"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for

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 ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by

Lalgudi Jayaraman Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin trinity of Carnatic mu ...

and T.R. Balamani, She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic music field, the

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangita Kalanidhi () is the title awarded annually to a Carnatic musician by the Madras Music Academy. From 1929 to 1941, the award did not exist. The award was conceived in 1942 by Academy President K. V. Krishnaswami Iyer and on 1 January 1 ...

, by 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 ...

. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for '' Pi's Lullaby'' from

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. After a ...

movie. She is one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.

Early life and training

Jayashri was born into a Tamil-speaking family in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. She received her initial training in

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

from her parents, Smt. Seethalakshmy Subramaniam and Shri. N. N. Subramaniam, and was later trained by

and T. R. Balamani. She also learned to play the

Veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.

from G. N. Dhandapani Iyer. Jayashri received training in Hindustani classical music from K. Mahavir Jaipurwale and Ajay Pohankar. She also holds a diploma in Indian music from the

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya New Delhi is an institution established in 1939 to popularize Indian classical music and dance. The Mahavidyalaya (school) came into being to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the great reviver of ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. Jayashri studied

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

under Guru K. Kalyanasundaram Pillai of Shri Rajarajeshwari Bharatha Natya Kalamandir, Mumbai. She was also involved in theater with the Amateur Dramatic Club, Mumbai. Jayashri attended St. Anthony's High School in

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. It belongs on the harbour line of suburban railways and offers the best connectivity with Mumbai Monorail, Santacruz- Chembur Link R ...

. She holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and economics from

R. A. Podar College Rāmniranjan Ānandilāl Podār College of Commerce and Economics (Autonomous), popularly known as R.A Podar College is affiliated with the University of Mumbai, situated in Matunga, Mumbai, India. It is run by the Shikshan Prasarak Mandali, a ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Performances

Jayashri performed her first concert in 1982. She has performed at various festivals and venues all across India and in over 35 different countries. In India, she has performed at all the major festivals. In New Delhi:

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

, Vishnu Digambar festival, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha, India International Centre, Indira Gandhi National University, and Bhakti Utsav. She has performed also at Saptak,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

; The Music Academy and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha,

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 ...

;

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, ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

; NCPA and Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha,

; Chowdiah Memorial Hall and Vasantha Habba,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

;

Kuthira Malika Kuthiramalika () is a Travancore Kingdom palace built by Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma on the south-eastern side of Padmanabhaswamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram. Kuthira Malika translates to 'Mansion of horses', and it has been named so because of ...

and Soorya Festival,

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the largest and ...

, The Palace of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

and at the

Matrimandir The Matrimandir is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of integral yoga in the centre of Auroville established by Mirra Alfassa of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is called ''Soul of the City'' ( French: ''L'âme de la ville'' ...

Amphitheatre at

Auroville Auroville (; City of Dawn French: Cité de l'aube) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with some parts in the Union Territory of Puducherry in India.

. Across India, she has performed for the Spirit of Unity Concerts for National Integration, the

SPIC MACAY The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth, abbreviated as SPIC MACAY, is a voluntary youth movement which promotes intangible aspects of Indian cultural heritage by promoting Indian classical music, clas ...

Festivals, and All India Radio's Sangeet Sammelan. In the US, she has performed at the Lincoln centre for the performing arts, Carnegie hall, Kennedy Centre for performing arts World Music Institute – New York;

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

– Tucson;

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

– Austin;

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

– Boston; University of Louisiana – New Orleans;

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

. She also has performed in the

Sydney Opera house The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

(The first carnatic Musician to perform there). Jayashri's Europe tours have included venues such as: Sadler's Wells and Queen Elizabeth Hall – London; Festival of Sacred Voices and

Museum Rietberg The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the largest art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the large ...

– Switzerland; Vantaa Festival and The Russian Opera House – Helsinki, Finland;

Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...

, Festival of Nantes, The Museum of Sculpture and Arts, Musee des Asiatiques and Citi de la Musique – in France; Casa da Musica a Porto – Portugal; Sala de Camera – Spain and at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

. She has also performed at The Royal Opera House – Durban,

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

– Melbourne and Esplanade Theatre – Singapore. On 19 September 2017, she performed at

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the esports team Toronto Defiant. Opened ...

in Toronto, Canada, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as they gave the world premiere of Mychael Danna's "Life of Pi" suite. Jayashri has been supporting

since more than three decades. She has travelled to many places in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

including remote places in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, hill districts of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

Port Blair Port Blair (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headqu ...

, rural and tribal areas of

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

and Idukki in Kerala,

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

and many other places to perform hundreds of Lecture Demonstrations to students, introducing them to the Indian classical music.

