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Suguna Purushothaman (Tamil:சுகுணா புருஷோத்தமன் ) is a prominent vocalist of the Carnatic music genre of Southern India. She is an awarded Vaggeyakara and a renowned Guru. A leading light of the Musiri school, she practices the subtle art of Bhava-laden music in an atmosphere increasingly enthralled with vocal pyrotechnics. Her specialty is the Ragam Tanam Pallavi, a challenging improvisational piece often the central item of a carnatic concert. She has also revived the ancient art of Dwitala avadana, which involves keeping two asynchronous beats in either hand while presenting a composition (Varnams, Krithis)or improvisation (Ragam Tanam Pallavi).

Early Life
Suguna was born in April 1941 in Chennai to Sri. Chakravarthy Ananthachari and Smt. Vedavalli. Ascending her first concert stage at half-hour notice at age 11, Suguna has not looked back, contributing 58 years of classical melody. Suguna rapidly outgrew her early teachers winning tough competitions and hungrily adding to her repertoire. She developed an early interest in the technical improvisation, Pallavi, that she came to be fondly termed 'Pallavi Suguna'.

Gurus
After mastering early lessons with ease, Suguna came under the tutelage of Guru Sri.Thinniyam Venkatarama Iyer, a renowned Mridangist. It is he who jocularly remarked to Suguna, then a teenager, that it was quite beyond her to master the Dwitala avadana. Pallavis were still a male bastion the standard saying being that Neither can a man sing Jawali (Love poetry) nor the lady a Pallavi (Diffficult improvisation)

ஆண்பிள்ளை ஜாவளி பாடுவதாவது பெண்பிள்ளை பல்லவி பாடுவதாவது

Suguna took up the gauntlet and the practiced the avadana, a feat that requires immense concentration and confidence in song and rhythm. The Denoument of her effort was her celebraterd demonstration of the Dwitala Avadana at the age of ??. She also composed the Sarabanandana Tala Pallavi and helped publish the "Pallavi Ratnamala" a comprehensive guidebook on Pallavis along with her Guru.

Learning with the Doyens
The prestigious Indian Government scholarship saw her under the tutelage of two of the most successful practitioners of carnatic music Musiri Subramania Iyer and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.