Veenai Dhanammal Biography 
Veenai Dhanammal was a highly acclaimed Veena artist who lived during the period 1867–1938. A torchbearer and trendsetter of Carnatic music, she was a vocalist as well as percussionist. As a master of traditional music instrument Veena, the tag ‘Veenai’ was prefixed along with her name. She was the most prominent veena player during her time. She developed her own style of Veena playing, which is now known by the name - Veena Dhanammal Bani. It’s a unique blend of traditional values with music expression. She mainly focused on Raga bhava.
Dhanammal was born into a musical family in George Town, Chennai in the year 1867. Her artistic family had several professionals and experts in dancing and singing. Her grandmother Kamakshiamma was a famous vocalist and dancer. Her brother Narayanaswami was a famous violinist. Her mother Sundaramma was also a trained singer, trained by famous vocalist Subbaraya Sastri. Dhanammal received initial training in music from her mother and later from several well-known musicians. Some of those names include Padam Baladas, -Sathanur Panchanada Ayyar, Alasingarayya, Balakrishnayya, Dharmapuri Subbaraya Ayyar etc. Dhanammal became an expert in singing as well as veena and she practised both.
Her Friday concerts at her home were quite popular. She believed Veena to be a complete music instrument and for the same reason she never used Tanpura or Mridangam accompaniment in her music concerts. Very often she sings while playing Veena. She developed Veena Dhanammal Bani which is still followed by many musicians for composing new tunes. Among those compositions, javali and padam are still preserved by her predecessors. Contemporary exponents of her style include Padma Varadan and K. G. Vijayakrishnan.
Published: N/A
Updated: September 01, 2014
