Smt. H.R.Leelavathi blessed with mellifluous voice and immaculate diction, is the tallest figure in Kannada Sugama Sangeetha (Light Music), and a household name in Karnataka today. This 87 year old singer, music composer, and a poet started her career in 1950, when Sugama Sangeetha was in a nascent form. She has been one of the flag bearers of this art form and much credit goes to her in making Kannada Sugama Sangeetha as popular as it is today.
Smt. Leelavathi is a household name for decades, with her melodious voice flowing through Akashavani sound waves, mesmerizing generations of music lovers.
Born in a family of musicians, Smt. Leelavathi learnt Carnatic classical music under Guru Chennakeshavaiah, who was a disciple of stalwart Sri Mysore Vasudevacharya. Solid background in classical music and a love for literature paved the way for her to foray into the still untapped music form of Sugama Sangeetha. She learnt Sugama Sangeetha from Padmacharan, a violinist by profession and a composer of Sugama Sangeetha by choice.
Smt Leelavathi is an A Grade artist and an A-Top music composer in Akashavani. Sugama Sangetha is her forte and she is equally proficient in folk music, vachanas and devotional songs. She is an auditioned voice for Hindi geet and bhajans too. She is a writer of caliber and an approved poet for Akashavani.
In 1983, she was the first Sugama Sangeetha artiste to be sent as a delegate by the Government of Karnataka to participate in the first Kannada Conference at New Jersey, USA.
The World Kannada Conference in Arizona, USA in 1998
The Kannada Conference in Los Angeles, USA in 2010
