Vidushi R. Vedavalli (born 9th November 1935) is a Carnatic vocalist.

Early life

R. Vedavalli was born in

Mannargudi Mannargudi () is a town in Thiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mannargudi taluk. The town is located at a distance of from the district headquarters Thiruvarur, 36 km from Kumbakonam, 40 km fro ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to Ramaswami Iyengar and Padmasani Ammal.

Career

R. Vedavalli's talent for music was identified early on by Madurai Srirangam Iyengar, who brought the five-year-old a

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, and got her started on vocal lessons. The family moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in a few years time, and Vedavalli came under the tutelage of Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer. She received a Central Government scholarship to specialize in Padams and Javalis with T.Muktha, and in

Pallavi A pallavi has multiple connotations in carnatic music. It is the first part of any formal composition (Krithi) which has three segments - Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam (which can be one or more). Pallavi is usually also an abbreviation of R ...

s with Venkataramana Iyer. Though she has performed since childhood, it was

Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (19 May 1890 – 23 January 1967), 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 ...

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 The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

region, giving concerts and lecture demonstrations. Vedavalli served in the Teacher's College of Music of the

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

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 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.< ...

, and has a good command over

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

, which helps her sing with greater understanding or ''artha bhava'' (meaning and emotion). She lived in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

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.

Awards and recognitions

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 Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

, 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 Sangeetha Kalasikhamani or Sangita Kalasikhamani (Sanskrit: saṅgītakalāśikhāmaṇi) (sangeetha = music, kala = art, sikhamaṇi = A gem of a diadem or crest) is the title awarded yearly to an expert Carnatic music Carnatic music, kno ...

'' award given by the Fine Arts Society, Chennai in 1995.

Disciples

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.

References

External links

*
Her article on her childhood
Tamil singers Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Indian music educators Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients 1935 births Living people Indian women classical singers People from Tiruvarur district 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers Singers from Tamil Nadu Women musicians from Tamil Nadu Women music educators Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award {{Carnatic-music-stub