Aruna Sairam

Aruna Sairam is one of the most celebrated Carnatic vocalists of her generation — a Padma Shri awardee, Sangita Kalanidhi (2018), and Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres often described as India's Music Ambassador. Born in Mumbai into a Tamil musical family and trained in the lineage of T. Brinda, she has carried South Indian devotional song from the sabhas of Chennai to stages around the world, becoming the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC Proms in London (2011). She is especially beloved for closing her concerts with Marathi abhangs to Vitthal of Pandharpur — ecstatic pilgrim songs she absorbed growing up in Mumbai — which regularly bring whole halls to their feet singing along, a living bridge between the Carnatic concert stage and congregational kirtan.