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. They received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.

Filmography

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

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. The duo got their name when Mouna Swamigal of Ambattur addressed them as 'Bombay Sahodarigal' and the name stuck. As part of the trend of duo singing in Carnatic music, which started in the 1950s, with performers like Radha Jayalakshmi, and Soolamangalam Sisters, Bombay Sisters began singing in 1963 when they started with light classical music, subsequently progressing to classical Carnatic music. 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. The duo sang in multiple languages including Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi. They stayed away from singing for film-songs through their career. They were also known for promoting young musicians through endowments and scholarships. They received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.

Awards

Personal life

Lalitha was married to N. R. Chandran, former Advocate-General of Madras. She died on 31 January 2023, aged 84, in Chennai. She was suffering from cancer. Saroja is married to Rajaram, former chief secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Discography

Source(s):

Sanskrit

Malayalam

Tamil

Kannada

Carnatic Vocal