Prabha Atre in action at a concert in Bengaluru. File
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
She played a significant role in popularising classical music across the globe
Legendary classical singer and Padma Vibhushan recipient Prabha Atre, considered the doyenne of the Kirana gharana, passed away on January 13 in Pune, aged 92.
Atre suffered a cardiac arrest in her sleep at her residence. “She was rushed to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, where she was declared dead at 5.30 a.m.,” said a medical source. She was due to participate in a programme in Mumbai on January 13.
The much-feted Atre, who played a significant role in popularising classical music across the globe, won the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2022, during a rich career spanning seven decades.
President Ram Nath Kovind presents Padma Vibhushan to Prabha Atre for art. File
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Born in September 1932 in Pune, she received her training in classical music from the renowned Sureshbabu Mane, a prominent exponent of the Kirana gharana.
Author and educationist too
Established as one of the ‘grand dames’ of Indian classical music by the early 1970s, what made her different from peers like the renowned Kishori Amonkar was her sheer versatility and ability in innovating hoary traditions in Indian classical music, making it fresh and supple with her trailblazing renditions.
Besides being a music educationist and thinker who wrote prolifically, Atre straddled the worlds of classical music, dance and theatre with consummate ease.
She had a brief stint as a singing stage-actress early in her career, essaying roles in Marathi theatre classics while having formal training in Kathak.
She was equally proficient in different classical genres, be it khyal, tarana, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan, citing the influence of Ustad Amir Khan (founder of the Indore gharana) for khyal and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (Kasur gharana) for thumri.
In keeping with the guru-shishya tradition, Atre ran the Swaramayee Gurukul in Pune to train students, which birthed several notable classical singers.
‘Set new standards’
Paying rich tributes, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a state funeral for Atre. “Her contribution to Indian classical music is of the highest order. She set new standards in the field with her extraordinary talent, and heavenly and mesmerising singing… Her demise will be a great void and loss for Indian music,” Mr. Shinde said.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who presented Atre with the Atal Sanskriti Award on December 25 last year, said the singer’s death was “very painful”. “Indian music will always be indebted to her, I pay my heartfelt tribute to her, and may God give strength to her family to bear this loss,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said Atre’s demise “marked the end of a glorious era of classical music”.
Her last rites will be performed in Pune on January 16.
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