Akkarai S Subhalakshmi, Indian classical (Carnatic) violinist and vocalist, took the music world by storm at the tender age of eight, and her music continues to touch the hearts of countless music lovers around the world. She and her sister Akkarai S Sornalatha, renowned as ‘Akkarai Sisters’, hold the unique distinction of being amongst the foremost artistes in the field as both vocal and violin duettists, as well as accompanists for many leading musicians.
Subhalakshmi hails from a musical family; her grandfather Suchindram Shri S P Sivasubramaniam was a multifaceted genius renowned as a violinist, vocalist, and composer; and her grandmother Smt R Sornambal was a Harikatha exponent and a music teacher. Subhalakshmi is the disciple of her father, Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan, a veteran violinist and founder of the Swara Raga Sudha school of music. Under his intensive training, she began her career in both vocal and violin by the age of eight, stunning audiences with a skill and maturity belying her years. Subhalakshmi also trained under Shri V Janakiraman, Shri O V Subramanian, and his daughter Smt Padma Natesan in New Delhi, and later on, Shri P S Narayanaswamy and Chitravina Shri N Ravikiran.
One of today’s leading Indian classical violinists, Subhalakshmi is known for her unique tone reminiscent of the human voice, and her soulful music is a harmonious blend of virtuosity on the violin and the fine nuances of Indian classical music. She is equally enthralling as a vocalist with her mellifluous voice and depth of creativity and sensitivity. She had the unique distinction of performing right from her teenage years alongside legends like Dr M Balamuralikrishna, T V Gopalakrishnan, Dr N Ramani, R K Srikanthan, T K Murthy, Palghat R Raghu, Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, Vikku Vinayakaram, and A K Pazhanivel. Her accompaniment is renowned for her natural ability to adapt to any style and enhance and enliven the music.
Subhalakshmi has performed widely in India, and abroad in Japan, Singapore, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Israel, and so on. Her international debut was in Moscow at the age of thirteen for the Indo-Russian cultural exchange programme. She has been featured at the Théâtre de la Ville Festival (Paris), the farewell concert for Zubin Mehta (Munich), BBC Radio and Queen Elizabeth Hall (U.K.), Kalman Sultanik Confederation House (Israel), Lincoln Center (USA), Umeå Jazzfestival (Sweden), Rashtrapati Bhavan (New Delhi, India), a special duet with her sister for the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the Chief Minister and Governor of Tamil Nadu, and so on. She has also given talks and lecture-demonstrations on Carnatic music, the art of accompaniment, and so on, at MIT Boston, Royal College of Music Stockholm, and other prestigious institutions around the world.
Subhalakshmi was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Puraskar award by the President of India at the age of thirteen, and has since earned a host of awards, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar award from the Sangeet Natak Akademy (2007), the prestigious ‘Kalaimamani’ from the Government of Tamil Nadu (awarded alongside her sister in 2019), to mention a few. In 2019, she became the youngest violinist to achieve the A-Top Grade at All India Radio and Doordarshan. She had been proclaimed as one of India’s 50 emerging stars by The Week magazine’s special issue commemorating 50 years of Indian independence.
Subhalakshmi’s first album was a rare feat featuring her vocal with her own violin accompaniment at the age of fifteen. Her other albums include ‘Keeravani’ and ‘Varali’, and duets with her sister such as ‘Double Bow’, ‘Ananda Tandavam’, ‘Inta Saukhyam’, and Charsur’s ‘December Season’ series. A highly-sought after teacher, she has benefited many students around the world with her deep musical knowledge and experience.
She attributes all her success to her gurus, especially her father Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan, who established her as a musician and continues to guide her.