[1] Rajam Pushpavanam, a cousin of musician Madurai Mani Iyer, was a singer and music director.
[citation needed] She constructed a bungalow in the heart of Mylapore, after buying the land for Rs 4550, a princely sum in 1939 and registering it in her mother’s name.
Later in life, after the death of her husband, she took up to singing for All India Radio and teaching students, and continued to do this for a couple of decades.
An award, "Bala Gnana Kala Bharathi", has been instituted in her memory at Bharat Kalachar, Chennai.
The first award was given to Selvi Sooryagayathri in the presence of the Telangana Governor, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on 14 December 2019[7][8] A few of her songs are available on YouTube and one in Carnatica's old and rare recordings collection.