Prabha Atre

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Prabha Atre (b. 1932, Pune) is an eminent Maharashtrian vocalist of Kirana Gharana classical Indian music.

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[edit] Life Sketch

Prabha was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atre. As children, Prabha and her sister, Usha, were interested in music, but neither of them planned to pursue music as a career. When Prabha was eight, Indirabai was not keeping good health, and at a friend's suggestion that classical music lessons would help her feel better, she took a few lessons (before stopping after five lessons). However, listening to those lessons inspired Prabha to learn classical music herself.

Prabha learned classical music first from Pandit Sureshbabu Mane, and after his demise in 1952, from Smt. Hirabai Badodekar. Both Sureshbabu and Hirabai were children and disciples of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. While studying under Hirabai, Prabha accompanied her on her musical concert tours in different parts of India, and thus got exposure to different audiences.

While studying music, Prabha also finished college courses in science and law to receive degrees in both of those disciplines. She later earned a Ph. D. in music too. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Sargam", and pertained to the use of seven main musical notes in Indian classical music.

[edit] Publications

Prabha has authored three books in Marathi on music. Her first book, "Swaramayee", is a compilation of her essays and articles on music, which were published earlier in magazines and journals. Like "Swaramayee", her second book, "Swaralee" (1992), also received public acclaim. Both books were translated into Hindi by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Prabha's third book, "Swaranginee" (1994), contains 200 of her compositions in classical and popular music. Her fourth book, "Antahswar" (1997), unrelated to music, contains poems penned by her.

Prabha has presented many papers and lectures-demonstrations on music, both in India and abroad. She has been a visiting professor at a few institutions in the West, including the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Some years ago, Prabha started an annual "Pandit Sureshbabu Mane & Hirabai Badodekar Sangeet Sammelan" music festival. The festival takes place in early December in Mumbai.

Smt. Pranati Mhatre is one of Prabha's well-known disciples.

[edit] Awards

In 1976, Prabha received the Acharya Atre Award for music. Jagatguru Shankaracharya conferred on her the title of "Gana Prabha". She received the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1991. The Government of India conferred on her Padma Shree in 1990 and Padma Bhushan in 2002. During the first four months of 2002, she received four awards, including Padma Bhushan.

[edit] A Quote by Prabha

“Music is a multi-limbed tree –-to bring out the best in you. You have to turn your mind into a fine sensor that is able to absorb the psychology of the audience you are performing for, the sociological and cultural aspects of the genre you are presenting -–be it khayal, thumri or ghazal-–, learn to grapple with acoustics, and use them to maximum advantage...

[edit] References