Nithyasree Mahadevan
Encyclopedia
Dr. Nithyasree Mahadevan, (born August 25, 1973) also previously referred to as S. Nithyashri, is an eminent Carnatic music
ian and playback singer
for film songs in many Indian languages
. Nithyasree's paternal grandmother, D. K. Pattammal
, and her granduncle, D. K. Jayaraman
, were prominent Carnatic vocalists who were established disciples of Ambi Dikshithar, Papanasam Sivan
, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and others. Nithyasree's maternal grandfather was the prominent mridangam maestro, Palghat Mani Iyer
.
Nithyashree has performed in all major sabha
s in India and has presented her concerts in many destinations around the world. She has received multiple awards and honours, and has released more than 100 commercial albums.
,
while her maternal grandfather was the mridangam maestro, Palghat Mani Iyer
. Her granduncle was the Carnatic vocalist, D. K. Jayaraman
.
Her mother, Lalitha Sivakumar, was her first guru
(teacher). Like her mother, Nithyashree was also the disciple of D. K. Pattammal
, and would accompany her in concert. Nithyashree's father, an accomplished mridangist and disciple of Palghat Mani Iyer, would constantly show his support and accompany Nithyashree when she performed.
s all over India and has presented her concerts in the United States of America, Canada
, United Kingdom
, Australia
, United Arab Emirates
, Germany
, France
, Singapore
, Malaysia and various other destinations throughout the world.
. Prize Winner (1990) and has been an 'A' grade artist. She has been awarded the "Yuva Kala Bharathi" title by Bharath Kalachar in 1994, "Innisai Maamani" by Tamil Nadu Welfare Association, "Kalaimamani" by Hamsadhwani in 2000, "Isai Paeroli" by Kartik Fine Arts in 2001, and various other prestigious awards such as ", "Padma Sadhana" (2004), and "Naada Kovida" (2006). She has received "Best Concert Award" from The Music Academy
during the music festivals a couple of times and has also performed for the "Sangeeth Natak Academy"
twice in their International Music Festivals in Bombay and Hyderabad. She has also received the "Best Promising Artiste" from "Mohanam" Music Club, and made a thematic album of compositions popularising the raga
Mohanam. She was awarded a doctorate degree from Sathyabama university of Jeppiar in Chennai
in late 2007.
, D. K. Jayaraman
, Vijay Siva
, R. K. Sriramkumar, as well as the chief guest at that concert, K. V. Narayanaswamy
.
She has given numerous concerts consisting of only patriotic songs to commemorate the 50th year of Indian Independence, a few with D. K. Pattammal before her grandmother stopped performing in public.
D. K. Jayaraman and D. K. Pattammal were known for singing and popularising the compositions of Papanasam Sivan
, having learnt them directly from the composer himself. Nithyashree has continued this tradition. She has also given a lecture demonstration in Coimbatore for Manoranjitham on "Papanasam Sivan - A Legend", and made two special thematic albums that solely contained his compositions.
Like D. K. Pattammal, Nithyashree has also popularised compositions of Gopalakrishna Bharathi
. She presented a paper on the Life and Contribution of Gopalakrishna Bharathi
for the Music Department of PSG College, Coimbatore
. Her two thematic albums that solely consisted of his compositions have been very popular, both online and offline.
Nithyashree's commanding, high-pitched voice is well suited to various genres of music including Carnatic music
, devotional
music, as well as patriotic and popular songs.
came when A.R. Rahman called her to Panchathan Recording Inn, in Chennai
, for a voice test sometime in the 1990s. The output from her visit was used for the song "Kannodu Kanbadellam
" in the movie Jeans
starring Aishwarya Rai
and Prashanth
. This became particularly popular which resulted in many songs in the same combination like "Minsara Kanna" from Padayappa
, "Sowkiyama Kannae" from Sangamam
, and "Manmatha Maasam" from Parthale Paravasam
.
Some of her other songs include "Kumbakonam Sandhayile" from New
, "Oru Nadhi Oru Pournami" from Samurai, "Kana Kaangiren" from Ananda Thandavam as well as "Thaai Thindra Mannae" from the film Aayirathil Oruvan.
She also successfully branched out to Telugu
and Kannada playback singing, with songs such as "Ra Ra..." from Apthamitra.
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
ian and playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
for film songs in many Indian languages
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
. Nithyasree's paternal grandmother, D. K. Pattammal
D. K. Pattammal
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. She along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari were popularly referred to as the Female trinity of Carnatic Music...
