Bombay Jayashri to be conferred with Sangita Kalanidhi by Music Academy

Renowned Carnatic vocalist and musician Bombay Jayashri was on Sunday chosen for the coveted Sangita Kalanidhi award of the prestigious Music Academy, Chennai.

The Music Academy also declared names for Nritya Kalanidhi, Sangita Kala Acharya, TTK, and Musicologist awards for the year 2023. In a press release, the Music Academy President N Murali said the awards will be presented to the winners on January 1 and January 3, 2024.

Bombay Jayashri, one of the foremost among today's Carnatic musicians, will be conferred with the Sangita Kalanidhi award. The vocalist, who is a Padma Shri awardee, was initially trained under her parents and later under T R Balamani and violin maestro Lalgudi G Jayaraman.

“She has also been training underprivileged children in music and contributing through her art to social causes,” the Music Academy said.

While Nritya Kalanidhi will be conferred on Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari, an exquisite dancer and acharya par excellence of both Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Palkulangara Ambika Devi and K S Kalidas have been chosen for Sangita Kala Acharya awards.

Thirunageswaram T R Subramaniam, a veteran Thavil vidwan hailing from Thanjavur in the Cauvery Delta region, and Sargurunatha Odhuvar will be bestowed with TTK awards. The Musicologist Award will go to Dr Arimalam S Padmanabhan, a researcher for over 20 years in the field of Classical Music, Dance, Theatre, Folk Arts and Classical Tamil Literature. He was awarded the doctorate for his work on Music in Traditional Tamil theatre.

Bombay Jayashri, the Sangita Kalanidhi awardee, will preside over the academic sessions of the 97th annual conference and concerts of The Music Academy to be held between December 15, 2023, and January 1, 2024, the statement said.

The Nritya Kalanidhi will receive the award at the Inauguration of The Music Academy's 17th Annual Dance Festival on January 3, 2024, it added.

Palkulangara Ambika Devi is a prolific Carnatic musician and prodigious guru hailing from Kerala who has been performing Carnatic music for more than 60 years and has taught more than three generations of musicians across the country. Kalidas is a senior mridangam vidwan, teacher, scholar, and writer on music.

Subramaniam has had an eventful music career spanning 60 years and his versatility lies in his quick grasp, mathematical brain, and nimble execution of complex rhythms on the thavil with felicity, while Sargurunatha Odhuvar has carved a niche for himself in Thirumurai presentation.

(This copy has been updated: The earlier version had erroneously named the Music Academy President as N Ravi, instead of N Murali)