Parassala B. Ponnammal

Parassala B. Ponnammal (born 29 November 1924) is an Indian Carnatic musician. On 23 September 2006, she sang at the Navaratri Mandapam in Trivandrum, breaking 300 years of tradition that forbade women from performing at or attending the famed Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.This was made possible by Prince Rama Varma of the Travancore Royal Family.[1]

Parassala B. Ponnammal
Background information
Born29 November 1924
Parassala
OriginThiruvananthapuram(Valiasalai Street)
GenresIndian Classical Music
Occupation(s)Classical vocalist
Parassala Ponnammal sings at Doordarshan National Program of Music in 2009. Avaneeswaram Vinu (Violin), Erickavu N. Sunil (Mridangam), Trikkakkara Y N Santharam (Kanjira)

Early life

She was born to Mahadeva Iyer and Bhagavathy Ammal in a Kerala Iyer family in 1924 in Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district of the Indian state of Kerala.

Ponnammal started to learn carnatic music as a child. Ponnammal was the first female student to enroll in the newly started Swathi Thirunal College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram during the early 1940s and passed out from there with first rank in "Gana Bushanam" and "Gana Praveena" courses.

Ponnammal learned Carnatic music from several carnatic master singers. Shri. Papanasam Sivan, Shri. Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar and Shri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer were some of her teachers.[2]

Career

Ponnammal started her career as a music teacher by joining the Cotton Hill Girls High School in Thiruvnanthapuram. Later she became the first female member of the teaching faculty in the Swathi Thirunal College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram.[3] She was the first woman principal to head the RLV College of Music and Fine Arts at Tripunithura.[4]

She performed Guruvayur Puresa Suprabhatham,[5] Trisivapuresa Suprabhatahm, Ulsava Prabhandam, Navarathri Kriti, Meenambika Sthothram, along with compositions of Irayamman Thampi and Mr. K. C. Kesava Pillai.[6]

She has performed across India and abroad.[7]

Recognition

Her awards include:

Notable disciples

Aparna Murthy

References
  1. Krishnaraj.S. "CARNATIC MUSIC :: Prince Rama Varma : A legend in the Making". www.carnaticindia.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. "Grace Notes From Travancore". outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. Varma, Aswathi Thirunal Rama. "A rare gem of a musician". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  4. Ranee Kumar. "A doyen in her own right". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  5. "Parassala Ponnammal | S Mahadevan". S Mahadevan. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  6. "Ms. Parassala Ponnammal | Kerala Tourism". www.keralatourism.org. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  7. "പൊന്നമ്മാളിന്റെ സംഗീത യാത്രയ്ക്ക് പത്മശീയുടെ തിളക്കം". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  8. "Padma Awards". padmaawards.gov.in. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  9. "Minister A K Balan Presenting M G Radhakrishnan Award To Musician Parassala B Ponnammal". World News. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. "Honour for Parassala Ponnammal". article.wn.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  11. "Honour for Parassala Ponnammal - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  12. "Award for Ponnammal". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. "Awards for Vasudevan Potti, Parassala Ponnammal". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. "Sangeet Natak Academy awards 2009". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  15. "Swati Puraskaram announced". article.wn.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  16. Adroit. "Sree Guruvayurappan Chembai Puraskaram for vocalist Parassala Ponnammal - Carnatic Music News - Darbar for claissical music / claissical dance". www.carnaticdarbar.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
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