<p class="bodytext">“I have been performing for over 14 years. But even now, after a concert, people tell me it is the first time they are seeing a woman play the mridangam,” says the artiste, in her early 30s. She has won several awards, and was invited to perform at the G20 Summit in 2023.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was her parents who encouraged her to learn a musical instrument, and she gravitated toward the mridangam. She trained under Patri Satish Kumar, and her playing style reflects her guru’s strong influence. Her technique is highly responsive to the vocalist’s approach.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The journey was not without its challenges. Finding a teacher was one of the first hurdles her parents faced. And as she began performing, she encountered gender stereotypes, which, she says, remains her biggest challenge to date. Through it all, her guru has helped her navigate and overcome these barriers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Like Deepika, other women have long sought to carve a space in the field. As early as 1927, Ranganayaki Ammal was the only woman among 27 mridangam artistes to perform at the All India Music Conference in Chennai. Decades later, Sumathi Rama Mohan Rao broke the gender barrier to become a professional mridangam player and went on to receive the Padma Shri in 2021.</p>.Ranjani-Gayatri Bengaluru concert: Spirituality is at core of great music, says renowned vocal duo.<p class="bodytext">Since the early 1900s, male percussionists were reluctant to accompany female vocalists. This inadvertently created space for women artistes like Ranganayaki and Sumathi. In later decades, as male accompanists became more open to performing with female vocalists, opportunities for women percussionists narrowed once again. The scene has changed little since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During the December 2025 Margazhi music season in Chennai, only two of the 83 concerts at The Music Academy featured female mridangam players and one of them was Deepikaa. Things were no different at the Ramanavami concerts hosted by Sri Rama Seva Mandali in Bengaluru last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Deepikaa, while many young girls are learning the instrument, most drop out after encountering gender-based challenges and a lack of opportunities. “The onus is on those of us who are already performing. We have to show that it is a viable career,” she says. The challenge, she adds, is ensuring that audiences accept women percussionists as musicians in their own right, not as a novelty. She remains optimistic, adding that audiences today are far more accepting than before. </p>.<p class="bodytext">(The author is the founder of a tech company. He writes about music and everyday life.) </p>
<p class="bodytext">“I have been performing for over 14 years. But even now, after a concert, people tell me it is the first time they are seeing a woman play the mridangam,” says the artiste, in her early 30s. She has won several awards, and was invited to perform at the G20 Summit in 2023.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was her parents who encouraged her to learn a musical instrument, and she gravitated toward the mridangam. She trained under Patri Satish Kumar, and her playing style reflects her guru’s strong influence. Her technique is highly responsive to the vocalist’s approach.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The journey was not without its challenges. Finding a teacher was one of the first hurdles her parents faced. And as she began performing, she encountered gender stereotypes, which, she says, remains her biggest challenge to date. Through it all, her guru has helped her navigate and overcome these barriers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Like Deepika, other women have long sought to carve a space in the field. As early as 1927, Ranganayaki Ammal was the only woman among 27 mridangam artistes to perform at the All India Music Conference in Chennai. Decades later, Sumathi Rama Mohan Rao broke the gender barrier to become a professional mridangam player and went on to receive the Padma Shri in 2021.</p>.Ranjani-Gayatri Bengaluru concert: Spirituality is at core of great music, says renowned vocal duo.<p class="bodytext">Since the early 1900s, male percussionists were reluctant to accompany female vocalists. This inadvertently created space for women artistes like Ranganayaki and Sumathi. In later decades, as male accompanists became more open to performing with female vocalists, opportunities for women percussionists narrowed once again. The scene has changed little since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During the December 2025 Margazhi music season in Chennai, only two of the 83 concerts at The Music Academy featured female mridangam players and one of them was Deepikaa. Things were no different at the Ramanavami concerts hosted by Sri Rama Seva Mandali in Bengaluru last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to Deepikaa, while many young girls are learning the instrument, most drop out after encountering gender-based challenges and a lack of opportunities. “The onus is on those of us who are already performing. We have to show that it is a viable career,” she says. The challenge, she adds, is ensuring that audiences accept women percussionists as musicians in their own right, not as a novelty. She remains optimistic, adding that audiences today are far more accepting than before. </p>.<p class="bodytext">(The author is the founder of a tech company. He writes about music and everyday life.) </p>