Rajam Pushpavanam

Rajam Pushpavanam (1918–1991), was the daughter of the famous music vidwan Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, who had made his mark as a great carnatic musician. Rajam, a cousin of music maestro Madurai Mani Iyer, was a great singer in her own right.

Early life

Born in 1918 to Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer and Sundarathammal, she lost her father when she was about two or three years old. Raised by her mother and grandparents she took to music with a natural flair and became famous soon. She recorded an LP, in 1930, with Columbia Records, when she was just 12 years old.^[1][2] Katcheris followed in succession and she was a much sought after musician, from the late 1920s till the early 1940s.

She constructed a bungalow in the heart of Mylapore, after buying the land for Rs 4550, a princely sum in 1939 and registering it in her mother’s name. She was 21 years old then. She was probably the earliest among the women Carnatic vocalists who saw great success.

She wore the best of silk, gold and diamond studded jewelry and owned among other things, a fleet of cars. She had a driver license in 1940 and was the first among woman carnatic musicians to drive on her own. And it was also said there were only 4 women who drove cars, in Madras, those days.

V Sriram's article where he says Rajam Pushpavanam is the first female singer to drive cars

She had another first - she was the first woman music ^[3] director of the south. In 1937, she composed music for a film.

Personal life

At 22, she married S.R.Venkatraman, son of Swaminatha Iyer who had been the Divan (Minister) of the Ramnad kingdom. A son, Srinivasan, was born in 1942. In 1944, while she was away at a concert. he succumbed to a sudden attack of pneumonia and died. The loss shattered her and she gave up singing in concerts, completely retiring from the limelight. A career that should have been an illustrious one for a long time ended by the time she was just 25 years old.

Her focus now changed to her family, a great sacrifice from her side. She had four more children. Later in life, after the death of her husband, she took up to singing in the All India Radio and continued to do this for a couple of decades.

Other Interests

Versatile, she was fairly skilled at playing the violin though this was not her particular forte. And not many knew her penchant for other crafts, including building ships using beads, inside glass bottles, known as the “impossible bottle”. In her spare time, she took to training others, young and old, who sought her guidance in singing.

Death

She lived with her elder son all her life and in 1991 moved to her second son’s home in Secunderabad. She died on 8 December 1991. A great woman who had given her all to her family.

Her songs

A few of her songs are available on YouTube and one in Carnatica's old and rare recordings collection.^[4][5][6][7]

Gallery

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  Rajam Pushpavanam's LP Record, 1941

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  Rajam Pushpavanam's Columbia Record, 1941

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  Rajam Pushpavanam's LP Record Song

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  V Sriram's Article on Cars and Vidwans

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  Rajam Pushpavanam's 1940 Driving License

References