Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi

Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi was a famous Carnatic singer, musician, and lyricist in the Tamil music and film industry. She was widely known as one of the members of the sisters duo Soolamangalam Sisters, who sang several devotional songs in Tamil, including the famous devotional song Kanda Shasti Kavasam, devoted to Lord Muruga. 

Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi was born on November 6, 1940, in  Soolamangalam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, to her parents-Karnam Ramaswmai Ayyar and Janaki Ammal. She had an elder sister- Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi was a famous Carnatic si >> Read More... , who was the other member of the sister duo-Soolamangalam Sisters and also had a younger sister-Saraswathi and a younger brother-Sethuraman.

Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, along with her elder sister, learned classical music from many talented musicians like K.G. Murthi, Pathamadai, S. Krishnan, and Mayavaram Venugopalayyar, after they moved to Chennai with their uncle, Swaminathan, after their father’s untimely death. She received training for more than thirty years and has sung many devotional songs like Kanda Shasti Kavasam and Skanda Guru Kavasam. 

Apart from singing devotional songs, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi sung for many feature films like Krishna Bakthi (1948), Aan (1952), Amarakavi (1952), Maappillai (1952), Velaikaran (1952), Kalyanam Panniyum Brammachari (1954), Kanavu (1954), Thuli Visham (1954), Menaka (1955), Baagyavathi (1957), Engal Kudumbam Perisu (1958), Mala Oru Mangala Vilakku (1959), Petra Manam (1960), Naaga Nandhini (1961), Sengamala Theevu (1962), Chittoor Rani Padmini (1963), Karnan (1963), Muradan Muthu (1964), Bama Vijayam (1967), Bhakta Prahlada (1967), Thirumal Perumai (1968), Vietnam Veedu (1970), Raman Thediya Seethai (1972), Sri Krishna Leela (1977), Appothe Sonnene Kettiya (1979), and Pillaiyar (1984). Apart from singing for Tamil films, she has also sung in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films like Aathmaarpanam (1956), Bhakta Markandeya (1956), Ratnagiri Rahasyam (1957), School Master (1958), Kanaka Durga Pooja Mahima (1960), Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960), Korada Veerudu (1961), Nagarjuna (1962), Vishnu Maya (1963), Muthalali (1965), Padavidhara (1967), Bageerathi (1969), Sri Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama (1971), and many more.

 Though Soolamangalam Rajakshmi often sang with her sister, she also worked independently for some feature films with legendary musicians like Kunnadkudi Venkatarama Iyer, Naushad, G. Ramanathan, M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, N.S. Balakrishnan, M.S. Rajeswari, T.G. Lingappa, R. Sudarsanam, T.R. Mahalingam, V. Nagayya, Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy, P.B. Sreenivas, R. Parthasarathy, K.V. Mahadevan, C. N. Pandurangan, M.L. Vasanthakumari, Rajan-Nagendra, T.M. Soundararajan, Ghantasala, Seerkazhi Govindarajan, L.R. Eswari, T.R. Pappa, P. Susheela, S. Janaki, K.J. Yesudas, Kunnadkudi Vaidyanathan, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Shankar-Ganesh, and many more. 

Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi also sang in many sabha concerts over the years and has received many awards like Muruga Ganamrtha, Kuyil Isai Thilakam, Isaiarasi, Nadhakanal and the prestigious Kalaimamani along with her sister-Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi. Sadly, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi passed away on March 1, 1992, due to cardiac arrest, at the age of 51.