Prabha Atre (born 13 September 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She has been awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Early life and education

Atre was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atre in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. As children, Atre and her sister, Usha, were interested in music, but neither of them planned to pursue music as a career. When Atre was eight, Indirabai was not keeping good health, and at a friend's suggestion that classical music lessons would help her feel better, she took a few lessons. Listening to those lessons inspired Atre to learn classical music. Her music training was in the Guru-shishya tradition. She learnt classical music from Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Badodekar from the Kirana gharana. She acknowledges the influence of two other greats, Amir Khan for

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 ...

and

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala gharana.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 ...

, on her gayaki. She also has formal training in

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dance style. While studying music, Atre earned a Bachelor of Science from

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

in Pune. Later she completed an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from University of Pune Law College. She has also studies at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal (Sangeet Alankar (Master of Music)),

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(Western Music Theory Grade-IV). She later also earned a PhD in music. Her doctoral thesis was titled ''Sargam'', and pertained to the use of sol-fa notes (sargam) in Indian classical music.

Career

Atre had a short stint as a singing stage-actress in the early days of her career. She also played roles in a line-up of Marathi theatre classics, which included

Sangeet Natak ''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi language literally means Musical Drama. As the name suggests, this form of drama combines prose as well as poetry in form of songs to convey the story. In a manner, they are very much similar to Musicals. ''Sangee ...

s like Sanshay-Kallol, Maanaapamaan, Saubhadra and Vidyaharan. Atre is currently one of the senior vocalists in the country representing the Kirana Gharana. Her first LP, with Maru Bihag and Kalavati, clearly demonstrates the influence of Amir Khan. She has contributed to popularizing Indian classical vocal music at global level. She is competent in various musical genres such as

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 ...

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 ...

, Dadra, Ghazal, geet, Natyasangeet, and bhajans. She has been giving private lessons to students since 1969.

As a composer

* Book of compositions ''Swarangini'' and ''Swaranjanee'' * She has also invented new Raags such as Apurva Kalyan, Darbari Kauns, Patdeep-Malhar, Shiv Kali, Tilang-bhairav, Ravi Bhairav, and Madhur-kauns * Music compositions adapted to full-length dance programme 'Nritya Prabha' – choreographed by the Bharatanatyam danseuse Sucheta Bhide Chapekar. * Music composition adapted for

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 m ...

by Susanne Abbuehl from the

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. * Music composed for musical-dramas and Sangeetikas.

Related activities

Atre has taught music, performing lecture-demonstrations, and writing on the topic of Indian classical music. * A former Assistant Producer with the All India Radio. * A' Grade — All India Radio Drama Artist (Marathi and Hindi). * Main female role in Professional Musical Dramas.(Sangeet Natak and Sangeetika) * She has been a visiting professor at a few institutions in the West, including the Rotterdam Conservatory in the

. Visiting professor at the Music conservatory – Montreux Switzerland, the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, Indo-American Fellowship for studying research materials used in Ethnomusicology at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

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, and at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

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. * Appointment as 'Special Executive Magistrate' by the Government of Maharashtra in recognition of services to the cause of Music * Professor and Head of the Dept. of Music, S.N.D.T. Woman's University, Mumbai. * Around 1992, Atre started an annual ''Pandit Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Badodekar Sangeet Sammelan'' music festival. The festival takes place annually in December in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. * Chief Music Producer and Director for 'Swarashree' Recording Company since 1981 * Member of the Advisory Panel of the

Central Board of Film Censors The Central Board of Film Censors (abbreviated as CBFC) ( ur, ) is a film censorship board and rating system body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for the Government of Pakistan. Since the Eighteenth Amendment to the Consti ...

