Bombay Jayashri Ramnath

Bombay Jayashri Ramnath is a vocalist, musician and composer, rooted in Carnatic music but at home in several other styles. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu ^[1].

A musical family

She was born in Kolkata on 2 December 1964 to Seethalakshmy Subramaniam and N. N. Subramaniam, both Carnatic musicians and her first teachers ^[2]. In Mumbai she trained intensively with T. R. Balamani, and later under the violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman ^[2]. She also studied Hindustani music with Pandit Mahavir Jaipurwale and Pandit Ajay Pohankar, learned the veena from G. N. Dhandapani Iyer, and earned a diploma from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi ^[2].

On stage

Her concerts draw on Hindustani music and ghazals as well as her Carnatic base ^[2]. She has sung at Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Mysore Palace, and abroad at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Sadler’s Wells, the Esplanade in Singapore and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto ^[2]. No Carnatic musician had sung at the Sydney Opera House before her, and at Carnegie Hall only M. S. Subbulakshmi among Indians had gone before her ^[2].

Collaborations and films

She is known for working with artists from other fields and cultures, collaborations that have taken Indian music into opera houses abroad ^[2]. She has sung popular film songs in several languages, and her song for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ^[2]. She has also composed music for dance dramas and albums ^[2].

Giving back

She founded the Ilitham trust, which works with autistic children through music, and teaches many students, notably at the Swami Dayananda Saraswati school at Manjakkudi ^[2]. Her honours include the Tamil Nadu government’s Kalaimamani award ^[2].