Lalita Venkatram | |
|---|---|
 Lalita Venkatram, from a 1939 issue ofThe Indian Listener | |
| Born | 1909 (1909) Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu |
| Died | 1992 (aged 82–83) |
| Other names | Lalita Venkataram, Lalitha Venkataraman |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, music educator |
Lalita Venkatram (1909 – 1992), also credited asLalita Venkataram orLalitha Venkataraman, was an IndianCarnatic singer andveena player. She is credited asthe first playback singer inTamil cinema andthe first Carnatic musician to be featured onAll India Radio, Bombay.[1]
Venkatram was born inThiruvannamalai,Tamil Nadu, the daughter of Manavasi V. Ramaswamy Iyer and Subbalakshmi Ramaswami. Her father was a public works engineer and a composer.[1][2]
Venkatram gave concerts in India and Ceylon, singing and accompanying herself on veena. She gave a benefit performance in Colombo after the1935 Quetta earthquake.[3] She was the first Carnatic singer to be heard on All India Radio, Bombay, because she sang on the station's first broadcast in 1933.[1] She provided singing vocals for an actress inA. V. Meiyappan'sNandakumar (1938),[4] becoming the first playback singer in a Tamil film.[1] She continued giving concerts and performing on All India Radio into the late 1940s.[5][6][7]
Venkatram taught music students in Bombay after she retired from performing.[1] One of her successful students was singer and composerShankar Mahadevan.[8]
She married K. S. Venkatram. She lived in Bombay and had five children, including singer Kalyani Ramdas. Venkatram died in 1992. One of her grandchildren, Krishna Ramdas, is a professionaltabla player.[9]