| S. A. Kumari Durga | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1, 1940 Kumbakonam |
| Residence | Chennai |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Doctorate in ethnomusicology |
| Alma mater | Loyola College, Chennai, Wesleyan University, Yale University |
| Known for | Ethnomusicologist |
| Home town | Kumbakonam |
| Parents | S. A. Venkatarama Iyer, Lalithabai |
Dr. S. A. Kumari Durga (born June 1, 1940) is a musicologist and ethnomusicologist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She is the founder of the Centre for Ethnomusicology based in Chennai.
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Durga was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on June 1, 1940 to S. A. Venkatarama Iyer and Lalithabai.[1][2] Durga had her initial coaching in Carnatic music from her mother, Lalithabai,[3] who was a reputed harikatha expert and a disciple of Rajamanickam Pillai.[1] Her grandfather, S. A. Swaminatha Iyer, was a famous patron of Carnatic music.[4] She began having music lessons from Tirukkodikaval Venkatarama Iyer at the age of eight[4] and from Madurai Mani Iyer at the age of eleven.[4] She had her advanced training from T. Viswanathan and Balamuralikrishna.[1][3] She learnt Hindustani classical music from Ustad Mohammed Munnawar of Delhi.[3]
Durga pursued her postgraduate education in voice culture at the University of Madras.[5] As a part of her studies in voice culture, she studied physiology under ENT doctors M.S. Venkataraman and S. Ramasamy.[5] On completion of her postgraduate degree, she worked as a lecturer at the university from 1976 to 1979.[5] During her service as lecturer, she was invited to participate at the International Institute for Experimental Research in Singing at Denver, Colorado, where her paper on "Voice Abuse and misuse" was adjudged the best. She completed her doctorate in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University, USA.[5][6] On March 8, 1984, she performed at a celebration marking the 150th anniversary of Wesleyan University.[7]
On obtaining her doctorate, Durga carried out a comparative study of Gregorian and Vedic chants and Thevaram hymns as a part of her post-doctoral research work at Yale University.[5][8]
In 1984, Durga was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt International Fellowship of International Federation of University of Women.[5][9] She was awarded the title "Skylark of India" by the American Theatre Group of New York[5] and the Gnana Samudhra award by "Samudhra" magazine on the occasion of its fourth anniversary.[5]
Durga served as the Professor Emeritus of the Department of Indian music at the University of Madras[8] for four years[5] and founded the centre of Ethnomusicology in Chennai and currently serves as its director.[8][10] Durga is the first Asian to have written a book on ethnomusicology.[4]
From January 25, 2000 to May 23, 2000, Durga wrote a weekly column on ethnomusic for chennaionline.com.[11] She was one of the participants at the First International Conference on Murugan held in Chennai between December 28 and December 30, 1998[12] and in the Second International Murugan Conference held in Mauritius between April 24 and April 29, 2001, where she delivered a lecture on "Lord Murugan in Nada Rupa — A critical study".[13]