Paravai Muniamma

(Photo from Hindu online)

Thanks to Sundar's mention about Paravai Muniamma in his previous blog, I got inspired to know more about this woman and so here goes after my googling:

This 62 year old female folk artist attained her popularity by her peppy voice in the Madurai Veeran Thaane song from Vikram's Dhool movie. Hailing from the agricultural village of Perumalpatti near Vadipatti, this woman is all of bubbling enthusiasm for her age.

Totally, indifferent to her looks and channelizing her personality to match the pomp and splendor of the tamil cinema ulagam, this lady jumped right in with a confidence that has made a difference.

In her interviews to magazines, she references her teacher S. Perumal Konar of Paravai who taught her the basics of folk singing. She comments that her gender and family restraints prevented her from entering the cine field at an even earlier age.

She has been sought after for public stage performances both in India and abroad and has earned quite a bit compared to other folk artists who have been in the field for longer. She has also been paired with comedian Vivek in Thakka Dhimi Tha movie and is selective about the roles she plays these days.

Her other reason for popularity is the cooking show on Sun TV and few other channels, as it seems she creates a rural flavor to the samayal, not to mention the earthen pots and pans she uses. She is a confident woman who is well aware that her future with the film industry as a folk artist may not be long lasting.

Thought that this folk woman was worth writing a blog for.

PS: Sundar-thanks for mentioning her rava seedai recipe in your previous blog.