Aathira Krishna is an Indian violinist. She holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for her 32-hour-long non-stop

Carnatic Carnatic may refer to: *Carnatic region, Southern India *Carnatic music, the classical music of Southern India *, the name of several ships *, a minesweeper of the Royal Indian Navy *, the name of several ships of the Royal Navy See also *Karnata ...

violin solo concert. She is among the youngest

cultural ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

s of India.

Early years

Hailing from a musical family in Kerala, one of her ancestors was Vidwan Shri Gopala Pillai, a musician who belonged to the renowned

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...

Tradition of

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 ...

. Krishna is the daughter of K. C. Krishna Pillai and S. Leela Kurup. She had her intensive training under her grandfather Sangitha Vidwan. She showed music talent even as a

toddler A toddler is a child approximately 1 to 3 years old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, as children at thi ...

, when she would repeat back musical phrases she heard her father sing.

Career

Krishna switched to violin from vocal at the age of eight and was soon hailed a child prodigy. She started performing as a Carnatic Violin soloist from the age of 9. Popularly hailed as the "Princess of Indian Violin", and honoured by the former First Lady of India

Usha Narayanan Usha Narayanan, born Tint Tint (; 1922 — 24 January 2008), was the First Lady of India from 1997 to 2002. She was married to K. R. Narayanan, the tenth President of India. Usha Narayanan was India's second foreign-born first lady (also sec ...

as "The Musical Gem of India", she has represented Indian classical music at international music festivals. Krishna was invited twice to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Official Residence of the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. In 2001, as a child prodigy representing Indian classical music, she presented a paper presentation on "Violin in South Indian Classical Music" for the prestigious ''International Children's Assembly'' held at New Delhi. In 2002, she presented a unique thematic 'World Music Night' incorporating music genres of more than 20 nations for the year-long Millennium Celebrations in Kazakhizhtan. In 2003, Krishna entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for her 32-hour-long non-stop

South Indian classical violin South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

concert dedicated to global peace and harmony. Titled 'Nadhabrahma', this was also a tribute to her eminent grandfather. She also holds a place in the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

for the same feat. She was among the youngest of speakers for the Lecture Demonstration Section of Internal MuSIC Festival in Russia on the topic "Violin in Classical Indian Music". In 2005, she was invited by the Mayor of

Menden Menden (, official name: ''Menden (Sauerland)''; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Mennen'') is a city in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr (rive ...

, Germany to perform at the international music festival Jazz Meets Classics. She also became the first Indian classical musician to perform at the 1000-year-old church at Kaiserwerth, Germany. In 2005, Krishna was invited to give the Inaugural Concert for the 74th birthday celebration of President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Awards and honours

* Honored with the title of “The Musical Gem of India” by the former first lady of India,

after hearing her at the

Rashtrapathi 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, Raisi ...

fficial residence of the president of India *Honored by the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

’s prestigious “President’s National Balasree Honour” for “the best outstanding creative child musician of India”. *Honored by the

Guinness book of world records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for her unique 32 hour-long non-stop

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

concert dedicated to global peace and harmony. *Yuva Kala Bharathi Awards by Bharat Kalacha

*Princess of Strings Award 2006 from Rotasia World Conference. *She is the only Indian classical musician to perform at the prestigious International Music Festival

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Meets

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

References

External links

Athira Krishna's Official Website www.athira.in

Concert Review – GOA PLUS

TED INSPIRING SPEAKERS

VERVE MAGAZINE YOUNG ACHIEVER LIST

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071103000017/http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/24/stories/2005032414830300.htm The Hindu News -Chennai violin prodigy wins rave reviews in Germany – Article at Hindu.com
The Hindu News – An employee's ward does BSNL proud -Athira stunned the BSNL family – Article at Hindu.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna, L. Athira Living people Carnatic violinists Women Carnatic musicians Carnatic musicians Indian women classical musicians Indian violinists Malayali people Real World Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Thiruvananthapuram Indian women violinists Women musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian women musicians 21st-century Indian musicians 21st-century Indian violinists