Vijaya Devi (28 August 1922 - 8 December 2005) was an Indian princess and musician from the

Wadiyar dynasty The Wadiyar dynasty,() also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore (also spelt Wodeyer, Odeyer, and Wadeyar), is a Medieval India, late-medieval India, Indian royal family of former Maharaja of Mysore, maharajas of Mysore from the Urs (surname) ...

Early life

Vijaya Devi was born Maharajakumari Vijayalakshmi Ammanni Devi, the eldest daughter of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Kempu Cheluvaja Ammanni. She was the eldest sister of Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. She grew up in Chamundi Vihar Palace at

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 ...

Music

From an early age, Vijaya Devi was exposed to Carnatic and Western music. She was taught to play

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.

by Veena Venkatagiriyappa. She also learnt piano from the nuns of Good Shepherd Convent and later from Alfred Mistowsky of

Trinity College, London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity College ...

, while he was on a visit to

. In 1939, on a tour to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with her father, she met the Russian composer

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. Devi was dedicated to the furthering of music. She founded the International Music and Arts Society at

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 ...

. The society's patrons include the

governors of Karnataka The governor of Karnataka, formerly governor of Mysore, is the constitutional head of the India, Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the president of India, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de ...

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Sastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

, S. M. Krishna, and her own nephew Prince Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

Personal life

Vijaya Devi married Thakore Saheb Pradyumna Singh Himant Sing, the ruler of Kotda-Sangani, in 1941. With the marriage, she assumed the new title ''Rani Saheb''. After

India's Independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, the thakore joined the new

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a Central Civil Services, central civil service of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India under the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External A ...

. The couple moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1947. While there, she studied at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

under

Eduard Steuermann Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892, Sambor, Austria-Hungary – November 11, 1964, New York City) was an Austrian-born American pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and Ferruccio Busoni in ...

. The couple had four daughters: Gita Devi Nath, Usha Devi Malavi, Urmila Devi, and Shakuntala Devi; and five grandchildren: Akshay Malavi, Priyam Malavi, Udaya Nath, Hanumant Nath, and Anishaa Taraporvala.

Death

She died on 8 December 2005 at Bangalore.

References

External links

A musical Tribute to Rani Vijaya Devi

Musical Queen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Rani Vijaya 1922 births 2005 deaths Indian women classical singers Indian princesses Musicians from Mysore Wadiyar dynasty Dancers from Karnataka Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian musicians 20th-century Indian women artists Women musicians from Karnataka Women from the Kingdom of Mysore People from the Kingdom of Mysore Veena players 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers