Vasudha Ravi is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, playback singer, and composer who has been performing since a young age. Trained in the Carnatic tradition, she is known for her emotive style that blends classicism with contemporary expression.[1] An All India Radio A-graded artist, Ravi has performed extensively across India and abroad, including in France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Singapore.[2]
Early life and education
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Vasudha Ravi grew up in a musical environment; her paternal grandfather, Shri Nagasubramaniam, was a disciple of Tiger Varadachariar, Sangeeta Bhooshanam from Annamalai University, Chidambaram.[3]
Her paternal grandmother introduced her to devotional music through devotional compositions, bhajans and verses such as the Thiruppavai. Vasudha’s parents, Shri N.Ravi & Smt.Sarada Ravi, encouraged her pursuit of music from a young age.
She completed her schooling at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and holds dual master’s degrees in Music (M.A.) from Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal and Human Resources (PDM-HR) from AIMA-LIBA, Loyola College, Chennai.[4]
Vasudha Ravi is married to Vasanth Jayaraman, a singer & tabla player who has accompanied various Hindustani musicians, devotional concerts & has been a part of many light music shows. Their son, Vaibhav Vasanth, is a popular singer known for his participation in ‘Super Singer Junior 8 (Tamil reality show) series. Vaibhav currently pursues Namasankeerthanam and performs with his school team as a lead singer and performs other live music shows.
Vasudha began formal training at age seven under Dr. Manjula Sriram, with whom she has continued learning for over 25 years. Dr.Manjula Sriram, a Doctorate in Music and former lecturer at The Music Academy[5] played a significant role in shaping her musical identity.[6] Vasudha also received brief guidance from Sangeetha Vidwan Late Shri A. Sundaresan, Professor T.R.Subramaniam, Shri. Chingleput Ranganathan .
Vasudha’s concerts are noted for their fidelity to tradition, melodic depth, and clarity in sahityam and sruti. Her raga alapanas are described as chaste and unhurried, balancing depth and emotion.[7] She has performed thematic concerts such as “Swami Sharanam Ayyappa Sharanam”, Tri-Shakthi, Sri Rama Vaibhavam – Rama viewed by various vaggeyakaras,[8] Dasha – An Insight into the Dasavatara, “Navarasa”.
Vasudha has also performed exclusive concerts focusing on the compositions of a particular Vaggeyakara like Papanasam Sivan, Mudduswamy Dikshitar, Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastri, Haridasas, Annamacharya (for the Annamayya Project of the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam), Bhadrachala Ramadasu Keerthanas, Krishna Leela Tharangini”, Ramana Geethams.
Since 2014, she has been associated with the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD)’s Naadaneerajam program.[9]
As a playback singer, Vasudha has collaborated with composers including A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja, and Rajkumar Bharathi. She lent her voice to A. R. Rahman’s magnum opus for Ponniyin Selvan: II, the track Veera Raja Veera across 5 languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam.[10]
Internationally, she has performed at the Musica Sacra International Music Festival in Germany,[11] Les Sacrées Journées (France) [12]and collaborated with the Bavarian Youth Jazz Band (Landes Jugend Jazz Orchestra).
Titles, awards, and recognitions
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- Sangeetha Kala Ratnam – Motibagh Sri Skanda Samaj, Nagpur (2024)
- Best Vocalist (Sub Senior Category) – The Music Academy, Chennai (2024)
- Honored by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, Government of India, during the Prana Prathishta celebrations at Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple (2024)
- Bharat Ratna M.S. Subbulakshmi Endowment Award – Vishaka Music Academy, Visakhapatnam (2023)
- Isai Thendral – Deiveega Iyal Isai Mandram (2023)
- Gana Kala Saraswathi – Perambur Sangeetha Sabha (2022)
- Shanmukha Sangeetha Shironmani – Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai (2019)
- Prof. Mahalingam Padmanabhan Endowment Award – Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai (2017)
- Dr. M. L. Vasanthakumari Award – Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai (2016)
- Honored by President of India Pranab Mukherjee for collaborative performance with Priyadarsini Govind at Rashtrapati Bhavan (2016)
- Dron(e)Acharya Award – Sangeeth Samrat Carnatic Premier League, USA (2015)
- Yuva Kala Bharathi – Bharat Kalachar (2008)
Official website
Artist profile on Shaale
Profile on The S Studio
https://starofmysore.com/sri-ramaseva-mandali-concerts-at-sri-prasanna-parvati-kalyana-mantapa-impressive-and-innovative/
