TheBombay Sisters,C. Saroja (born 7 December 1936) andC. Lalitha(26 August 1938 – 31 January 2023), were an IndianCarnatic music singing duo.[1] They received thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.
The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha, were born inTrichur, in what is todayKerala, to Mukthambal and N. Chidambaram Iyer. The sisters were brought up inBombay. Saroja and Lalitha had their education in the S.I.E.S Matunga, passed their intermediate privately from Bhopal, M.P. and completed their graduation fromDelhi University. They had their musical training with H. A. S. Mani,Musiri Subramania Iyer and T. K. Govinda Rao. T. K. Govinda Rao played major role in training the nuances of Carnatic music, How to enhance the raga and its bhava while singing sangatis in a kriti[2][3][4]
After they were groomed inCarnatic music inMumbai, the sisters moved to Chennai when the elder sister, Saroja, first received a fellowship at the Central College of Music inMadras (now Chennai). The younger sister, Lalitha, also later received a fellowship at the same college.[5] The duo got their name whenMouna Swamigal ofAmbattur addressed them as 'Bombay Sahodarigal' (transl. Bombay Sisters) and the name stuck.[5][6]
As part of the trend of duo singing in Carnatic music, which started in the 1950s, with performers likeRadha Jayalakshmi, andSoolamangalam Sisters,[7] Bombay Sisters began singing in 1963 when they started with light classical music, subsequently progressing to classical Carnatic music.[8] Their first major concert in Madras was at theSai Baba temple inMylapore, where they were bumped to the prime-time slot because of the unavailability ofMadurai Mani Iyer.[9]
The duo sang in multiple languages includingSanskrit,Kannada,Telugu,Tamil,Malayalam,Hindi andMarathi.[10] They stayed away from singing for film-songs through their career.[9] They were also known for promoting young musicians through endowments and scholarships.[8] They received thePadma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.[11]
