Nithyasree Mahadevan profile

Nithyasree Mahadevan, born in August 25, 1973 is an eminent Indian classical musician and playback singer for film songs in a number of Indian languages. She was born to Lalitha Sivakumar and Injikudi Sivakumar. Her mother Lalitha Sivakumar, who was Palghat Mani Iyer's daughter had learnt Carnatic music in Indian Classical Music from her mother-in-law, D. K. Pattammal, who was Nithyashree's first guru.
	Her family history is made up of 2 doyens of Classical music; she is the maternal Granddaughter of Mridangam Maestro, Palghat Mani Iyer and even more famously, the paternal Granddaughter of the legendary Carnatic vocal exponent, stalwart of music, Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal (DK Pattamal), the lady who sang a patriotic song at midnight on India's Independence Day in 1947. Nithya has followed this family tradition and keeps her family's heritage intact to the core. Having been endowed with all many awards and accolades, like being an A Grade artiste of All India Radio, awards like Kalaimamani and Isai Peroli –
given only to the best of the best. She is one of the most humble people one could meet, possessing the gift of diplomacy, the grace of carrying herself with utmost decorum and being one of the most gifted 'stars' one would have the pleasure of meeting. Nithyashree's father would constantly show his support, as he being an accomplished mridangist, would be Nithyashree's accompanist whenever he can. Nithyashree's commanding, high-pitched voice is well suited to carnatic music, devotional, patriotic and popular songs. Her amazing voice, coupled with her style and vast repertoire, impresses audiences all over the world. Born to multiple music lineages, Nithyasree Mahadevan has an inimitable simple beauty and demeanour that not many can truly propagate. She shows this in all her actions and performances, that she is the epitome of the younger generation promoting South Indian culture and patriotism. Her Engineer husband, Mahadevan gives her full support helping her keep the commitment to her art. Nithyashree and her husband, Mahadevan, have 2 daughters, Tejashree and Tanujasree. Steeped in tradition, Nithya, as she is fondly called by friends, well-wishers and family alike, is rarely seen without the traditional South Indian attire, the saree, usually dressed in brightly coloured Kancheepuram silk. Performing from a very young age, she has honed her Carnatic music skills to give performances that are second to none, with her incredible vocal range, reaching many octaves, her voice buoyant and her inherent ability to coerce notes into melting within each other, to capture the essence of the scale.
Career & Awards:
Nithyashree's introduction to playback singing came when A.R. Rahman called her to Panchathan Recording Inn, in Chennai, for a voice test. The output from her visit became a huge hit, and was used in the movie "Jeans" starring Aishwarya Rai. After this, Nithyashree was in demand for playback singing for films and drama serials thereafter. Nithyashree's first maiden Carnatic performance was for the Youth Association For Classical Music on 10th August 1987, in which she was titled 'best concert of the series'. She is an A.I.R. Prize Winner (1990) and is an 'A' grade artist. She has been awarded the "Yuva Kala Bharathi" title by Bharath Kalachar in 1994, "Innisai Maamani" by Tamil Nadu Welfare Association, and various other prestigious awards such as "Kalaimamani", "Isai Paeroli" (2001). She has received "Best Concert Award" from The Music Academy during the music festivals several times and has also performed for the "Sangeeth Natak Academy" twice in their International Music Festivals in Bombay and Hyderabad. She has performed in all major sabhas all over India and has performed across the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and various other destinations throughout the world.
Her Dedication and Improvisation with Music:
She has presented a paper on the Life and Contribution of  Gopalakrishna Bharathi for the Music Deparment of PSG College, Coimbatore and made two thematic albums popularising a number of Gopalakrishna Bharathi 's compositions. Nithyasree has also given a Lecture Demonstration in Coimbatore for Manoranjitham on "Papanasam Sivan - A Legend" and likewise, released a couple of thematic albums popularising compositions of Papanasam Sivan. She received the "Best Promising Artiste" from "Mohanam" Music Club, and made a thematic album of compositions popularising the ‘Ragam Mohanam’. She has given numerous concerts consisting of only patriotic songs to commemorate the 50th year of Indian Independence, a few with her grandmother D. K. Pattammal while her grandmother was still performing. Similarly, Nithyashree released a few albums popularising patriotic songs.