On the occasion of the first death anniversary of Kum. B Lalitha on Wednesday 23 March 2022, the Dept. of Culture, Govt of Telangana & Varna Arts Academy are organising ‘Lalithayam’, in her memory. On this day, her family and disciples will fondly remember her for the artist par excellence and the gem of a human that she was. As a star musician, a committed teacher, a devoted daughter and a loving aunt, Kum. B. Lalitha lived a life filled with the highest of ideals and integrity. The evening also features a concert by Smt. B. Haripriya whose voice has been silently grieving the loss of her sister and co‐artist of half a century for the past year.
Bhaskara Lalitha (06.10.1950 ‐ 23.03.2021) and Bhaskara Haripriya (B 1952) are counted amongst the senior most Carnatic vocalists in the country. Disciples of Sri T.G. Padmanabhan, the Hyderabad sisters represent the Alathur bani of Carnatic music in its most pristine form. Their parents Smt. B.
Saroja and Sri B. Siva Chandra played active roles in honing their daughters’ genius and grooming them into the finest duet singers of their generation. Their flamboyant music interspersed with their extraordinarily sober demeanours has made them one of the most respected artists of south India. They have been honoured with multiple awards and recognitions such as the Sangeetha Choodamani from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai) and Saptagiri Sangeetha Vidwanmani (Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam). Both sisters served as lecturers in the music colleges of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
The dignitaries for the evening include Chief guest V. Srinivas Goud, Hon’ble Minister for Prohibition & Excise, Tourism, Culture & Archeology, Govt of Telangana; Guests of honour – Prof. B.J. Rao, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad; Prof K.V.R. Chary, Director, IISER Berhampur.
Sangeetha Choodamani Smt. B. Haripriya will lead the evening concert. The Group singing of compositions tuned by the Hyderabad Sisters, will be rendered by their disciples Hemavathi Hosur, J.V. Tejaswini, Madhavi Chivukula, Malavika Anand, Mantha Srinivas, Penumudi B N Yasaswi, Sarada Janaswamy, Smitha Madhav, Sudhakar Bhagavathula, Kum. Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi and Kum. Akkarai S. Sornalatha. The accompanying artists include D.S.R. Murthy, K. Shyam Kumar, Kum. P. Vaishnavi, R. Sudhakar and K. Uma Venkateswarlu.