Aathira Krishna is an Indian violinist. She holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for her 32-hour-long non-stop Carnatic violin solo concert. She is among the youngest

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s of India.

Early years

Hailing from a musical family in Kerala, one of her ancestors was Vidwan Shri Gopala Pillai, a musician who belonged to the renowned

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

Tradition of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

. Krishna is the daughter of K. C. Krishna Pillai and S. Leela Kurup. She had her intensive training under her grandfather Sangitha Vidwan. She showed music talent even as a

toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...

, when she would repeat back musical phrases she heard her father sing.

Career

Krishna switched to violin from vocal at the age of eight and was soon hailed a child prodigy. She started performing as a Carnatic Violin soloist from the age of 9. Popularly hailed as the "Princess of Indian Violin", and honoured by the former First Lady of India

Usha Narayanan Usha Narayanan, born Tint Tint ( my, တင့်တင့်; 1922 — 24 January 2008), was the First Lady of India from 1997 to 2002. She was married to K. R. Narayanan, the tenth President of India. Upon her husband's assumption of the pre ...

as "The Musical Gem of India", she has represented Indian classical music at international music festivals. Krishna was invited twice to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Official Residence of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

. In 2001, as a child prodigy representing Indian classical music, she presented a paper presentation on "Violin in South Indian Classical Music" for the prestigious ''International Children's Assembly'' held at New Delhi. In 2002, she presented a unique thematic 'World Music Night' incorporating music genres of more than 20 nations for the year-long Millennium Celebrations in Kazakhizhtan. In 2003, Krishna entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for her 32-hour-long non-stop South Indian classical violin concert dedicated to global peace and harmony. Titled 'Nadhabrahma', this was also a tribute to her eminent grandfather. She also holds a place in the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...

for the same feat. She was among the youngest of speakers for the Lecture Demonstration Section of Internal MuSIC Festival in Russia on the topic "Violin in Classical Indian Music". In 2005, she was invited by the Mayor of

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, Germany to perform at the international music festival Jazz Meets Classics. She also became the first Indian classical musician to perform at the 1000-year-old church at Kaiserwerth, Germany. In 2005, Krishna was invited to give the Inaugural Concert for the 74th birthday celebration of President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Awards and honours

* Honored with the title of “The Musical Gem of India” by the former first lady of India,

after hearing her at the

Rashtrapathi Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

fficial residence of the president of India *Honored by the

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’s prestigious “President’s National Balasree Honour” for “the best outstanding creative child musician of India”. *Honored by the

Guinness book of world records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for her unique 32 hour-long non-stop

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

concert dedicated to global peace and harmony. *Yuva Kala Bharathi Awards by Bharat Kalacha

*Princess of Strings Award 2006 from Rotasia World Conference. *She is the only Indian classical musician to perform at the prestigious International Music Festival

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

Meets

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

References

External links

Athira Krishna's Official Website www.athira.in

Concert Review – GOA PLUS

TED INSPIRING SPEAKERS

VERVE MAGAZINE YOUNG ACHIEVER LIST

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071103000017/http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/24/stories/2005032414830300.htm The Hindu News -Chennai violin prodigy wins rave reviews in Germany – Article at Hindu.com
The Hindu News – An employee's ward does BSNL proud -Athira stunned the BSNL family – Article at Hindu.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna, L. Athira Living people Carnatic violinists Women Carnatic musicians Carnatic musicians Indian women classical musicians Indian violinists Malayali people Real World Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Thiruvananthapuram Indian women violinists Women musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian women musicians 21st-century Indian musicians 21st-century violinists