Musical collaboration

Musical exchanges and dialogues

Jayashri has performed

Jugalbandi A jugalbandhi or jugalbandi is a performance in Indian classical music, especially in Hindustani classical music but also in Carnatic, that features a duet of two solo musicians. The word jugalbandi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet c ...

concerts with Hindustani Musicians

Ronu Majumdar Ronu Majumdar is an Indian flautist (Bansuri player) in the Hindustani classical music tradition. Early life Ronu Majumdar was born in Benares. His father was a homeopathic doctor, oil painter, and amateur flautist who took lessons from Pandit ...

Shubha Mudgal Shubha Mudgal (born 1 January 1959) is an Indian singer, and composer, known for her works in Hindustani classical music, Indian pop, and Tamil cinema. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, and dadra. She has received the Padma S ...

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, known professionally as V. M. Bhatt, is an Indian Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who invented and plays a modified slide guitar that is widely called the Mohan veena. Personal life Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajastha ...

and Gaurav Mazumdar. She has dialogued with artistes in dance like

Leela Samson Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi fo ...

, Chitra Visweshwaran, Alarmel Valli, Priyadarsini Govind and

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and Kannada films. She is ...

. Jayashri has sung

Thirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' (), or shortly the ''Kural'' (), is a classic Tamil language text on commoner's morality consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teaching ...

and an

Annamacharya Tallapaka Annamacharya () (09 May 1408 – 23 February 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a Telugu musician, composer, and a Hindu saint. He is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called '' samkirtanas.'' His devoti ...

verse in the prestigious audio autobiography – '' Wings of Fire'' of former President Shri Abdul Kalam. Jayashri has also collaborated with Carnatic Musicians T. M. Krishna,

Jayanthi Kumaresh Jayanthi Kumaresh (born 1969) is an Indian classical musician best known for her mastery of the Saraswati veena. With a performing career of more than forty years, she has given concerts throughout India and abroad, recorded widely, and engaged ...

and

Abhishek Raghuram Abhishek Raghuram (born 1985) is an Indian carnatic music, carnatic vocalist. Life Abhishek was born into a family of notable musicians. He is the grandson of mridangam maestro Palghat R. Raghu. His mother Usha is the niece of violin maestro L ...

. She performed in 'Bhaire Baanvari', the story of Meera, conceptualised and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan. She also was a part of 'Mathemagician' with actor V Balakrishnan and written by Gowri Ramnarayan. Jayashri also performed at the MTV Coke Studio (India) Season 1 with

Ustad Rashid Khan Ustad Rashid Khan (1 July 1968 – 9 January 2024) was an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani tradition. He belonged to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and was the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. He was awarded t ...

and Richa Sharma. Jayashri also conceptualised 'Listening to Life' – A concert that features the journey of a musician as a lover of music.

Cross cultural collaboration

Her quest to interact and experiment with various forms of music has resulted in collaborations with various eminent artistes from around the world. Jayashri has sung two

Sangam Period The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...

songs, Veral Veli (A Kuruntokai poem by

Kapilar Kapilar or Kabilar ( Tamil: கபிலர்) was the most prolific Tamil poet of the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). He contributed 206 poems, or a little less than 10% of the entire Sangam-era classical corpus by 473 ...

) and Yaadhum Ure in the album ' Sandham: Symphony Meets Classical Tamil', an international collaboration of various artists and Durham Symphony by Composer

Rajan Somasundaram Rajan Somasundaram, best known as Raleigh Rajan (Malayalam: റാലെ രാജൻ, Tamil:ராலே ராஜன்), is a composer, drummer, violinist and music producer based in Raleigh. He has made the first ever music album on Tamil San ...

. Yaadhum Ure song, a multi genre fusion where Bombay Jayashri sang Carnatic portions along with various international singers was declared the theme song of 10th

World Tamil Conference The World Tamil Conference () is a series of occasional conferences to discuss the social growth of the Tamil language. Each conference is attended by thousands of Tamil enthusiasts around the world. Conferences are hosted in various cities in ...

. The album was featured in Amazon's Top#10 International Albums category in July 2020. She has sung with Egyptian singer

Hisham Abbas Mohammad Hisham Mahmoud Mohammad Abbas (; born September 13, 1963), commonly known as just Hisham Abbas (), is an Egyptian pop singer best known for his hit song " Habibi Dah (Nari Narain)" and his religious song "Asmaa Allah al-husna". Biogra ...

and Senegalese singer

Thione Seck Thione Ballago Seck (March 12, 1955 – March 14, 2021) was a Senegalese singer and songwriter in the mbalakh genre. Seck came from a family of griot singers from the Wolof people of Senegal. He first performed with Orchestre Baobab, but he la ...

. In 2008, she was part of an Indo-Finnish venture 'Red Earth and Pouring Rain', where she sang

Kuṟuntokai Kuṟuntokai (, meaning ''the short-collection'') is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the second of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literature. The collection belongs to the ''akam'' (love) category, and each ...

