic Music in 2007.
These 10 female Carnatic music singers have made their mark in the Carnatic music industry by their sheer hard work, passion, and talent.
Author Bio:
Reema Krishnan – Reema Krishnan is a content creator at Acharyanet, a platform for Carnatic music learners where they can learn music from gurus through 400+ video lessons. Being a music enthusiast and a history buff herself, she is able to provide value for her readers and her content is well-received by musicians, music lovers, and music learners of all ages and at all stages. She loves to volunteer with music therapy groups and bakes up a storm in her free time.