Prabha Atre performing at ‘Dhawani – Mallikarjuna Mansur Music Festival’ in Bengaluru in 2012.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
Even at the age of 91, Prabha Atre remained totally connected with her music, and was keen to share it. Even during the lockdown, every Sunday, she released a composition from her private collection on social media. In an earlier interview she had shared, “I have only one regret that I did not record myself more often when I was younger.” Indeed, her first LP recorded in the 1960s, featuring raag Maru Bihag and Kalavati, continue to inspire singers.
Prabha Atre lived an extraordinary life. She was taught by two of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan’s (founder of the Kirana gharana) children – Suresh Babu Mane and Hirabai Barodekar. Thus, she represented the original stream of Kirana gharana gayaki that was different from the styles popularised by other greats of the gharana such as Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal.
Prabha Atre performing at an event organised to celebrate her 75th birthday at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chennai in 2007.
| Photo Credit:
R. Ragu
Prabha Atre gave her music her own unique stamp, being concerned more with what she felt the raag represented than the strict grammatical usage of notes. She thought about music unconventionally. She questioned the time theory of raags, how they should be taught, and even their naming. All this brought a certain depth to her music. Her thoughts translated into confident singing.
Always clad in pristine white sari, Prabha Atre did not sing to entertain and that one concert should lead to another. This gave her music a serenity, and an uncompromising quality that her audiences loved. She was a public figure but never sought publicity, bringing in a rare dignity that the younger generation must emulate.
Prabha Atre receiving the Padma Bhushan from former President of India K.R. Narayanan.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Her foray into music was literally destined – her parents were both scholars, not connected with music. When her mother fell ill, it was suggested music will help her heal. So a young Prabha took to music but continued her academics too. She did her Bachelor’s degree in science from the famed Fergusson College in Pune. She then went on to study law. She did her doctorate in music in 1974. She also studied Western music at Trinity College in London.
Prabha was a thinking musician, who had decisive views on classical music and how it should continue to evolve. She wrote several books on music in Marathi and Hindi, two of them are compilations of her articles on music over the years and two are on her compositions. Enlightening the listener and Along the path of music are her book in English.
Her doctoral thesis on sargam was innovative. She questioned why it was not used as a tool for teaching music.
Prabha Atre with Gangubai Hangal at the latter’s residence in Hubli.
| Photo Credit:
Kiran Bakale
Defying convention, she took up a job as producer at All India Radio, even though it meant staying alone in a big city like Mumbai, which in those days was not usual. She was the Head of the Department of Music at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, from 1979 to 1992 – this unusual exposure for a practicing musician gave her the perspective of an outsider – she was able to look at music and musicians differently.
Prabha Atre during a concert
| Photo Credit:
V. Sreenavasa Murthy
Prabha Atre was an active singer till her end. From 2007 onwards, hers was always the closing performance at Sawai Gandharva, Pune’s Kirana gharana festival. But December 2023, due to ill health, she was unable to perform.
Arati Kundalkar, her disciple, feels her education shaped her music too. Vocalist Manjusha Patil of the Gwalior, Jaipur, Agra traditions says, “Unke sur mein sacchapan tha (there was honesty in her music).” Gauri Pathare, who has trained in Kirana, Gwalior and Jaipur gharanas finds “Prabha tai’s zest for life inspiring”. Sawani Shende of the Kirana gharana did not learn from Prabha Atre but cannot deny her influence on her music. Arati Kundalkar shared that as a guru she was a purist but gave her disciples the confidence to empower themselves artistically.
Swaramayee, the gurukul that Prabha Atre established in Pune, is a space where music is passed down to the next generation of learners in its most authentic form even while preparing them to face the modern challenges.
