R. Vedavalli | |
|---|---|
 R. Vedavalli | |
| Born | 9 November 1935 [1] Mannargudi, Madras Presidency, India |
| Occupation | Indian classical vocalist |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Spouse | D. R. Santhanam |
| Parent(s) | Ramaswami Iyengar (father) Padmasani Ammal (mother) |
| Awards |
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Vidushi R. Vedavalli (born 9 November 1935) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist. [2]
R. Vedavalli was born in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, India to Ramaswami Iyengar and Padmasani Ammal.
R. Vedavalli's talent for music was identified early on by Maurai Srirangam Iyengar, who brought the five-year-old a harmonium, and got her started on vocal lessons. The family moved to Madras in a few years time, and Vedavalli came under the tutelage of Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer. [1]
She received a Central Government scholarship to specialize in Padams and Javalis with T.Muktha, and in Pallavis with Venkataramana Iyer. Though she has performed since childhood, it was Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar who advised her to turn into a professional musician, when he heard her sing as an 18-year-old. She has travelled throughout India and abroad in North America, South-East Asia, the Far East and the Persian Gulf region, giving concerts and lecture demonstrations.
Vedavalli served in the Teacher's College of Music of the Madras Music Academy for several years before becoming Professor of Vocal Music in the Government College of Music Adyar. She has thus shared her deep knowledge and extensive repertoire with numerous students at these institutions apart from training some privately.
She is also trained in playing the veena, and has a good command over Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, which helps her sing with greater understanding or artha bhava (meaning and emotion). She lived in Chennai with her husband D. R. Santhanam and mother Padmasani Ammal, at the turn of the century. Later she and her husband moved to Pune to be with their daughter, and D R Santhanam died in Pune in July 2021. [3]
From a very young age, Vedavalli won several awards in prestigious competitions including All India Radio's first prize for Classical Music and Light Classical Music, awarded by the President of India. In 2000, she received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, which is considered the highest award in Carnatic music. She is one of the few women to have received this honor. She also received the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award given by the Fine Arts Society, Chennai in 1995.
Among her disciples today are accomplished performers, researchers, teachers and writers. Sumitra Vasudev and her daughter Sushruti Santhanam are her disciples. Sushruti is based in Pune and teaches music there. [4]
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was an Indian Carnatic singer. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian honour, the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award in 1974 and the first Indian to perform at the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal, popularly known as D. K. Pattammal or DKP, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil. Pattammal, along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari, are popularly referred to as the female trinity of Carnatic Music. This trio initiated the entry of women into mainstream Carnatic Music. She has been appreciated all over the world by Carnatic music lovers.
Semmangudi Radhakrishna Srinivasa Iyer was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947, a distinction he holds to this day as of 2024, probably the only musician to receive that honour before reaching 40. He had received many other awards as well, including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India, Rajyasevanirata title from Travancore's erstwhile ruling family, Sangeet Natak Academy award (1953), Isai Perarignar from Government of Tamil Nadu and Kalidas Samman from Government of Madhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" by his disciples. He was also considered the "Pitamaha" or the grand sire of modern Carnatic Music. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of Kerala in 1979.
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.
Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001.
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar was an Indian Carnatic music singer from Kerala. He was born in Kozhikode, and moved to Palakkad along with him family during his childhood. He is popularly known as Chembai, or sometimes simply as Bhagavatar. Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. A recipient of several titles and honours, he was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians and ability to spot new talent. He was responsible for popularising compositions like Rakshamam Saranagatam and Pavana Guru, among others.
Maharajapuram Santhanam, was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989.
Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the mridangam. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Palghat R. Raghu was a Carnatic musician and percussionist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2007.
Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan was an Indian Carnatic music violinist. Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1980. He was also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 1992, and earlier, the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1973.
Porayath Leela was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi and also Sinhale. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration in the songs of composers v.Dakshinamoorthy, MS Baburaj, G Devarajan, ghantasala, MS Viswanathan, K. Raghavan, Br Lakshmanan, LPR Varma, BA chithambara athletes, AT ummer, MK Arjun, Johnson, ouseppachan, ilaiyaraja, and with the playback singers KJ Yesudas and Ghantalasa over the years. Leela is known for her sweet and melodious voice that she named Ganamani. She was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006. She made her debut as a playback singer in the 1948 Tamil film Kangkanam.
The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha (26 August 1938 – 31 January 2023), were an Indian Carnatic music singing duo. They received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.
Mohanan Chandrasekaran is a Carnatic classical violinist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Calcutta, on 11 December 1937 as the younger of the two sons of T.N. Mohanan and Charubala Mohanan, a violinist herself. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2005. Chandrasekharan began playing the violin at the age of 11, after which he went on to accompany many musicians in the field of Carnatic music. Having lost his eyesight at the age of two, he overcame his difficulty by music. He is also considered an expert in the laya (tempo) aspects, recognizing and adapting to intricate rhythmic patterns. Sri Chandrasekharan also presents vocal concerts, and sometimes sings along during his solo violin recitals. He has composed various musical forms in different languages, and has travelled the world performing. He often performs violin duet concerts with his daughter Smt. G. Bharathi. He has accompanied several masters of Carnatic music including Maharajapuram Santhanam, G. N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, Dr. K J Yesudas, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, flute N. Ramani, K. V. Narayanaswamy, T. N. Seshagopalan, D. K. Jayaraman, and T. K. GovindaRao. Wondering how can the name of the Maha Vidwan Madurai Somasundaram is missing in the above list. He played violin for Madurai Somu more frequently than any other violinist.
K. S. Narayanaswamy, was a Carnatic veena exponent of the Thanjavur style, in which nuances and subtleties are given more importance over rhythm based acrobatics. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1979.
Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar (1912–2004) was a Carnatic musician, musicologist, Harikatha exponent and composer.
Vellore G. Ramabhadran was a Mridangam artiste from Tamil Nadu, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2004.
Balasubramaniam Rajam Iyer was a Carnatic singer from South India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1987.
Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer was a South Indian Carnatic music singer and musicologist. He was also known as Mudikondan - the name of his native village.
Kumbakonam M. Rajappa Iyer was a Mridangam Vidwan in the field of Carnatic music from India. He was born in 1916 at Kumbakonam to Muthuswamy Iyer and Sitalakshmi Ammal.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
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