Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
| Vijayalakshmi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
7 October 1981 Vaikom, Kerala, India |
| Genres | Playback singing, Carnatic music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Gayatriveena |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Labels | Audiotracs |
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi is a playback singer from Kerala, India.[1] She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the movie Celluloid.[2] She was born blind in Vaikom on October 7, 1981 and later on moved to Chennai.[3]
She was blessed with the gift of voice but deprived of the pleasures of vision. She was born on October 7, 1981, on Vijaydashmi day, Living near the Udayanapuram temple in Vaikom, Vijayalakshmi is the only daughter of Muraleedharan and Vimala. It was only after her parents came to terms with the fate of her incurable blindness that they moved to Chennai. Here the young Viji grew up listening to Tamil movie songs by the likes like Ilayaraja and M S Viswanathan. She was spotted with the talent of catching a tune at the first hearing and reproducing it exactly in all its subtle nuances. Later, her parents bought classical music tapes of Jesudas, which Viji would listen to, most ardently. In a matter of less than a year, she learned more than a 100 ragas and made her own compositions. Until then, she had no formal training in music.[4]
Music discipline insists for training from a knowledgeable teacher. But her effortless raga alapana and swara delineation, surprised the most discerning of Vidwans. Her arangetram was conducted at the Chathamkudi temple in Vaikom. In 1987 she met her `manasaguru' Jesudas who was amazed by the child's `jnanam' in identifying the most complex ragas and her mastery in rendering ragas like `Todi' and `Bhairavi'. The following year Viji held a performance at the prestigious Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai. [5]
Viji, in the first 10 years, had performed at more than 400 stages in all the major `sabhas' in Chennai, Tanjore, Madurai, Coimbatore and other major cities of India. Meanwhile, another significant achievement was her mastery over a one-stringed instrument. The `gayatri tampuru', presented to her by a connoisseur, was electrified and modified by her father Muraleedharan. The kulapati of Carnatic violin Sri Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan was mesmerized by her veena recital and gave it the name `Gayatri Veena'. She has performed several concerts with the instrument. Since 1995, Viji has been playing it at the Chembai Sangeetotsavam at Guruvayoor .She played at the prestigious Soorya Festival in 2001. [6]
As temple performances are hardly rewarding financially, Viji has had to sing and play film tunes to keep her going. Today she has a repertoire of almost 300 ragas and double the number of compositions. Viji loves listening to concerts of MS, Madurai Seshagopalan, Balamuralikrishna and Maharajapuram Santhanam. Her favourite ragams are-Hindolam, Shubha Panthuvarali, Sivaranjini, and Madhyamavati. Of late Viji has turned to Hindustani. [7]
Awards
- 2012: Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Mention) for "Kaatte Kaatte" from Celluloid[8][9]
- 2013: Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer for "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014: Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer - Malayalam for "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014: Mirchi Music Awards (South) for Upcoming Female Vocalist of the year for "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan [10]
- 2014:Nominated - Asianet Film Awards for Best Playback Singer(Female) - "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014: Jaycey Film Awards for Best Singer for "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan [11]
- 2014:Nominated - 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Female Playback Singer - "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014: Eenam Swaralaya Awards for song of the year - "Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014:Nominated - Asiavision Awards for Best Singer(Female)-"Ottakku Padunna" from Nadan
- 2014: C.K.M.A Malayalam film Awards for Best female singer[12]
Notable songs
| Year | Film | Song Name | Composer | Co-Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Celluloid | "Katte Katte" | M. Jayachandran | G. Sreeram |
| 2013 | J. C. Daniel | "Kaartae Kaartae" | M. Jayachandran | G. Sreeram |
| 2013 | Nadan | "Ottakku Padunna" | Ousepachan | |
| 2014 | Rudhra | "Shaaradhambaram" | Ramesh Narayan | |
| 2014 | Ezhu desangalkum agalae | "Enikum" | ||
| 2014 | Polytechnic | "Paatu petti" | Gopi Sunder | |
| 2014 | Cuckoo-Tamil | "Kodayila" | Santhosh Narayanan | Kalyani Nair, Pradeep Kumar |
| 2014 | Yennamo Yedho | "Pudhiya Ulagai" | D.Imman | |
| 2014 | Kaadu | "Uchimalai Kaadu" | ||
| 2014 | Vellaikaara Durai | "Kaaka muttai" | D.Imman | |
| 2015 | Kavathu | "Melody" | Sabesh Murali | |
| 2015 | Idam Porul Eval | "Endha Vazhi" | Yuvan Shankar Raja | | |
| 2015 | Romeo Juliet | "Idharkkuthanae Aasaippattai" | D.Imman | |
| 2015 | Vizhithiru | "Tamil" | Sathyan Mahalingam | |
| 2015 | TP 51 | "Malayalam song" | ||
| 2015 | Oru Vadakkan Selfie | "Kaikkottum Kandittilla " | Shaan Rahman |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vaikom Vijayalakshmi. |
- ↑ "Celluloid dreams". The Hindu. January 24, 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ↑ http://www.vaikomvijayalakshmi.com/
- ↑ "She sings to conquer". The Hindu. May 27, 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ↑ http://vaikomvijayalakshmi.blogspot.in/
- ↑ http://vaikomvijayalakshmi.blogspot.in/
- ↑ http://vaikomvijayalakshmi.blogspot.in/
- ↑ http://vaikomvijayalakshmi.blogspot.in/
- ↑ "Prithviraj, Rima steal the show at State Film Awards". Times Of India. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ↑ "Celluloid, Reema and Prithvi win the state awards". Indiaglitz.
- ↑ http://www.mirchimusicawards.com/malayalam/winners.php
- ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/mammootty-meena-win-awards/article6301997.ece
- ↑ http://keralatodaynews.blogspot.in/2014/10/ckma-malayalam-film-serial-awards-2014.html