M. L. Vasanthakumari

Who was M. L. Vasanthakumari?

Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari, was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulakshmi were popularly referred to as the "female trinity of Carnatic Music. A prime disciple of the G. N. Balasubramaniam, she was the youngest among the established musicians of that era, and was the youngest female awardee of the Sangita Kalanidhi award

As well as being a much sought-after playback singer for films, MLV popularised unfamiliar ragas and her Ragam Thanam Pallavis were considered cerebral. Additionally, she popularised the compositions of Purandara Dasa, and was responsible for popularizing his compositions Baarokrishnayya, Innu daya barade, among others. Her most famous disciples include Srividya, Sudha Raghunathan, A. Kanyakumari, Charumathi Ramachandran and Meena Subramanian