Prabha Atre | |
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Born | 13 September 1932 |
Years active | 1950 - present |
Website | www |
Prabha Atre (born 13 September 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana.
Prabha was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atre in Pune. 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. Listening to those lessons inspired Prabha to learn classical music.
Her music training was in the Guru-shishya tradition. She learnt classical music initially from Vijay Karandikar. She then learnt from Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Badodekar from the Kirana school for advanced training. She acknowledges the influence of two other greats, Amir Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, on her gayaki.
While studying music, Prabha finished college courses in science and law to receive degrees in both of those disciplines. She later also earned a Ph.D. in music. Her doctoral thesis was titled Sargam, and pertained to the use of sol-fa notes in Indian classical music.
Prabha Atre had a short stint as a singing stage-actress in the early days of her career. She played her roles in a line-up of Marathi theatre classics, which included socials and mythologicals like Sanshay-Kallol, Maanaapamaan, Saubhadra and Vidyaharan.
Prabha Atre is currently one of the senior vocalists in the country representing the Kirana Gharana. Her first LP, with Maru Bihag and Kalavati, clearly demonstrates the influence of Amir Khan. She has contributed to popularizing Indian classical vocal music at global level. She is competent in various musical genres such as Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, geet, Natyasangeet, and bhajans. She has been giving private lessons to students since 1969.