Hi everybody! I'm Reesha Padmanabh, sister of Rithisha Padmanabh - Voice of Karnataka in Amul Star Voice of India.
First of all, I would like to convey on behalf of my family, our heartfelt gratitude to Mr Jugal Kishore Bajaj for supporting Rithisha in such a wonderful way. It is because of such music lovers that young talents like my sister are able to be recognized all over the country.
Ours is a family of musicians, though not in the professional sense. My grandma, aunts, mother and cousins are all trained in classical music. My father, uncles and the rest of our family are ardent music lovers. So Rithisha had music in her right from her birth. My parents still recall fondly how much she used to enjoy music even as a 3-month-old baby. When she used to cry, all my mom had to do was switch on the radio or sing a song. She would instantly stop crying and listen with all her attention!! As she grew older, she would quickly grasp the tunes of songs, and recognize them the next time she heard them.
Rithisha started formal training when she was 4 years old. Since Carnatic music is the most popular form of music in Karnataka, she began learning Carnatic music along with me, from Mrs. Nagalakshmi M. She completed her junior in it when she was 8 years old. I took up the Carnatic junior examinations and passed it with 88%. But Rithisha was too young to take it because only people above a certain age are allowed to take up the examination! However, by this time she had participated and won numerous prizes in various competitions. She had even performed on All India Radio and Doordarshan.
At one such competition, her present guruji Mrs. Geetha Hegde who is a pioneer in Hindustani Classical music, recognized her talent and offered to teach her. Rithisha was overjoyed and immediately started training in Hindustani Classical music under her at the age of 8. She is still pursuing Hindustani Classical music under Mrs. Geetha Hegde.
Rithisha has also been learning Light music along with me, from Mrs. Malathi Sharma from when she was 4 years old. It is from her she has learnt how to understand and express the feelings portrayed in the lyrics of a song.
In any competition she participated, she would always return home with a trophy! Soon she graduated to rendering Hindustani Classical concerts on several prestigious platforms, in various parts of Bangalore, Mysore, Sirsi, Hubli, Pondicherry, etc. She has also delivered several light music concerts.
In the year 2000, when she was 9 years old, Rithisha had her first playback singing experience, when she sang for a Kannada film titled "Suryavamsha". After that, she sang in nearly 20 other kannada movies.
Rithisha has won several Awards and Scholarships. One of the most notable awards is the National Balashree Award for Creative Performance, she won in 2001. There were several rounds of selection held in Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi. She is the first recipient of the Award for Creative Performance from Karnataka. She received the award from the then First Lady of India Mrs. Usha Narayanan, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. In 2005, she got to meet the illustrious President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, as part of a Balashree Awardees' meet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She got the opportunity to sing in front of him and till date, she considers it one of the most memorable and fortunate experiences of her life.
She is also a recipient of Karnataka State Kalashree Award in the year 2001. She has also been receiving the CCRT scholarship from the Central Government. In the year 2002, a kannada solo album of Rithisha, titled "Thangali" was released. She released a 2nd solo album of devotional songs titled "Banda Govinda" in the year 2004. Apart from these, she has sung in several other albums. Rithisha was also felicitated with the "Leonardo Da Vinci International Award" in May 2008.
One of the most important things I must mention is her amazing capability to manage both her studies and music in a highly balanced way. She studied in National Public School [CBSE]. She scored 95% in her 10th grade and 92.4% in her 12th grade. She has secured seats in Computer Engineering in National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, as well as PESIT, Bangalore.
Well, these are just few of her achievements, since I have tried my best to make it as concise as possible! All I can say is that I feel extremely lucky and proud to say that I'm Rithisha's sister!
Rithisha is a highly disciplined, focused and ambitious girl. She always works hard and succeeds in everything she desires. Amul Star Voice of India has provided her with a wonderful opportunity and platform to exhibit her talent before her country. She has made it to the top 10 singers in the show. She is practicing very hard and aiming to go higher. But she needs the support of the people of India to achieve her ambition. I request everybody who likes her singing to support her with as many votes as possible, so that she can make it to the top. The voting format is as follows:
SMS - VOI <space> 10 to 57827
BSNL/MTNL Landline users dial 1862 888 7827 10
TATA indicom users dial 12900 10😛
O Humnava Tum Dena Saath Mera
Tu Juliet Jatt Di
Anupamaa
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