A versatile and research scholar, gifted with mellifluous voice, Prameela Gurumurthy is capable of delivering notations with ease. Having won several scholarships in academic and music fields, her confidence makes her excel in whatever she does. Currently, she heads the Department of Indian Music at the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Madras University. To her credit, she has introduced postgraduate programmes in bharatanatyam and Rhythmology and twin major courses, which have Bharatanatyam and Dramaturgy.
Prameela holds a master’s degree in Indian philosophy and music.
She had learnt Hindustani classical music from Krishnanand of the Kirana Gharana founded by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.
Her most befitting compliment was from the doyen of carnatic music, vocal maestro Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, when he said, “Prameela sings both carnatic and Hindustani music, in their distinct styles and purity, achieving the great task of not mixing them.”
Her performances, lectures and musical discourse have taken her across the world. With a justifiable pride, she claims her book is hailed as the only well documented work on this art form and is highly acclaimed. Prameela has also made a special study of the ancient Tamil musical forms like Thevaram, Divya Prabandham, Tiruppugazh and the compositions of Gopalakrishna Bharati, Vallalar, Papanasam Sivan and Periasamy Thooran.
She says that the advanced training she had in carnatic music from T K Govinda Rao, Mudicondan, B Rajam Iyer T M Thiyagarajan, T Muktha , and her tutelage under Harikatha expert C Banni Bai and Embar Vijayaraghavachariariar have provided her with a strong foundation in imbibing Tamil culture.
A visibly excited Prameela fondly remembers Musiri Subramaniya Iyer’s advice to take music as a full-time career. She says that she still has the the letter of appreciation she had received from Professor Sambamurthy.
Her joy knew no bounds when she found both M S Subbulakshmi and Sadasivam in the company of Professor Sambamoorthy, gracing her music concert in Tamil Isai Sangam.
Prameela and her husband had documented the 72-mela compositions of Kotiswara Iyer sung by her father-in-law, which is available in cassette and CD formats.
“I have acquired a fine repertoire of songs in different languages and if I am able to popularise this along with our traditional forms of music to people all over, my life-long ambition will get fulfilled,” she adds.
Her doctorate titled Kathakalashepa, is a study on musical discourse of the different States of India.
Prameela has also bagged the National Scholarship from the Government of India.