Seetha Doraiswamy

Seetha Doraiswamy (Tamil: சீதா துரைசாமி, sītā turAisvāMī  27 January 1926 – 14 March 2013), commonly known as Madisaar Maami, was a renowned Carnatic multi-instrumentalist. She was the last recognised female exponent of a dying Indian instrument, the jal tarang. She was the first (and till date youngest) female musician ever to be awarded the Gold Medal of Honour from The Music Academy, the first Carnatic music Institute. She is the only Jal Tarang exponent to have ever received the Kalaimamani award by Government of Tamil Nadu in 2001 with the citation reading "(Seetha) has tirelessly worked to prevent the jalatharangam from becoming extinct and is often recognized only for that; it is time to bring to notice the fact that she championed for the cause of equal female representation during a time where our cultural norms may have not. Additionally, her theoretical knowledge was the foundation for many of the modern concepts of Carnatic music as we know it today."