Born on 9th September 1969, Vidushi Kalavathy hails from a family of musicians; Daughter of the illustrious musician couple Sangeetha Kalaratna Bangalore K. Venkatram and Gamaka Kala Kogile G R Jaya, Kalavathy had music running in the whole family. Father Bangalore K. Venkatram was a ghatam maestro, an organizer par excellence and the Founder Director of Percussive Arts Centre. Mother, G R Jaya is a veteran Gamaka artiste and vocalist of repute. Brother, V Krishna is an eminent Mridangam artiste, present Director of Percussive Arts Centre and has accompanied veteran artists on the Mridangam. Kalavathy is happily married to Sri D Avadhoot, a connoisseur of music who has been encouraging her a great deal in shaping her musical career. Academic Excellence Kalavathy’s drive for academic excellence had its roots at a very young age. She was conferred the “BEST GIRL” at Vijaya High School. She secured 3rd rank for the state in the 2nd PU examinations. She is an awardee of the gold medal and secured 1st rank in MA (Music). Musical Training After the initial training under mother, Vidushi G R Jaya and then Vidushi Usha Char, Kalavathy had her intensive training under Ganakala Bhushana Anoor. S. Ramakrishna. She was indeed very fortunate to have learnt under Guru Sri Ramakrishna who moulded her to be the artist she is now. She also learnt under Vidushi Seethalakshmi Venkateshan and is now learning under Vidwan. P. S. Narayanaswamy of Chennai. Performances Kalavathy Avadhoot has performed all over India in major sabhas of Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Trichy, Mysore, Bangalore, Shimoga, Bellary etc. She has toured the USA in the year 1999 under “Nada Tarangini”. She has also toured Amsterdam, Netherlands in the year 2005 under “Carnatic Lab” Other Accomplishments Kalavathy has lent her voice for Art movies like “Madhwacharya”, “Ramanujacharya”, and “Bhagavadgeetha” etc under the direction of G V Iyer and B V Karanth with the musical legend Dr. M Balamuralikrishna. She has cut several discs and cassettes of Devaranamas and Classical thematic CDs. The recent release of “Abhayamba Vibhakthi Krithis” released by Suswaralaya College of Music is one among them. Kalavathy’s style of singing Endowed with a rich and mellifluous voice Kalavathy Avadhoot’s vocal stands out for the feel (bhava) she imparts to her music. An unhurried style of deliberating a raga with a flawless sruthi sense and rich manodharma; neat krithi rendition with a tradition bound paataanthara; effortless neraval and swaraprasthara with a sharp sense of laya, and above all meticulous planning make her concerts very fulfilling to the learned and connoisseurs alike. Laurels and Awards Kalavathy Avadhoot was awarded a) All India Radio Music competition prize b) The Merit Prize for securing maximum number of awards by Bangalore Gayana Samaja (1989) c) Silver Jubilee Endowment Prize at Krishna Gana Sabha in 1994 d) “Best Main Musician” awarded by Karnataka Gana Kala Parishath, Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai (2000) e) “Youth Excellence Award” from Rotary South Parade (2001) f) Awarded the Fellowship by Govt. Of India, Dept for Culture for study of Allied Ragas in Carnatic Music g) “Ananya Yuva Puraskara” (2006) h) “Gana Kala Shree” by Karnataka Gana Kala Parishath (2009) i) “Sathyashree” awarded by Vani School of Music (2009)
j) “Vishesha Kala Chethana” awarded by the Vishesha Fine Arts (2013) |
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