Lalita Venkatram (1909 – 1992), also credited as Lalita Venkataram or Lalitha Venkataraman, was an Indian
Carnatic singer and
veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...
player. She is credited as ''the first playback singer in
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
'' and ''the first Carnatic musician to be featured on
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All ...
, Bombay''.
Early life
Venkatram was born in
Thiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
, the daughter of Manavasi V. Ramaswamy Iyer and Subbalakshmi Ramaswami. Her father was a public works engineer and a composer.
Career
Venkatram gave concerts in India and Ceylon, singing and accompanying herself on veena. She gave a benefit performance in Colombo after the
1935 Quetta earthquake
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
. She was the first Carnatic singer to be heard on All India Radio, Bombay, because she sang on the station's first broadcast in 1933.
She provided singing vocals for an actress in
A. V. Meiyappan's ''
Nandakumar'' (1938), becoming the first playback singer in a Tamil film.
She continued giving concerts and performing on All India Radio into the late 1940s.
Venkatram taught music students in Bombay after she retired from performing.
One of her successful students was singer and composer
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films.
Personal life and early career
Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...
.
Personal life
She married K. S. Venkatram. She lived in Bombay and had five children, including singer Kalyani Ramdas. Venkatram died in 1992. One of her grandchildren, Krishna Ramdas, is a professional
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
player.
References
External links
A recording of Lalita Venkatram singing on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venkatram, Lalita
1909 births
1992 deaths
Indian women singers
Carnatic musicians
People from Tamil Nadu
Indian women playback singers
Veena players