Legendary Indian Classical Singer Prabha Atre passed away at the age of 92 following a cardiac arrest at her residence in Pune early on January 13. She was admitted to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital for treatment. Atre had represented the Kirana Gharana of the Hindustani classical music, excelling in the rendition of khayals, thumris, ghazal, dadri, bhajans and natyasangeet.
She turned to classical singing at the age of 8. She had been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the nation’s second-highest civilian honour, in January 2022. She was earlier honoured with the Padma Shri award in 1990 and the Padma Bhushan in 2002. She was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991.
Besides being a classical vocalist, she also excelled as an academician, researcher, composer and author. A science and law graduate, she had a doctorate in music.
She was credited with inventing new Raagas like Apurva Kalyan, Madhur Kauns, Darbari Kauns, Patdeep-Malhar, Shiv Kali, Tilang-Bhairav and Ravi Bhairav.
She had also written a book of poetry titled ‘Antah Swar’ which was published in Hindi, Marathi, and English. She had been a former assistant producer with the All India Radio. Apart from singing, she also had formal training in the Kathak dance style.