User:Manik kakde/Usha Mangalmurti

Usha Mangalmurti Usha Mangalmurti (born November 26,1925, expired September 25, 1998) was a well-known Indian classical vocalist of the Kirana gharana from the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India. She has the credit of being the first lady from Vidarbha to get the Ph.D degree in vocal classical music. She gave classical music recitals on All India Radio, Nagpur since its inception in 1948 till 1985. 1. Early Life and education Born in Nagpur in a family of lawyers, she had a musical talent that was nurtured by Pt. Shankarrao Pravartak in Bhide Girls' High School and Bhatkhande Music College, Nagpur. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Nagpur University in 1948 and continued her music education from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahamandal. She got married to Prof. Laxmanrao Nandanpawar, professor of Physics in the Institute of Science and himself a music graduate, in 1954. She continued her studies and submitted a thesis on "Thumri Gayaki" for her "Sangeet Praveen" examination of Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahamandal and was awarded the coveted degree, equivalent to Ph.D. in 1958. 2. Career She worked as assistant District Inspector of schools in Nagpur region from 1950 to 1954. Her musical career on different stations of All India Radio started in 1948 and spanned a long period of more than thirty years. She gave performances on AIR's Delhi, Indore, Baroda, Hyderabad and overseas stations, in addition to being a regular artiste on Nagpur station. She also performed on Nagpur and Ahmedabad TV stations. She presented khayals in many 'aprachalit' i.e. rare ragas, thumri and bhajans. She participated in many music conferences held in Allahabad (1948), Ara (1949), Banda (1950) and Dalmiyanagar 91953). She also appeared in the National program of Music broadcast countrywide by AIR. She coached a few students and worked as external examiner for Music practical examinations conducted by Nagpur University.   She died after a brief illness in September 1998. Her biography has been included in the 2-book series penned by Narayan Mangrulkar.