PUNE: For the Kirana gharana exponent, prolific author, and Hindustani classical music legend Prabha Atre, receiving the Padma Vibhushan is a tribute to all her gurus from Sureshbabu Mane to Hirabai Barodekar and her listeners. In a year where she will turn 91, her dedication remains to her craft.
"I am elated. This award is for my gurus, my listeners, and all lovers of Hindustani classical music. Till my last breath on this earth, I want to sing and talk to my listeners, and dedicate my life to music," Atre said in an interaction with TOI on Tuesday.
Atre has donned multiple, prestigious hats in her career, be it her stint at the All India Radio, or being a lecturer in music at the SNDT Women's University in Mumbai, or a composer and an author. She was also associated with other exponents in the Kirana gharana, most notably Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, performing at Pune's iconic classical music festival, Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, and delivering the final performance at the festival since 2006, after Joshi retired due to health concerns.
"I am very glad that Prabha Atre's lifelong dedication to Indian classical music has been recognised in this manner. Besides her work in classical music, she is a creative person and a composer, and is a senior in our Kirana gharana. In fact, my mother and she were under the tutelage of the same guru, and it feels like my aunt has been honoured," Shrinivas Joshi, president of the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, which organises the festival started by his father.
She advised the upcoming artists in Hindustani classical music, including some in jest as well. "You have to have satisfaction in your own work, and not expect awards. They will come along eventually," she said.
