Carnatic vocalist Jayalakshmi Santhanam, who was popular both in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, died here on Saturday. She was 86 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Family played a crucial role in shaping Jayalakshmi as a musician and she imbibed music by listening to her mother Muthulakshmi. Her elder brother was V.V. Sadagopan, an actor and professor of music at Delhi University.
Her family lived in Thiruvananthapuram and her initial training was under Rukmini Sunderrrajan, wife of her eldest brother Sunderrajan. She won a gold medal when she was seven. Many well-known musicians used to visit her house.
“They took me to concerts and competitions and introduced me to veterans like Brinda/Mukta and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer,” Jayalakshmi recalled in an interview to The Hindu in 2007.
She used to accompany her sister-in-law Rukmini, who learnt music from Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavathar and Sattur A.G. Subramania Iyer and learnt advanced lessons in music.
She lived for several years in Andhra Pradesh, as her husband Santhanam worked in Hyderabad. Though she admired M.S. Subbulakshmi and M.L. Vasanthakumari, her all-time favourite was D.K. Pattammal.
“I wish I had been born a kitten in D.K. Pattammal’s house,” she would say.