– ancient poems from

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

– with

Avanti Avanti (in Italian, meaning 'ahead', 'forward', or 'before', and also an unrelated Sanskrit name) may refer to: Vehicles * Studebaker Avanti, a model of automobile built by Studebaker * Avanti II, a successor model made by Avanti Motor Corporati ...

,conducted by John Storgards set to music by

Eero Hämeenniemi Eero Olavi Hämeenniemi (born 29 April 1951) is a Finnish composer, musician and writer. He was born in Valkeakoski. He is an adjunct professor at the University of the Arts Helsinki and he has played and recorded solo improvisation concerts. Hä ...

. This was premiered at Helsinki and was also performed at Lapland. In 2012, she sang the poetry of Mirza Ghalib composed by

at the Vantaa festival, with the Gamba quartet led by Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, Finland. The performance was also held at Hungary. In 2014, she worked with Eero Hameenniemi in Yadhum Oore, Sangam Poetry and performed with Finnish Philharmonic orchestra. Bombay Jayashree in concert

Film music

Jayashri is also a playback singer whose film music includes Collaborations with M S Vishwanathan ( Tampathigal), Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, M M Keeravani, Johnson, Oesappachan, M Jayachandran,Ramesh Narayan, Haris Jayaraj, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Imman, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Govind Vasantha. Her song for

Harris Jayaraj J. Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil cinema, Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu and two films i ...

won her the

Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...

for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for the popular song "

Vaseegara ''Vaseegara'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by K. Selva Bharathy. It is a remake of the 2001 Telugu film, '' Nuvvu Naaku Nachav''. The film stars Vijay and Sneha, while Vadivelu, Nassar, Gayatri ...

" from the Tamil film ''

Minnale ''Minnale'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language musical romance film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon in his directoral debut. The story was written by Menon and Vipul D. Shah. The film, starring Madhavan, Abbas and Reema Sen, tells the story ...

''. She sang the song "Zara Zara Bahakta Hain" (the Hindi version of "Vaseegara") in the movie ''

Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein ''Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein'' (), also known by the initialism ''RHTDM'', is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, starring R. Madhavan, Saif Ali Khan and Dia Mirza in the lead roles. ...

'' with music composer

.She sang in Mahesh Dattani's 'Morning Raga' for the music of Amit Heri. She has sung in various films in

, Tamil, Bhojpuri,

and

languages. She collaborated with composer

Mychael Danna Mychael Danna (born September 20, 1958) is a Canadian composer of film and television scores. He won both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Original Score for '' Life of Pi''. He has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Compositio ...

on "Pi's Lullaby" from the film adaptation of

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

's book ''

'' in 2012.

Music composition

She has composed music for Kalidasa's Meghadootham, choreographed by Sheejith Nambiar and Parvathy menon, produced by Aim for Seva. She has composed the music for Meera- Soul Divine, choreographed by Chitra Vishweshwaran, produced by Aim for Seva. Jayashri worked with

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

on his motion picture, ''

.'' She performed the lyrics for " Pi's Lullaby", which was nominated for the 2012 Oscars in the Best Original Song category. She has also composed music for actor

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi and ...

's films ''Verukku Neer'' and ''Magal in

Kerala Cafe ''Kerala Cafe'' is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language anthology film consisting of ten short film segments, directed by Ranjith, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Shaji Kailas, Uday Ananthan, Anjali Menon, B. Unnikrishnan, Shyamaprasad, Anw ...

''. In 2004, Jayashri composed music for ''Silappadhikaaram'', a dance drama commissioned by the Cleveland Cultural Alliance. She has composed music for her albums, Shravanam, Smaranam and more.

Passing on an inheritance

In 2001, Jayashri, along with

Sanjay Subrahmanyan Sanjay Subrahmanyan (born 21 January 1968 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu) is a Carnatic musician and vocalist from Chennai, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2015. Biography Sanjay Subrahmanyan was born on 21 Ja ...

and T. M. Krishna wrote the book 'Prof. Sambamoorthy, the visionary musicologist', detailing the life and times of Prof. Sambamoorthy – eminent Indian

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. The book was published to commemorate his centenary. In 2007, Jayashri, T. M. Krishna – leading Carnatic vocalist and Mythili Chandrasekar – Senior Vice-president at JWT together wrote the book ''Voices Within'', – a one-of-a-kind coffee table book that captures the pioneering spirit of 7 of the greatest Carnatic masters of the previous generations. Jayashri featured in the first full-length Carnatic music film 'Margazhi Ragam', conceptualised by Director P Jayendra. This was a ground breaking venture that showed Carnatic music in a whole different light. The movie, released in 2008, used the very best and latest technologies for video and sound recording. In her quest to reach music to the next generation, she along with T. M. Krishna and YACM initiated Svanubhava – a week-long Music Festival, exclusively for students of music, which continues to be conducted annually.

