Parassala B. Ponnammal Biography 
Parassala B. Ponnammal is a Carnatic vocalist from Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram. She is a student of legendary Carnatic musicians - Papanasam Sivan, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Currently she is one of the foremost Carnatic musicians from the state of Kerala. For his overall contributions towards the field of music, Government of India honoured him with the fourth highest civilian honour - Padma Shri in 2017. In calendar year 2009, she received Sree Guruvayurappan Chembai Puraskaram, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram and S. Ganesha Sarma Award. She is a recipient of numerous other honours too.
Parassala B. Ponnammal, also referred to as Parassala Ponnammal was born to Mahadeva Iyer and Bhagavathy Ammal was born in 1924 in Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. She was introduced to formal training in Carnatic music as a child. When Swathi Thirunal College of Music was started in Thiruvananthapuram in the early 1940s, she was one among the first batch students. She passed out with first rank in "Gana Bushanam" and "Gana Praveena" courses of the music college.
After studies she started her professional career as a music teacher at Cotton Hill Girls High School in Thiruvnanthapuram. Then she moved to Swathi Thirunal College of Music (where she did her music courses) and became its first female faculty. She also continued with her Carnatic music concerts along with her teaching career. Later she became the principal of RLV College of Music and Fine Arts at Tripunithura and she was the first female to hold this position. On 23 September 2006 her name was entered into historic books when she sang at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram. She broke 300-year old tradition which forbids ladies from performing there.
Published: February 18, 2019
Updated: February 18, 2019
