Eminent Carnatic vocalist and guru Lalitha passed away on Tuesday due to cardiac arrest. She was 70. Lalitha, along with her sister Haripriya, was an indomitable force in the classical music scene. The duo, known as the Hyderabad Sisters were known to draw houseful-audience to their concerts.
Born and brought up in Hyderabad, Lalitha, along with her sister Haripriya trained under the late T. G. Padmanabhan, of the Alathur bani and was an A- graded artiste of the All India Radio. Both sisters have performed in all the leading Sabhas of the country and abroad.
For years, Barkatpura, where Lalitha lived and trained many students, was a destination for aspiring classical musicians. She was a faculty member at the Government music colleges in Hyderabad. Known for their Manodharma — the extempore rendition of ragas and sticking to pure traditional style — the sisters often enlightened the audience by presenting rare ragas and kritis.
Lalitha and Haripriya last performed at an online concert on March 20 to mark the 107th Jayanthi Celebrations of Uppalapati Ankaiah organised by Sangeetha Ksheera Sagaram.
The sudden demise of Lalitha has left classical musicians of the Telugu states in shock.
