Poongani

Poongani

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Category: Music , Art

Poongani Profile

  • Name:
  • Poongani
  • Died:
  • November 2, 2018
  • Spouse:
  • Thangapandian

Poongani Biography

Poongani, also called Poongani Ammal and Poongani Amma was a folk artist and Villu Paatu artist from Tamil Nadu. She lived during the period, 1934 – 2018. When she passed away most recently on 2 November 2018, she was the oldest performer of Villu paatu in the country. Following her husband’s death in 2015 Poongani lived in penury on a small pension in Kottaaram near Nagercoil during her last days. Her husband was also a performing artist of Villu Paatu. Lady Kash who visited her during her last days had created a song named "Villupattu" in her honour. She was a recipient of the Om Muthu Mari Award of the University of Madras and many other honours.

 

Poongani was born in 1934 in Saravanan Theri near Agastheeswaram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu during British rule. She could study till 4th grade. A turning point occurred in her life when she saw a troupe performing the villu paatu at a local temple. She was only 10 or 12 years old then. Encouraged by two women artists, she decided to try this traditional art form, a musical story-telling tradition, when Hindu mythological stories are performed most.

 

Later she started performing with a local troupe, and married one of its artists – Thangapandian. She was only 15 years old then, and later they performed together for many years. She started off as a percussionist of the clay pot, before graduating to singing. She performed for long 5 decades in different parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, before she retired at the age of 70. She knew almost the entire classical repertoire of the villu paatu. She lived alone after her husband’s death in 2015, and the only source of income was 1000 rupees government pension. This legendary artist passed away in 2018 aged 84.

 

Published: February 27, 2019

Updated: February 27, 2019

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