Shyamamani Devi (; born 1938) is a Odissi classical music vocalist composer. A disciple of Gurus

Singhari Shyamsundar Kar ''Desaraja Adiguru'' Singhari Shyamasundar Kar (; 4 March 1908 – 16 March 1975) was a renowned Odissi musician, Guru, singer, scholar and composer. Born to a ''sebayata'' (servitor) family of the Jagannatha Temple, he was groomed under veteran ...

and Balakrushna Dash, she is known for her popular renditions of classical

Odissi music music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-sha ...

, such as Odissi, Chhanda, Champu, etc. authored by medieval Odia musician-poets such as

Upendra Bhanja ''Kabi Samrata'' Upendra Bhanja () was a 17th-century Odia poet-composer of classical Odissi music.Mansingha, Mayadhar: ''History of Oriya Literature'': Publisher, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi He is most known for his Odissi songs and kabyas written i ...

Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha ''Kabisurjya'' Baladeba Ratha (alternatively spelled ''Kabisurya, Kavisurya Baladev Rath,'' ; c. 1789 – 1845) was an Indian poet who wrote in the Odia language, and a composer and musician of Odissi music, most known as poet-composer of the ' ...

Banamali Dasa Banamali Dasa (; 1720–1793) is an Indian medieval Odia ''bhakta''-poet & composer of Odissi music from the state of Odisha. "''Dinabandhu daitari''", "''Kede chanda jane lo sahi''" and "''Manima he etiki maguni mora''" are some of hi ...

, Gopalakrusna and others. She is also known for her renditions of light music such as traditional Odia folk music and adhunika songs. In 2022, she was awarded the

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 confe ...

for he contributions to Odissi music. Born to Rajendra Mohan Pattnaik and Nishamani Pattnaik, Shyamamani belonged to a musical lineage. She was the youngest among five siblings. The eminent Odissi musician and dramatist Kalicharan Pattnaik was her uncle. In her childhood, she faced opposition from the society due to her interest in music, but continued her musical education with the support of her father and Kalicharan Pattnaik. At the age of 12 in 1950, she began singing at All India Radio Cuttack. She began her formal training in classical music under ''Adiguru Pt''

and ''Sangita Sudhakara Pt'' Balakrushna Dash. Later she undertook a course in voice culture under B. R. Deodhar. She also learned from Kundala Adinarayana Rao for a while. She married Mayadhar Behera, a medicine practitioner. The couple had a son and two daughters. In 2018, filmmaker Santosh Gaur directed a documentary on her life and work titled "Shyamamani Devi - Odissi Classical vocalist".

Awards and honours

* Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1994) * Lifetime achievement award from Chandigarh University (2004) * Honorary doctorate from Utkal University of Culture (2012) * Guru Singhari Samman by Guru Gopal Panda Odissi Academy (2014) * Guru Sahadev Padhi Memorial Samman (2016) * Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra Award by Srjan (2017) * Deba Prasad Das Samman by Guru Debaprasad Das Foundation (2018) * Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Award (2019) *

(2022)

References

External links

Interview by FLARES
{{Authority control 1938 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Odissi music People from Cuttack district Recipients of the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi award Disciples of Singhari Shyamsundar Kar Disciples of Balakrushna Dash