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Sikkil Neela, younger of the famous flute duo in Carnatic music — popularly known as the Sikkil Sisters, passed away on 17th September 2023, in Chennai. She was 85 and was ailing for some years.

Kunjumani and Neela were born to Sita and Azhiyur Natesa Iyer. The father was a reputed mridanga vidwan who initiated the children into music. Neela was born on 9th September 1938. The sisters learnt to play the flute from their uncle Azhiyur Narayanaswamy Iyer, but Neela’s principal mentor and guide was her sister Kunjumani. The sisters plunged heart and soul into their chosen field, they gave many concerts together for several decades. Playing the flute was their life-breath. Both Kunjumani and Neela were top grade artistes of All India Radio and Doordarshan.

Delicate delineation of the raga and exquisite swara volleys well within the rules of grammar, and a firm eschewal of populist trends in classical music were some of the attributes that made the music of the Sikkil Sisters — Kunjumani and Neela, a classical treat. The Sisters perfected the ’gayaki’ style of playing Carnatic music on the flute.

Recognition came in the form of several concert assignments in different parts of India and abroad, and awards too came aplenty. The earliest was the Venugana Praveena awarded to them as early as 1942, by the Mysore samasthanam. The Sikkil Sisters went on to receive several prestigious awards like the Padma Shri from the Government of India, the Sangita Kalanidhi from the Music Academy, Madras, and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award to name a few.

To quote from the article published in the Music Academy Souvenir – 2002 when the Sikkil Sisters were conferred the Sangita Kalanidhi birudu: “The Sangita Kalanidhi comes attached with several ‘firsts’ to the credit of the Sikkil Sisters. In the history of the Academy, it is the first time that women flautists are being honoured thus. Another noteworthy fact is that, in view of the platinum jubilee celebrations in the Academy, for the first time there are going to be two artists to be honoured simultaneously. This has never happened so far, not even in the case of the famed Alathur Brothers and others.”

The Music Academy mourns the passing away of veteran flute vidushi Smt. Sikkil Neela.

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