Akkarai Sisters, S Subhalakshmi and S Sornalatha, are among India’s most distinguished musicians today. Hailing from a family with a rich musical background and having learnt under illustrious gurus, they hold the unique distinction of being amongst the foremost artistes in the field as both vocal & violin duettists, as well as accompanists for many eminent musicians.
Violin duet by young Subhalakshmi and her father Swamynathan
Young Subhalakshmi and Sornalatha at the Sopan Festival, Delhi
Inspiration
The sisters were born to Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan and Smt A Janaghi in Nagercoil, a small town in southern Tamil Nadu, India. They grew up in an environment teeming with music; their grandfather Suchindram Shri S P Sivasubramaniam was a multifaceted genius renowned as a vocalist, violinist, and composer, and their grandmother Smt R Sornambal was a music teacher and Harikatha exponent. Their father and guru, Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan, who worked with Indian Bank as manager, is also a renowned violinist and highly sought-after teacher.
In this atmosphere of music, music became like a first language for the toddlers. The elder, Subhalakshmi, soon began training intensively under their father Swamynathan, initially in vocal music. When she was four, Swamynathan sent her on an overnight bus ride from Chennai to Nagercol to spend quality musical time with their grandparents. There, Subhalakshmi performed with her grandmother at one of her Harikatha concerts, and instantly won the hearts of all. As Subhalakshmi learned and grew in her art, her sister Sornalatha, keen and ever-present, proved sharp enough to quickly grasp the musical knowledge that was imparted to her sister.
Sadhana
Some years later, the family moved to Delhi, and at age seven, Subhalakshmi began her rigorous training on the violin. Daily practice lasted hours and mainly included long sessions of playing accompaniment for recordings and radio broadcasts of legendary stalwarts. This technique was devised by Swamynathan to help Subhalakshmi engage with the best of Carnatic music across time and distance. Thus she developed an ability to quickly grasp and adapt to the various musical styles instantaneously and naturally complementing the music of any artiste. Being in Delhi, Subhalakshmi also had extensive exposure to Hindustani classical music, and benefited a lot from practising with the Hindustani radio broadcasts as well. By the age of eight, she began to perform solos and violin duets with her father.
In Delhi, the sisters learnt from Shri V Janakiraman, a kind-hearted and generous guru whose music school, Naada Brahma Vidhyaalaya, has produced some of today’s well-known violin exponents. Subhalakshmi and Sornalatha also underwent vocal training with Shri O V Subramaniam and his daughter Smt Padam Natesan both dedicated and much sought after gurus.
Vocal duet by Subhalakshmi and Sornalatha, accompanied by Swamynathan on the violin
The Akkarai Trio
Subhalakshmi receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Puraskar from the President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma
Maiden vocal duet concert in Chennai (1999).
Rising stars
The young duo made big waves in the field of Carnatic music & won critical acclaim. Maestro Shri T V Gopalakrishnan recognized Subhalakshmi as a child prodigy and invited her to perform a violin solo at his festival when she was barely eleven. Since Carnatic concerts were few & far between in Delhi, Swamynathan had Subhalakshmi play for renowned dancers, and reviews for these concerts contained special mention of young Subhalakshmi, at times even a whole paragraph. The sisters also began to win many competitions and awards, such as Kalashree, the Delhi State First Award, Kala Bhushan, Sangeetha Visharada and many others. Thirteen-year-old Subhalakshmi had the privilege of representing her country at the Indo-Russian Cultural Exchange Programme held in Moscow. Following this, the Government of India felicitated her with the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Puraskar’, awarded by the then President of India Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma.
In 1998, Subhalakshmi performed both vocal and violin on Vijay TV in Chennai, the capital for Carnatic music, and this performance was an instant hit. Concert opportunities started pouring in, and later that year, the sisters debuted in the iconic Chennai Margazhi Season with a vocal duet at Hamsadhwani, bringing Subhalakshmi and Sornalatha firmly into the minds of the Chennai discerning music-lovers. Immediately after, Subhalakshmi masterfully accompanied another teenage sensation, Abhishek Raghuram, at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club, a concert which is still talked about today. Following this, the family moved back to Chennai, where the musical family could fulfil its dreams.
In Chennai, the sisters underwent further vocal training with Padma Bhushan Shri P S Narayanaswamy, one of the most highly respected gurus in the field, and gained many valuable musical insights under him. Subhalakshmi also gained invaluable learning experience performing with chitravina Shri N Ravikiran in many major concerts and tours.
Greater Horizons
Subhalakshmi also had the privilege of performing with stalwarts like Dr M Balamuralikrishna, Dr T V Gopalakrishnan, Shri R K. Shrikantan, Shri T K Govinda Rao, Dr N Ramani, while sharing the stage with legendary percussion artistes like mrdangam maestros Palghat Shri Raghu, Umayalpuram Shri K Sivaraman, and Trichy Shri Sankaran, kanjira wizard Shri G Harishankar, tavil legend Tanjavur Shri Govindarajan and many others. Sornalatha too had the good fortune of playing with eminent artists like Shri N Ravikiran, Hyderabad Sisters, Shri T M Krishna, Shri S Shashank, and tavil legend Tanjavur Shri Govindarajan. The sisters have had the privilege of being accompanied by tavil legend Aridwaramangalam Shri A K Pazhanivel and many other celebrated accompanists in their vocal and violin duet concerts.
Today, Akkarai Sisters are amongst the most celebrated names in Carnatic music. Their music have taken them to every corner of India and every part of the world, from Scandinavian jazz festivals, BBC Radio, the Confederation House in Jerusalem, and the Lincoln Center in New York, to countless other venues. They have released numerous albums, debuting with Subhalakshmi’s unprecedented ‘Abhishta Varada’, featuring her vocals recorded over with her own violin accompaniment at age 15. The sisters have also carried forward the family’s legacy of imparting Carnatic music to several disciples, many of whom are skilful performing artistes themselves. The sisters have given talks and lectures on various topics, including the art of accompaniment, the symbiosis of vocal and violin in their art, and so on.
Sornalatha has also inherited her grandfather’s legacy as a composer. Her lyrics span four languages – Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, and Hindi – and many of her compositions feature a unique interplay of rhythm, lyrics, and melody, as well as a creativity in compositional structure, to make for intense and engaging experiences in a true reimagination of her grandfather’s compositional style. The sisters’ concerts frequently feature Sornalatha’s compositions, replete with moments that elicit great appreciation and even spontaneous applause from music-lovers.
Akkarai sisters receiving the state government’s prestigious ‘Kalaimamani’ award for the year 2019.
Akkarai Sisters with their father Akkarai S Swamynathan and mother A Janaghi
Thus Akkarai Sisters hold the extremely rare distinction in the Carnatic world as active and leading vocalists, violin duettists, violin accompanists, and, in the case of Sornalatha, composer as well. They attribute all their success thus far in their journey to the grace of the Almighty, to their gurus, especially their father, Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan, who still continues to guide them, and to their mother, Smt A Janaghi, who has been in every way the tower of care and strength in their lives.