Vedavalli Krishnaswamy was born to Alamelu Thangam and Krishnaswamy at Paramakudi in Tamilnadu. The staunchly Vaishnavaite family atmosphere of the family was to influence Vedavalli who was known as Vedamma or Vedamami all her life. She was married off to Krishnaswamy, a serviceman who was attached to the Military Engineering Services (MES) in the year 1942. The young couple moved from their hometown Kumbakonam to Bengaluru and Krishnaswamy spent some time at Egypt during the Second World War. The end of the war saw a number of servicemen shed their jobs with the defence department and take up civilian jobs. Krishnaswamy was no exception and he joined GEC and thereafter he moved over to Coimbatore with his wife Vedavalli by the year 1949. The couple lived near the junction of Thomas and Telugu Brahmin streets until they moved over to the 7 th street in Gandhipuram by the year 1965.
Vedavalli and Krishnaswamy undertook a pilgrimage to Tiruppullani near Ramanathapuram in order to beget a child. Finally they were blessed with Jagannathan due to the grace of Adi Jagannatha Perumal, the presiding deity at Tiruppullani. The birth of Jagannathan augured well for the couple and he was followed by Venkataramanan, Vasudevan, Vijayalakshmi, Radhika,Bhoomisuta and Pushpalatha. Life at Coimbatore introduced the intelligent Vedavalli to one Maa ji who used to perform Ekadasi bhajans at Thomas street during the fifties of the last century. Thanks to the initiation of Maa ji and the motivation received from the eminent singer Pithukuli Murugadas and also coupled with the blessings and guidance of Shanthananda Swamigal of Pudukottai, Vedavalli decided to launch herself into the world of devotional music. Luckily for her a Guru emerged and he was none other than Ramakrishna Vadhiyar who happened to be an authority on Ashtapadhi. Ramakrishna Vadhiyar used to come over to the residence of Vedavalli and mentor her into the nuances of Ashtapadhi. This did wonders and by around 1968, Vedavalli emerged as the Guru of devotional music - Vedamami.
Vedamami began teaching Ashtapadhi, Soundarya Lahari, Abhirami Andhadhi, Krishna Leela Tarangini, Sri Lalitha Trisathi, compostions of Swami Vedanta Desikan, Divya Prabhandham, Tiruppavai and Paduka Sahasram to over 500 fine disciples over the years. The Soundarya Lahari taught by her exposed her students to 100 ragams for she used one ragam for each verse. She began with Anandabhairavi and used ragams like Thodi, Ataana and Hamsadhwani. It took a few years for the students to learn and master the 100 verses found in Soundarya Lahari. However they could pass on their knowledge as a legacy again and again. She taught Ashtapadhi with so much care that the students used to be absorbed in the subject for years. A number of Radha Kalyanams were performed by her on the completion of Ashtapadhi for each batch of students. Industrialist Ravisam was one of her early students and Vedamami used to fondly recall him. She was next to none while playing the harmonium and her rendition would put big performers to shame.
The pattu saree clad Vedamami has composed a number of devotional songs and the one on Lord Muruga, "Alaya mani osai ketkudhamma" stands up as one of her best. This song was made over to the Chinmaya Mission during the times of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and the fabulous singer Jesudas has rendered it as per the specs provided by Vedamami.
Worries never bogged her down and she was creative at all times. The busybee in her ensured that she never slept during the day and she completely refrained from petty gossip. Vedamami was an excellent cook and she used to make food for her family while she was well into her eighties. "Amma was an excellent financial administrator and she managed everything from our day to day finances to long term finance," recalls her son Vasudevan while reminiscing Vedamami at their residence Thiruvenkata Nilayam. "Amma used to make 36 items for Sri Krishna Jayanthi in a jiffy and this included both sweets and savouries like Mysorepak, Thirattupaal, Thengaburfi, Vellacheedai, Appam, Thenkuzhal and Payasam," added Vasudevan.
Vedamami was ever gracious to acknowledge even the smallest of gifts for the gesture was important for her. She epitomised contentment and never used to remind her students about the fees ever. They had to keep count and pay her all by themselves. She used to even visit Pollachi and teach students regularly. More or less all the 365 days of the year used to keep her occupied with some class or the other. The legendary visits of Vedamami to "Raju Bhavan", the residence of the jeweller P.A.Raju Chettiar was an important part of her career. She taught the four daughters in law- Lalitha Bai, Indrani, Saraswathi and Shantha both Ashtapadhi and Soundarya Lahari. The four co-sisters were among the most talented among her students and they were experts in instrumental music too.
Thirukundhai Andavan Swamigal gave her 'Bharanyasam' and it was the famous Mukkur Azhagiyasingar who did "Samashrayanam" for her. Vedamami used to observe the Ekadasi Vratam all her life. She used to regularly enjoy reading the Divya Prabhandham and Tiruppavai was read by her during the Tamil month of Margazhi. Vedamami used to have a full course rice based meal by 10 am and just a little bit of tiffin by 5 pm everyday. She used to reach 3 batches of students on most of the days. Her first son Jagannathan took her legacy forward and her US based son in law A.S.Rajagopalan has contributed much to Sri Vaishnavism over the years.