Giving-back

Another dimension of music which Jayashri is focused on is in exploring the therapeutic and healing value of music. Under her Trust Hitham she shared music with Children in the Autism Spectrum. She and her students teach music at Swami Dayananda School at Manjakudi. She has been working closely with institution like Kilikili, Sampoorna in Karnataka and Sankalp in Tamil Nadu which care for autistic children. This domain is a matter of serious engagement for Jayashri and her students. Some other institutions that Jayashri has worked with include: The Banyan Chennai (rehabilitation of homeless/mentally challenged women), Vasantha Memorial Trust (cancer patients), Stepping Stones Orphanage Home, Malaysia, Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, Bangalore and more.

Awards and recognition

* 2001 –

Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil The Tamil Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare Awards for Tamil films. The first Tamil award was given in 2006. However, since 1997 till 2005, a common award ...

for the song 'Vaseegara' from the movie

* 2005 – '

Sangeetha Choodamani Sangeetha Choodamani () is an award bestowed on selected carnatic musicians by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai (India) every year. The Sabha conducts a music festival called '' Gokulashtami Sangeetha Utsavam'' for 60 days during August - October ...

Award' from Dr. A C Muthiah from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai in the presence of her Guru

* 2005 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer - "Suttum Vizhi" ( Ghajini) * 2007 –

Sangeetha Kalasarathy Sangeetha Kalasarathy () is the title awarded yearly by Parthasarathy Swami Sabha for Carnatic Music expert. It carries a shawl, a citation, a medallion with a cash purse of Rs. 5,000. Recipients * Balamuralikrishna in 102nd annual music festival ...

award from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai,conferred by the Vanamamalai Mutt pontiff Ramanuja Swamigal * 2007 – "

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

Virudhu" from the Government of Tamil Nadu * 2008 –

Vijay Award for Best Female Playback Singer The Vijay for Best Female Playback Singer is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil ( Kollywood) films. The award was first given in 2007. Superlatives Most Wins *Chinmayi Sripaada (2 wins - ''2009 and 2011'') ...

for the song 'Yaaro Manathilae' from the movie

Dhaam Dhoom ''Dhaam Dhoom'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film based on the 1997 American film '' Red Corner''. Written, filmed and directed by Jeeva shortly before his death and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar, it stars Ravi Moha ...

* 2013 – Nominated for

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

(Oscar) for '' Pi's Lullaby'' from ''

'', 2013 * 2021 - Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Hey Nijame" from Enai Noki Paayum Thotta * 2021 -

, by the Government of India * 2019- Rama gana kalaacharya award from ramseva mandali Banglore * 2023 -

title by the

. The award is presented in Chennai, at the inauguration of the December music season (Margazhi),

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

. * 2024 - Best Female Playback Singer award (

70th National Film Awards The 70th National Film Awards were announced on 16 August 2024 to honour the best films of 2022 in Indian cinema, presented by the National Film Development Corporation of India. The awards ceremony was originally slated to be held on 3 May 202 ...

)for the Malayalam movie Saudi Vellakka.

Controversies

The relatives of Malayalam poet

Irayimman Thampi Iravivarman Thampi, better known as Irayimman Thampi (1782–1856), was an Indian Carnatic musician, music composer and poet from the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a vocalist in the court of Swathi Thirunal. His compositions include the lullab ...

and the Irayimman Thampi Smaraka Trust alleged that the lyrics penned by Bombay Jayshree for "Pi's Lullaby", which was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

in the Best Original Song category for the 2012 film ''

'', were copied from Thampi's lullaby

Omanathinkal Kidavo Omanathinkal Kidavo () is a lullaby in Malayalam that was composed by Irayimman Thampi on the birth of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal of Travancore. To date, it remains one of the most popular lullabies in the Malayalam language. History The lulla ...

. Jayashri had rendered 'Omanathinkal Kidao' in a Malayalam version back in 2001 on her album ''Vatsalyam''.

Discography

* ''Smaranam: Song of the Soul'' (2010, Inreco ) * ''Confluence of Elements'' (2007, Saregama) * ''Kannamma'' (2007, Rajalakshmi Audio)

Film playback singing

Album Songs

*'' Arivum Anbum''

References

External links

* * * * Whole Collection o
Bombay jayashri songs
in Hi5songs {{DEFAULTSORT:Jayashri, Bombay 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century women composers 21st-century Indian composers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century women composers Bhajan singers Bollywood playback singers Carnatic singers Women Carnatic singers Filmfare Awards South winners Indian women classical singers 21st-century Indian women composers Indian women playback singers Indian voice actresses Kannada playback singers Living people Malayalam playback singers Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Singers from Kolkata Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Tamil playback singers Telugu playback singers University of Mumbai alumni Women musicians from West Bengal Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian women composers