S. A. K. Durga

S. A. Kumari Durga (1 June 1940 – 20 November 2016) was a musicologist and ethnomusicologist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She was the founder of the Centre for Ethnomusicology based in Chennai.

Early life Durga was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on 1 June 1940 to S. A. Venkatarama Iyer and Lalithabai. Durga had her initial coaching in Carnatic music from her mother, Lalithabai, who was a reputed harikatha expert and a disciple of Rajamanickam Pillai. She began having music lessons from Tirukkodikaval Venkatarama Iyer at the age of eight As a part of her studies in voice culture, she studied physiology under ENT doctors M.S. Venkataraman and S. Ramasamy. On 8 March 1984, she performed at a celebration marking the 150th anniversary of Wesleyan University.

On obtaining her doctorate, Durga carried out a comparative study of Gregorian and Vedic chants and Thevaram hymns as a part of her post-doctoral research work at Yale University.

Awards and honors

In 1984, Durga was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt International Fellowship of International Federation of University of Women. She was awarded the title "Skylark of India" by the American Theatre Group of New York Durga is the first Asian to have written a book on ethnomusicology. She was one of the participants at the First International Conference on Murugan held in Chennai between 28 and 30 December 1998 and in the Second International Murugan Conference held in Mauritius between 24 and 29 April 2001, where she delivered a lecture on "Lord Murugan in Nada Rupa – A critical study".

Publications