The gripping manner with which Vedamami taught Mantra Mathruka Pushpamala Sthavam or Shambu Natanam or Ashtapadhi endeared her to the students for ever. She used to ensure that they were at home with her. Every word was explained well and the meanings were placed as per the relevant school of philosophy. She just taught people happily and never sought name or fame. Had she lived and taught in a city like Chennai she may have become world famous. However she was happy and content with her style of teaching all her life. Rewards never bothered her. Teachers like Vedamami are hard to come by and its important to remember and emulate her. There can be no greater tribute than that.
Vedavalli and Krishnaswamy undertook a pilgrimage to Tiruppullani near Ramanathapuram in order to beget a child. Finally they were blessed with Jagannathan due to the grace of Adi Jagannatha Perumal, the presiding deity at Tiruppullani. The birth of Jagannathan augured well for the couple and he was followed by Venkataramanan, Vasudevan, Vijayalakshmi, Radhika,Bhoomisuta and Pushpalatha. Life at Coimbatore introduced the intelligent Vedavalli to one Maa ji who used to perform Ekadasi bhajans at Thomas street during the fifties of the last century. Thanks to the initiation of Maa ji and the motivation received from the eminent singer Pithukuli Murugadas and also coupled with the blessings and guidance of Shanthananda Swamigal of Pudukottai, Vedavalli decided to launch herself into the world of devotional music. Luckily for her a Guru emerged and he was none other than Ramakrishna Vadhiyar who happened to be an authority on Ashtapadhi. Ramakrishna Vadhiyar used to come over to the residence of Vedavalli and mentor her into the nuances of Ashtapadhi. This did wonders and by around 1968, Vedavalli emerged as the Guru of devotional music - Vedamami.
Vedamami began teaching Ashtapadhi, Soundarya Lahari, Abhirami Andhadhi, Krishna Leela Tarangini, Sri Lalitha Trisathi, compostions of Swami Vedanta Desikan, Divya Prabhandham, Tiruppavai and Paduka Sahasram to over 500 fine disciples over the years. The Soundarya Lahari taught by her exposed her students to 100 ragams for she used one ragam for each verse. She began with Anandabhairavi and used ragams like Thodi, Ataana and Hamsadhwani. It took a few years for the students to learn and master the 100 verses found in Soundarya Lahari. However they could pass on their knowledge as a legacy again and again. She taught Ashtapadhi with so much care that the students used to be absorbed in the subject for years. A number of Radha Kalyanams were performed by her on the completion of Ashtapadhi for each batch of students. Industrialist Ravisam was one of her early students and Vedamami used to fondly recall him. She was next to none while playing the harmonium and her rendition would put big performers to shame.
The pattu saree clad Vedamami has composed a number of devotional songs and the one on Lord Muruga, "Alaya mani osai ketkudhamma" stands up as one of her best. This song was made over to the Chinmaya Mission during the times of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and the fabulous singer Jesudas has rendered it as per the specs provided by Vedamami.
Worries never bogged her down and she was creative at all times. The busybee in her ensured that she never slept during the day and she completely refrained from petty gossip. Vedamami was an excellent cook and she used to make food for her family while she was well into her eighties. "Amma was an excellent financial administrator and she managed everything from our day to day finances to long term finance," recalls her son Vasudevan while reminiscing Vedamami at their residence Thiruvenkata Nilayam. "Amma used to make 36 items for Sri Krishna Jayanthi in a jiffy and this included both sweets and savouries like Mysorepak, Thirattupaal, Thengaburfi, Vellacheedai, Appam, Thenkuzhal and Payasam," added Vasudevan.
Vedamami was ever gracious to acknowledge even the smallest of gifts for the gesture was important for her. She epitomised contentment and never used to remind her students about the fees ever. They had to keep count and pay her all by themselves. She used to even visit Pollachi and teach students regularly. More or less all the 365 days of the year used to keep her occupied with some class or the other. The legendary visits of Vedamami to "Raju Bhavan", the residence of the jeweller P.A.Raju Chettiar was an important part of her career. She taught the four daughters in law- Lalitha Bai, Indrani, Saraswathi and Shantha both Ashtapadhi and Soundarya Lahari. The four co-sisters were among the most talented among her students and they were experts in instrumental music too.
Thirukundhai Andavan Swamigal gave her 'Bharanyasam' and it was the famous Mukkur Azhagiyasingar who did "Samashrayanam" for her. Vedamami used to observe the Ekadasi Vratam all her life. She used to regularly enjoy reading the Divya Prabhandham and Tiruppavai was read by her during the Tamil month of Margazhi. Vedamami used to have a full course rice based meal by 10 am and just a little bit of tiffin by 5 pm everyday. She used to reach 3 batches of students on most of the days. Her first son Jagannathan took her legacy forward and her US based son in law A.S.Rajagopalan has contributed much to Sri Vaishnavism over the years.
The gripping manner with which Vedamami taught Mantra Mathruka Pushpamala Sthavam or Shambu Natanam or Ashtapadhi endeared her to the students for ever. She used to ensure that they were at home with her. Every word was explained well and the meanings were placed as per the relevant school of philosophy. She just taught people happily and never sought name or fame. Had she lived and taught in a city like Chennai she may have become world famous. However she was happy and content with her style of teaching all her life. Rewards never bothered her. Teachers like Vedamami are hard to come by and its important to remember and emulate her. There can be no greater tribute than that.