Seetha Doraiswamy jaladarangam

[venkatakailasam]

Musical waves with water

"A set of porcelain cups filled with water, two bamboo sticks, a 79-year-old woman striking the cups, and presto, you have the strains of a carnatic ragam. Seetha Doraiswamy, jalatarangam artiste, wields the sticks with joyous abandon and with an agility that belies her age. "

"Born on January 27, 1926, Seethalakshmi, as Seetha (Doraiswamy) was known, trained from the age of seven under P.S.Seetharama Bhagavatar and later enrolled herself at the Summer School of Indian Music run by P. Sambamurthy. She later learnt the jalatarangam from Ramaniah Chetty, one of the founding members of the Music Academy. She joined the Teachers College of Music run by the Music Academy and graduated from there in 1941, winning a gold medal.

She also learnt to play the veena, Suryanarayana Sastri being the guru. Although she was a regular AIR performer from a young age, Seetha Doraiswamy is best known for her jalatarangam concerts, presented in India and abroad, winning praise from audiences and the press.

Commending her efforts in keeping this rare art alive, the Music Academy conferred the TTK Memorial Award for 2007 on her."

A few clips showing her play the instrument have been posted at You Tube at my channal

http://www.youtube.com/user/vkailasam today

The songs are:
1) Vatapi ganapathim
2) Sudhamye
3)Kapali
4) Nagumomu
5) Neethu mahima

venkatakailasam

[padmarajagopal]

I listened to one recording of Seetha mami in Jaya tv I think. Is mami giving concerts still?

[smala]

Thank you very much for all the Seetha mami uploads - she is a powerhouse, amazing!

[rbharath]

i remember seeing her attending concerts even last year, however i think advancing age has indeed struck her.

i have not heard of her performing anywhere in recent times. guess she is too old now. must be in her 80s.


She was also one of the madisAr wearing performers for her generation of people, it wasnt anything great to mention about though.