, Mumbai 1984 * President 'Gaan Vardhan' – a well-known music organisation, Pune, for the past 22 years. * 'Dr. Prabha Atrre Foundation' was registered in May 2000. * Atre established some years ago '' Swaramayee Gurukul'' in Pune. This institution amalgamates traditional ''guru-shishya'' style of teaching music and contemporary classroom teaching. * Atre has been concluding

Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival 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 Man ...

since 2007 which is considered to be prestigious. * Atre holds the world record to have released 11 books (from a single stage). Released 11 books on music in Hindi and English at India Habitat Centre,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

on 18 April 2016.

Awards

* 1976 – '' Acharya Atre Award'' for music. * Jagatguru Shankaracharya conferred the title ''"Gaan-Prabha"'' * 1990 –

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

* 1991 – ''

Sangeet Natak Academy Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

Award'' * Giants International Award, Rashtriya

Kalidas samman The Kalidas Samman ( hi, कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The ...

* Tagore Akademi Ratna Award announced from the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

in 2011 * Dinanath Mangeshkar award * Hafiz Ali Khan Award * Felicitation by Global Action Club International * Govind-Lakshmi award * Godavari Gaurav Puraskar * Dagar Gharana Award * Acharya Pandit Ram Narayan Foundation Award Mumbai * Ustad Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan Memorial Award ( Kirana Gharana) * 'Kala-Shree 2002' * 2002 –

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

* P.L. Deshpande Bahuroopi Sanman * Sangeet Sadhana Ratna Award * 'Lifetime achievement' award by the

Pune University Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

* Mahim Ratna Award by Shivsena Mumbai * Felicitation by the Mayor of

, Name included in national and international biographical works. * State government Award to her book ''Swarmayee''. * From the year 2011 "Swarayoginee Dr. Prabha Atre Rashtriya Shaastreeya Sangeet Puraskar" instituted by Tatyasaheb Natu Trust and Gaanvardhan

. * Working as a committee member for several social, educational, cultural institutions. * Chairman o
Rasta Peth Education Society
– a leading educational association in Pune for the last 12 years. * 2022 –

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

Discography

# Maru Bihag,

Kalavati Kalavati or Kalawati is a modern pentatonic Hindustani classical raga. Svaras Re (the second tone) and Ma (the fourth tone) are strictly omitted (Varjya/Varjit). Kalavati belongs to the Khamaj Thaat. Aroha and avaroha Ārohana S G P D n S' ...

, Khamaj

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 ...

# Niranjani – Puriya Kalyan, Shankara, Basant # Anant Prabha – Lalit, Bhinna Shadja,

Bhairavi Bhairavi ( sa, भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava. Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terror" or "awe-inspiring". She is th ...

thumri #

Bageshree Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by Miyan Tansen, the celebrated co ...

, Khamaj thumri # Jogkauns,

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

, thumri #

Malkauns Malkauns, known also as rag Malkosh, is a raga in Indian classical music. It is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music. The equivalent raga in Carnatic music is called Hindolam, not to be confused with the Hindustani Hindol. Accordi ...

, dadra # Chandrakauns # Madhukauns #

Madhuvanti Madhuvanti is a raga used in Indian classical music. It is a Hindustani music raga, which is reported to have been borrowed into Carnatic music,''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications''Raganidhi'' by P. ...

Desi DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) was a program begun by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the 1960s after the requirement (in the Kefauve ...

# Yaman, Bhairav # Shyam Kalyan, Bihag,

Rageshree Rageshree is a raga in Indian classical music, popular in both Carnatic music and Hindustani music. It is from the Khamaj thaat Khamaj () is one of the ten thaats (parent scales) of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the ...

thumri # ghazal and bhajan recordings from live concerts from the 1970s

References

External links

* * ''India's 50 Most Illustrious Women'' () by Indra Gupta * ''The Great Masters: Profiles in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music'' by Mohan Nadkarni {{DEFAULTSORT:Atre, Prabha 1932 births Living people 20th-century Khyal singers 20th-century Indian women classical singers Educators from Maharashtra Hindustani singers Indian music educators Kirana gharana Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Singers from Pune SNDT Women's University alumni Women educators from Maharashtra Women Hindustani musicians Women musicians from Maharashtra Women music educators Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts