Durga Subbulakshmi knew early on that Carnatic music would be her calling- after all, what nothing less could be expected from a third generation musician coming from a family of renowned musicians and performers.

Growing up, Durga had exposure to several art forms however she showed a great deal of interest in Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam. Hailing from a family of passionate musicians, art was an inseparable part of her and it was just a natural decision to become an artist and a performer.

Durga is the great granddaughter of Shri. Karaikudi Subbarama Iyer, who is one among the very few artists who could play Veena in the challenging ‘urdhva’ position, and the daughter of famous Mridangam exponent Shri. Karaikudi Krishnamurthy and Smt. Suseila Krishnamurthy, who is a trained musician from the Renowned Kalakshetra and the prestigious TN Government music college.

At the age of 6, she started taking Carnatic music lessons from her mother. Durga was eager to sing and had an uncanny knack of grasping tunes without having to listen to them repeatedly. But, more than anything, it was her hunger to learn and passion for music that allowed her to pick up the nitty gritty details and subtle nuances involved in the different technical aspects of Carnatic singing.

Right from the beginning she displayed a great sense of music, delighting her parents as she progressed from one level to the other. Recognizing their child’s talent and drive to excel, Durga’s parents made arrangements for her to be trained by some of the best in the discipline. She was very young when she was fortunate enough to receive tutelage from a noted Carnatic musician Vidwan Shri. V.R. Krishnan, who was a disciple of thespian Shri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

An arts institution that supports the guru-shishya parampara of learning arts,Kalakshetra gave Durga her first opportunity to perform. As a 14 year old, Durga gave her first performance at the Kalakshetra auditorium in front of an august audience of eminent personalities that included the then president Honourable Shri R.Venkataraman. Her performance drew a lot of praise from the then administrators of the esteemed institution, Director Shri. Shankar Menon and Principal Shri. Rajaram.

It was in Kalakshetra that she came into her own, unearthing her skills as a musician and appreciation for Bharatanatyam as a dancer and rasika. Her fascination of music grew multifold as she matured into a better performer and her music evolved into something more serious. She wasted no time in realizing that there was so much to learn and that she had a very steep learning curve ahead of her.she completed her Masters in Carnatic Music,Specializing in Vocal Music from Madras University with First Class honors.

Durga was a common feature in the troupe of the famous Bharatanatyam dancer and Kalakshetra professor Ambika Butch, ably supporting the graceful dancer on vocal. She has made a mark for herself as a versatile artist, performing in Carnatic settings as well as stamping her authority in new areas of music with her own creative projects.

Durga found it was time to give back to the art form. Besides being a performer, Durga is also a teacher imparting music and other traditional values linked to it to in a unique manner as developed by the gurukulam mode of teaching still followed in schools like Kalakshetra.

As a guru, Durga has one mission- to do her bit in developing the next crop of Carnatic singers and impart the wealth of knowledge and experience she has amassed in her career as a performing artist. She holds the guru-shishya parampara of learning Carnatic music in high esteem and wants to be able to engage the next crop of singers by imparting them all the things taught to her and the things that she learned herself as well as fueling their desire to go far in their musical journey. She believes Carnatic music has blessed her with the power to hand down the beautiful values of the genre as passed on by all her gurus.

With over 15 years of solid teaching experience under her belt, Durga has helped a lot of pupils get introduced to the world of Carnatic music, facilitated budding singers and groomed and mentored many of them to be good performers. She keeps it simple, focussing on the fundamentals and letting the students pick up the lessons on their own pace. In addition, she has also trained a large number of students and helped them prepare specifically for Carnatic music grade exams. Many of her students have achieved several impressive feats in their exams, with many topping them courses and some receiving coveted silver medals.

A multi talented person, Durga likes to try different things that the world of Carnatic music has to offer, and enjoys making her own compositions and penning lyrics for them. She also has her students perform her compositions in different concerts.

Durga has had a good academic background, but has picked her passion- Carnatic music- as a vocation for life. She completed B.Com at Kumararani Meena Muthiah college Chennai, and secured her post graduation in Human Resource Management (HRM) from Madras University with First class honors. In her professional career, she has held managerial positions in esteemed companies like L&T Finance Limited, Nokia Communications, and British Council.