Isaivani (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: இசைவாணி; born 1996) is a gaana singer from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, who performs with The Casteless Collective. In 2020 she was recognised for her achievements with one of the BBC 100 Women Awards.

Biography

Isaivani was born in

Royapuram Royapuram is a locality in the northern part of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for its beach, and for Royapuram Railway Station. The station is the first railway station of South India, opening in 1856, and is today ...

in 1996 to Sivakumar D and Selvi. Her father, a self-taught keyboardist, encouraged her musical ability and singing from a young age, encouraging Selvi to sing to Isaivani and her brother while they were in the womb. Her performance career began at the age of six, alongside her father and by 2018 she had performed approximately 10,000 shows with him. She began sing

Tamil film Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...

songs and to cover gaana songs as a teenager because audiences responded well to them. In 2017, gaana musician Sabesh Solomon contacted her and encouraged her to audition for a new band that was being formed by Tenma - this band became The Casteless Collective. By joining the band, Isaivani became one of the first professional female gaana singers in the world. In addition she is a woman from a low caste, succeeding in a male, high-caste dominated genre of music, despite initial opposition from people who felt that gaana should be preserved as male-only artform. The music she sings with The Casteless Collective is political: in 2018 they released 'Beef Song' in protest at the lynching of dalit people; in 2019 they released 'I’m Sorry Ayyappa' about the

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

temple controversy. Her presence on stage has led to other women coming forward as gaana performers. In 2020, Isaivani was recognised for her contributions to gaana music with a BBC 100 Women Award. She participated in Tamil Bigg Boss Season 5.

Television

Tamil album songs

References

{{Authority control 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Singers from Chennai 1996 births Living people