The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja (born 7 December 1936) and C. Lalitha (26 August 1938 – 31 January 2023), were an Indian
Carnatic music singing duo.[1] They received the
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.
Filmography
Yar Jambulingam (Aadi Aadi Asaithal)
Arunagirinathar (Kaithala Nirai Kani)
Early life
The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha, were born in
Trichur, in what is today
Kerala, to Mukthambal and N. Chidambaram Iyer. The sisters were brought up in
Bombay. Saroja and Lalitha had their education in the S.I.E.S Matunga, passed their intermediate privately from Bhopal, M.P. and completed their graduation from
Delhi University. They had their musical training with H. A. S. Mani,
Musiri Subramania Iyer and T. K. Govinda Rao. T. K. Govinda Rao played major role in training the nuances of Carnatic music, How to enhance the raga and its bhava while singing sangatis in a kriti[2][3][4]
Career
After they were groomed in
Carnatic music in
Mumbai, the sisters moved to Chennai when the elder sister, Saroja, first received a fellowship at the Central College of Music in
Madras (now Chennai). The younger sister, Lalitha, also later received a fellowship at the same college.[5] The duo got their name when
Mouna Swamigal of
Ambattur addressed them as 'Bombay Sahodarigal' (
transl. Bombay Sisters) and the name stuck.[5][6]
As part of the trend of duo singing in Carnatic music, which started in the 1950s, with performers like
Radha Jayalakshmi, and
Soolamangalam Sisters,[7] Bombay Sisters began singing in 1963 when they started with light classical music, subsequently progressing to classical Carnatic music.[8] Their first major concert in Madras was at the
Sai Baba temple in
Mylapore, where they were bumped to the prime-time slot because of the unavailability of
Madurai Mani Iyer.[9]
The duo sang in multiple languages including
Sanskrit,
Kannada,
Telugu,
Tamil,
Malayalam,
Hindi and
Marathi.[10] They stayed away from singing for film-songs through their career.[9] They were also known for promoting young musicians through endowments and scholarships.[8] They received the
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.[11]