, and her granduncle, D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman , the renowned brother of D. K. Pattammal, was a Carnatic music singer.After learning music from his sister, he furthered his musical skills under many known masters in the field, including Muthiah Bhagavathar and Papanasam Sivan. Like his sister, Jayaraman was known for his moving...
, were prominent Carnatic vocalists who were established disciples of Ambi Dikshithar, Papanasam Sivan
Papanasam Sivan
Papanasam Sivan was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a singer.A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S...
, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and others. Nithyasree's maternal grandfather was the prominent mridangam maestro, Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music and the first mridangist to win the Sangeetha Kalanidhi andPadmabhushan awards....
.
Nithyashree has performed in all major sabha
Sabha
Sabha is one of the districts of Libya. It is located near the center of the country, in the Fezzan region. The capital is the city of Sabha, with a population of 130,000....
s in India and has presented her concerts in many destinations around the world. She has received multiple awards and honours, and has released more than 100 commercial albums.
Early life
Nithyasree was born to Lalitha Sivakumar and I. Sivakumar. Her paternal grandmother was the Carnatic vocalist D. K. PattammalD. K. Pattammal
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. She along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari were popularly referred to as the Female trinity of Carnatic Music...
,
while her maternal grandfather was the mridangam maestro, Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat Mani Iyer
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music and the first mridangist to win the Sangeetha Kalanidhi andPadmabhushan awards....
. Her granduncle was the Carnatic vocalist, D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman , the renowned brother of D. K. Pattammal, was a Carnatic music singer.After learning music from his sister, he furthered his musical skills under many known masters in the field, including Muthiah Bhagavathar and Papanasam Sivan. Like his sister, Jayaraman was known for his moving...
.
Her mother, Lalitha Sivakumar, was her first guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
(teacher). Like her mother, Nithyashree was also the disciple of D. K. Pattammal
D. K. Pattammal
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. She along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari were popularly referred to as the Female trinity of Carnatic Music...
, and would accompany her in concert. Nithyashree's father, an accomplished mridangist and disciple of Palghat Mani Iyer, would constantly show his support and accompany Nithyashree when she performed.
Touring
Nithyashree has performed in all major sabhaSabha
Sabha is one of the districts of Libya. It is located near the center of the country, in the Fezzan region. The capital is the city of Sabha, with a population of 130,000....
s all over India and has presented her concerts in the United States of America, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia and various other destinations throughout the world.
Titles and Awards
Nithyashree's maiden performance was titled 'best concert of the series'. She is an A.I.RAll India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
. Prize Winner (1990) and has been an 'A' grade artist. She has been awarded the "Yuva Kala Bharathi" title by Bharath Kalachar in 1994, "Innisai Maamani" by Tamil Nadu Welfare Association, "Kalaimamani" by Hamsadhwani in 2000, "Isai Paeroli" by Kartik Fine Arts in 2001, and various other prestigious awards such as ", "Padma Sadhana" (2004), and "Naada Kovida" (2006). She has received "Best Concert Award" from The Music Academy
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy, or simply Music Academy, is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music south Indian art form. It also played an important role in revival of...
during the music festivals a couple of times and has also performed for the "Sangeeth Natak Academy"
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
twice in their International Music Festivals in Bombay and Hyderabad. She has also received the "Best Promising Artiste" from "Mohanam" Music Club, and made a thematic album of compositions popularising the raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
Mohanam. She was awarded a doctorate degree from Sathyabama university of Jeppiar in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
in late 2007.
Performances
Nithyashree's first Carnatic performance was for the Youth Association For Classical Music on 10 August 1987. The concert lasted 1 hour, and was scheduled between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. Prominent Carnatic musicians that were present at the concert, included D. K. PattammalD. K. Pattammal
Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal was a prominent Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. She along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari were popularly referred to as the Female trinity of Carnatic Music...
, D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman
D. K. Jayaraman , the renowned brother of D. K. Pattammal, was a Carnatic music singer.After learning music from his sister, he furthered his musical skills under many known masters in the field, including Muthiah Bhagavathar and Papanasam Sivan. Like his sister, Jayaraman was known for his moving...
, Vijay Siva
Vijay Siva
N Vijay Siva is an eminent Carnatic music singer, and is the disciple of the vocalist, D. K. Jayaraman.-Background:Vijay Siva was born to Akhila Siva and A.N.Siva on 29 March 1967....
