Kalyani Varadarajan

Kalyani Varadarajan (8 October 1923 – 28 October 2003), commonly known as Kalyani, was one of Carnatic music's famous twentieth-century composers. She created carnatic compositions in all 72 melakarta ragas, besides scores of janya ragas.

Kalyani Varadarajan was born to Sriman Nadadoor Ammal Narasimhachariar and Srimati Singarammal.^[1] Her father was a big scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit languages, who served as a teacher, headmaster and finally as an educational inspector, while her mother was a musician. Kalyani had a taste to write and compose songs since a young age, and she underwent vocal and Veena training, first under her mother and later under other able gurus. Thereafter, she learnt to play Violin. She had her debut in Veena performance at the age of 16 in 1942.^[2]

1. The author of Musical heritage of India notes the superiority of Kalyani Varadarajan's Carnatic compositions and places it on par with great composers in the field^[3]
2. Select Kritis - Vedanta Spiritual Library^[4]
3. Books and CD of Kalyani Varadarajan's Kritis released^[5]
4. Mention of Kalyani Varadarajan's trip to the United States https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/of-kanjeevarams-kaapi-and-carnatic-music-in-cleveland/articleshow/63831515.cms
5. Kalyani Varadarajan mentioned as one of the top woman composer of carnatic kritis https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/what-women-wrote/article34273199.ece