Subhadra Thampuran no extra; voice that gave life to Poornathrayeesha Suprabhatam goes silent

By Express News Service
KOCHI: The voice that introduced the famed Sree Poornathrayeesha Suprabhatam has gone silent. Subhadra Thampuran, who was 84-years-old, left for the heavenly abode on Saturday.

A well-known Carnatic vocalist and musician, Subhadra Thampuran was born on June 4, 1938. Her mother and father have been Ratnam Thampuran, who had been the chairperson of Sangeetha Nataka Academy and Carnatic vocalist and in addition a famed mridangist V V M Vasudevan Namboothiripad.

Growing up in a house the partitions of which reverberated with the notes of Carnatic music, Subhadra too adopted the footsteps of her mother and father. She started her journey into the world of Carnatic music at seven years below the tutelage of her mom. Afterward, she continued studying below Kalyanasundaram Bhagvathar. When she turned 18, she carried out her first recital at Ernakulam TDM Hall.

From 1959 – 1962 she did the diploma course in Sangeetha Bhushanam at RLV College, Trippunithura. As a recent graduate simply out of school, Subhadra received a possibility to go on air at All India Radio’s Kozhikode station. She bagged the A grade from Akashvani’s Thrissur station and for the previous 40 years, she has been a daily on AIR and in addition on the Guruvayur Chembai Sangeetholsavam.

She first scored the music of ‘Sree Poornathrayeesha Suprabhatam’, penned by one other member of the Cochin royal household, the late Manku Thampuran of Mangalalayam Palace. It was within the early Seventies. It was an providing to the household deity, Poornathrayeeshan. Each stanza was tuned in several ragas reminiscent of bhowli, ananda bhairavi, shanmukhapriya and many others.

Till lately AIR used to broadcast the Suprabhatam in the course of the first day of Vrischikolsavam at Sree Poornathrayeesha temple. Subhadra inherited a style for music from her mom who belongs to the Thavazi (household) of erstwhile Cochin king Chowara Theeppetta Valia Thampuran. Subhadra has carried out concert events at Guruvayoor Ekadashi Vilakku, Ashtami at Vaikkom Mahadeva temple, and in addition in the course of the Vrischikolsavam at Sree Poornathrayeesha temple.

She has been honoured with many awards together with the Sangeetha Poornasree Puraskaram, instituted by the Poornathrayee Foundation of Jayaprakasha Sangeetha Parishad. It was awarded to her for her providers in popularising the compositions of Poornathrayee Jayaprakash praising Lord Sree Poornathrayeeshan. Subhadra Thampuran is survived by two sons Hari Rama Varma and Unni Kerala Varma, who’s a mridangam participant.