, R. K. Sriramkumar, as well as the chief guest at that concert, K. V. Narayanaswamy
Palghat Kollengode Viswanatha Narayanaswamy
Palghat Kollengode Viswanatha Narayanaswamy , often referred to as KVN, was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was described as the "Gentle Perfect Knight" of Carnatic music, a phrase from Geoffrey Chaucer, by V. K...
.
She has given numerous concerts consisting of only patriotic songs to commemorate the 50th year of Indian Independence, a few with D. K. Pattammal before her grandmother stopped performing in public.
D. K. Jayaraman and D. K. Pattammal were known for singing and popularising the compositions of Papanasam Sivan
Papanasam Sivan
Papanasam Sivan was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a singer.A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S...
, having learnt them directly from the composer himself. Nithyashree has continued this tradition. She has also given a lecture demonstration in Coimbatore for Manoranjitham on "Papanasam Sivan - A Legend", and made two special thematic albums that solely contained his compositions.
Like D. K. Pattammal, Nithyashree has also popularised compositions of Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharati was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He wrote a katAkALatcEpam , NantanAr Carittiram , two other works in this genre, and many independent kritis....
. She presented a paper on the Life and Contribution of Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharati was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He wrote a katAkALatcEpam , NantanAr Carittiram , two other works in this genre, and many independent kritis....
for the Music Department of PSG College, Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
. Her two thematic albums that solely consisted of his compositions have been very popular, both online and offline.
Nithyashree's commanding, high-pitched voice is well suited to various genres of music including Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
, devotional
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
music, as well as patriotic and popular songs.
Playback singing
Nithyashree's introduction to Tamil playback singingPlayback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
came when A.R. Rahman called her to Panchathan Recording Inn, in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, for a voice test sometime in the 1990s. The output from her visit was used for the song "Kannodu Kanbadellam
Jeans (soundtrack)
Jeans is the soundtrack from the 1998 film Jeans, released by Westop on April 1, 1998. The soundtrack features artists such as Hariharan, Harini and Unnikrishnan. A. R. Rahman composed the music for this movie. The original soundtrack featured lyrics by Vairamuthu in Tamil...
" in the movie Jeans
Jeans (film)
Jeans is a 1998 Tamil musical romance film. Directed and written by Shankar and produced by Ashok Amritraj and Murali Manohar, it stars Prashanth, Aishwarya Rai and Nassar in the lead roles. Raju Sundaram and Lakshmi, prominent actors from the south Indian film industry, played the roles of the...
starring Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
and Prashanth
Prashanth
Prashanth is an Indian film actor who appeared in several Tamil films, as well as a few Telugu films, Hindi and Malayalam films.The son of noted actor-director Thyagarajan, Prashanth began his career at 17 by appearing in Vaigasi Poranthachu and went on to feature in other acclaimed films...
. This became particularly popular which resulted in many songs in the same combination like "Minsara Kanna" from Padayappa
Padayappa
Padayappa is a 1999 Tamil drama film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film features Rajinikanth, Soundarya and Ramya Krishnan playing lead roles, whilst Sivaji Ganesan, Lakshmi and Nassar play pivotal supporting roles. With soundtrack composed by A. R...
, "Sowkiyama Kannae" from Sangamam
Sangamam
Sangamam is a Tamil musical romance film directed by Suresh Krishna. Actor Rahman, the co-brother of A.R. Rahman was the hero of the film. Vindhya made her debut playing the daughter of the rich classical father played by Vijayakumar. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman...
, and "Manmatha Maasam" from Parthale Paravasam
Parthale Paravasam
The soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Vaali, Vairamuthu and Na. Muthukumar. The soundtrack featured nine songs with most of them remained chart-toppers for many months. Guitarist Rashid Ali had his debut as a vocalist through this film...
.
Some of her other songs include "Kumbakonam Sandhayile" from New
New (film)
The soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman and with lyrics by Vaali, was critically well received. In an interview in 2001, Surya earlier stated that Deva had composed ten songs for the film, but he was later replaced by Rahman. Rahman remixed the 1964 hit Tamil song "Thottal Poo Malarum" from the...
, "Oru Nadhi Oru Pournami" from Samurai, "Kana Kaangiren" from Ananda Thandavam as well as "Thaai Thindra Mannae" from the film Aayirathil Oruvan.
She also successfully branched out to Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and Kannada playback singing, with songs such as "Ra Ra..." from Apthamitra.