Lalith J. Rao (also spelt Lalit) (born 6 November 1942) is an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...

singer and a representative of the Agra gharana (singing style).

Early life

Rao's introduction to classical music was at the age of three, at a concert by the Agra gharana vocalist

Faiyaz Khan Ustad Faiyaz Khan (8 February 1886 5 November 1950) was an Indian classical vocalist, an exponent of the Agra gharana of Hindustani classical music. According to SwarGanga Music Foundation website, "By the time he died at Baroda, he had earne ...

. She started learning music from Rama Rao Naik, who initiated her into the Agra gharana. Rao's first public concert was at the Bangalore Sangeet Sabha at the age of 12. When she was 14, she won the All India Classical Music competition in Mumbai and became the youngest participant of the

Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan (English: Swami Haridas Music Festival) is a noted Hindustani classical music and dance festival organized by Sur Singar Samsad, and held annually in Mumbai, India. All the prominent Indian classical vocalists, in ...

the same year. Rao completed her Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Communication Engineering, the latter from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

. In 1967, she married Jayavanth Rao and moved to Delhi to work. Her husband convinced Rao to abandon her engineering career and pursue singing, and she received training from Dinkar Kaikini and later from

Khadim Hussain Khan Khadim Hussain Khan (1907 – 11 January 1993) was an Indian classical music singer born in Atrauli, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, India. Early life Khadim Hussain Khan was born in Atrauli, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh in 1907. In ...

Singing career

Rao went back to the Sur Singar Sansad to restart her performance career and became a professional singer after a positive reception. She is as adept at singing

khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfo ...

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South In ...

, dhamar, as well as

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...

and hori. Her first concert abroad was in 1981. She has performed in France, UK, US and Canada and is a top-grade artiste of

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 ...

. Rao regularly performs on the Radio and Television. Rao was one of the key figures in setting up a trust "Sajan Milap" in the mid-seventies, to popularise the music of her Ustad, who used the pen name "Sajan Piya". She was the chief coordinator for the Ford Foundation Archival project at the

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, U ...

from 1989–91. Few years later she herself sang for the Ethno-Musicology Department of the University of Washington in Seattle. for them to archive the music of her Agra gharana. Rao lives and teaches music in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. Bharathi Prathap, Manohar Patwardhan, Kailash Kulkarni, Pratima Bellave are some of her notable disciples.

Notable performances

*''

Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (formerly known as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav and simply known as Sawai) is an annual Indian Classical music festival held in Pune since 1953. The festival is hosted by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Ma ...

in Pune, Hubli and Kundgol'' *'' ITC-SRA Sangeet Sammelan in New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur and other places'' *''

Tansen Samaroh Tansen Samaroh or Tansen Sangeet Samaroh () is celebrated every year in the month of December in Behat village of Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh. It is a 4-day musical extravaganza. Artists and music lovers from all over the world gather here to ...

in Gwalior'' *'' Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Utsav in Delhi'' *''

in Mumbai, Delhi, Mathura and Vrindavan'' *'' Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru'' *''Music Circles and Sangeet Sabhas throughout the length and breadth of India'' *''Several successful concert tours of USA, Canada, UK, France and Switzerland.''

Awards and recognitions

* Sangeet Natak Akademi Award: Government of India, 2018 *Karnataka Rajyotsava Award

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as t ...

: Government of Karnataka, 2017 *Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy Gaurava Puraskar *Karnataka Kalashree: Government of Karnataka 2011-2012 *Tana Riri award from the Gujarat State Sangeet Natak Akademi for lifetime achievement 2016 *

Nishagandhi Puraskaram Nishagandhi Puraskaram or Nishagandhi award (Malayalam : നിശാഗന്ധി പുരസ്കാരം) is an annual award instituted by the Tourism Department of Kerala in India to honour personalities in the fields of music and da ...

by the Government of Kerala 2014 *"Sur Mani": Sur Singar Sansad *Lifetime Achievement award from

Bangalore Gayana Samaja Bangalore Gayana Samaja ( kn, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಗಾಯನ ಸಮಾಜ) is one of the oldest cultural organisations in Bangalore and was established in 1905. It is the oldest operational sabhā (or arts society) in India. The organisat ...

*Lifetime Achievement Award: Puttaraj Samman *BKF Mallikarjun Mansur Award 2014 *Ganakala Tapaswini by Srimad Vadiraja Aradhana Trust for life-time achievement in Hindustani Classical Music 2016 *Swaratapasvi by Swara Sankula, Mysore

Partial discography

*''Bihag; Kedar; Thumri''(1986) HMV PSLP 1373 *''Beyond Reach: Ragas Durga & Pilu'' (2003) *''Raga Darbari Kanhada, Raga Desh'' (2006) *''Raga Lalit (2002)'' *''Ragas Kalyan Nat & Adana (2002)'' *''Raga Shree (2013)'' *''Ragas Dhanashree & Barwa (2013)'' *''Ragas

Gorakh Kalyan Gorakh Kalyan is a raga in Hindustani classical music. Its name is attributed to its origins in a regional type of song of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Since it does not resemble Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the b ...

& Basant (2013)''

References

External links

* *

Gangubai Hanagal Gangubai Hangal (5 March 1913 – 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the '' khayal'' genre of Hindustani classical music from Karnataka, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana. Early life G ...

presenting 'Puttaraj Samman' to vocalist Lalith J. Rao in Hubli

*2003 Intervie

*Nishagandhi Puraskar 2014 by Govt. of Keral

*Interview by Sahapedi

*Agra Gharan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Lalith 1942 births Hindustani singers Living people Singers from Bangalore University of New Brunswick alumni Agra gharana Indian women classical singers 20th-century Indian singers Women Hindustani musicians Engineers from Karnataka Indian women engineers Indian electrical engineers 21st-century Indian women singers Women scientists from Karnataka Women musicians from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century women engineers 20th-century Khyal singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award