DKP and her three brothers grew up in Thumbavanam Agraharam, in Kanchipuram. “Our mother Kanthimathi (Rajammal) was a lady of many dimensions. Our maternal grandfather was a Superintendent of Police in Hyderabad, and Rajammal learnt horse riding! Our maternal grandfather taught her music, because every Brahmin girl had to know a few songs before her marriage. But mother proved that she could sing much more than mere ‘kalyana paattu.’ She never gave any concerts, because Brahmin women never sang in public at that time. Mother taught us many kritis, although, after Pattamma became famous, she would tell me that she was scared to sing in Pattamma’s presence,” says 94-year-old D.K. Nagarajan, the only surviving brother of DKP.
“When our father suggested that Pattammal should sing kutcheris, my eight athais objected vehemently, and said if she sang in public, no one would marry her. But Pattammal had sung before Paramacharya, and he had told father, ‘Your daughter has Saraswathi kataksham. Nobody can stop her from becoming a famous musician.’ So, father ignored the objections of his sisters.”
“Seated on the swing in our Kanchipuram house, Ranganathan anna, our eldest brother, would review Pattammma’s singing. She valued his opinion very much,” says Nagarajan. When the family moved to Madras, they took up residence in Purasawalkam.
When did Nagarajan start singing with DKP? “When I was five years old. Every month she had at least ten concerts. Once when I was around eight, DKP took me with her to Meignanapuram. We travelled in a irattai maattu vandi (bullock cart) from Tiruchendur to Meignanapuram. The shops in Meignanapuram closed only at 8.30 p.m. So, the kutcheri began at 9 p.m. and went on till 3 a.m.!”
Did he not feel sleepy? “Father was playing the tambura, and I didn’t dare fall asleep.”
Although Pattammal’s athais had warned that DKP wouldn’t find a suitable match, it turned out that Krishnaswamy Diskhitar didn’t have to take the trouble to find a groom for his daughter. Dr. Srinivasan, a Gandhian, who lived near Rangaswamy kulam, in Kanchipuram, suggested that Dikshitar give his daughter in marriage to Srinivasan’s nephew, Iswaran. But Dikshitar passed away before the marriage, which took place in Tiruchanur. When she had to leave for Iswaran’s house, Pattammal was distraught at the thought of being separated from her family, and so Ranganathan sent Nagarajan along with her, to Pollachi, where Iswaran lived. “Her remuneration in those days was 500 rupees for a concert, and that soon increased to thousand.”
Later Iswaran moved to Madras. Nagarajan recalls a ride on Iswaran’s motorbike, in Madras. A cow gave chase, and Nagarajan, who was the pillion rider kept urging Iswaran to drive faster, for the cow was gaining on them. The result was that the bike skidded and they fell off. The cow, frightened by the commotion, ran off. When the injured duo got home, Pattammal gave her brother a good scold. “She was so frightened by the incident, that she never travelled even a short distance on motorbike,” recalls Nagarajan, with a chuckle.
Did DKP watch films? “She liked to watch mythologicals. Ranaganathan anna took her to Sampoorna Ramayanam , and she wept throughout. She continued to weep even after she returned home!”
Pattammal bought her first car in 1949. “It was a Chevrolet Fleetmaster and she came to my wedding in that car,” says Nagarajan.
“When Pattamma athai lived in Kuppuswami Street, T. Nagar, she reared cows, and despite her busy schedule, she would spend some time with them, talking to them!” says Krishnan, Nagarajan’s son. “My wedding took place in athai’s house in Srinagar Colony, which was where their son Sivakumar had also been married. It was only later that they sold this house and moved to Kotturpuram. And even in Kotturpuram, she had the 1949 Chevy for some years!”
