Rani Vijaya Devi of Kotda-Sangani (28 August 1922 - 8 December 2005), born Maharajakumari Vijayalakshmi Ammanni, was the eldest daughter of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimha Raja Wadiyar and sister of Maharaja Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar. She grew up in Chamundi Vihar, the palace of her father. She learnt piano from the nuns of Good Shepherd convent and later from Alfred Mistowsky of the Trinity College, London who was visiting Mysore. She was also taught to play

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.< ...

from

Veena Venkatagiriyappa Veene Venkatagiriyappa (26 April 1887 – 1951) was a musician and music teacher from Heggadadevanakote in the Mysore district of India. Venkatagiriyappa's initial musical training was under his uncle Chikka Subba Rao, and he later studied un ...

. In 1939, on a tour of Europe with her father, she met

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

. She married the prince of Kotda-Sangani in 1941. She moved to New York in 1947 with her husband, who had joined

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...

. She studied at the Juilliard School of Music under

Eduard Steuermann Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892 in Sambor, Austro-Hungarian Empire – November 11, 1964 in New York City) was an Austrian (and later American) pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and Fer ...

. She founded the International Music and Arts Society in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. The past patrons of the society have included the Governors of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale,

S. M. Krishna Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna (born 1 May 1932) is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Mahara ...

and Sri. Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. She had four daughters: Gita Devi Nath, Usha Devi Malavi, Urmila Devi and Shakuntala Devi, and five grand-children: Akshay Malavi, Priyam Malavi, Udaya Nath, Hanumant Nath and Anishaa Taraporvala. She died on 8 December 2005 in Bangalore.

References

External links

A musical Tribute to Rani Vijaya Devi

Musical Queen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Rani Vijaya 1922 births 2005 deaths Indian women classical singers Indian princesses Musicians from Mysore Wadiyar dynasty Dancers from Karnataka Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian musicians 20th-century Indian women artists Women musicians from Karnataka Women of the Kingdom of Mysore People of the Kingdom of Mysore Veena players 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers