Vijaya Devi
Thakurani
BornVijayalakshmi Devi
28 August 1922
Mysore Palace, Mysore, India
Died8 December 2005
Bangalore
Names
Maharajakumari Vijayalakshmi Ammanni Devi
FatherKanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar
MotherKempu Cheluvaja Ammanni

Vijaya Devi (28 August 1922 - 8 December 2005) was an Indian princess and musician from the Wadiyar dynasty.[1]

Early life

Vijaya Devi was born Maharajakumari Vijayalakshmi Ammanni Devi, the eldest daughter of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Kempu Cheluvaja Ammanni. She was the eldest sister of Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.[1] She grew up in Chamundi Vihar Palace at Mysore.

Music

From an early age, Vijaya Devi was exposed to Carnatic and Western music. She was taught to play veena by Veena Venkatagiriyappa. She also learnt piano from the nuns of Good Shepherd Convent and later from Alfred Mistowsky of Trinity College, London, while he was on a visit to Mysore.[2] In 1939, on a tour to Europe with her father, she met the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Devi was dedicated to the furthering of music. She founded the International Music and Arts Society at Bangalore.[2] The society's patrons include the governors of Karnataka, Rukmini Devi Arundale, S. M. Krishna, and her own nephew Prince Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

Personal life

Vijaya Devi married Thakore Saheb Pradyumna Singh Himant Sing, the ruler of Kotda-Sangani, in 1941. With the marriage, she assumed the new title Thakurani. After India's Independence, the thakore joined the new Indian Foreign Service. The couple moved to New York in 1947. While there, she studied at the Juilliard School of Music under Eduard Steuermann.

The couple had four daughters: Gita Devi Nath, Usha Devi Malavi, Urmila Devi, and Shakuntala Devi; and five grandchildren: Akshay Malavi, Priyam Malavi, Udaya Nath, Hanumant Nath, and Anishaa Taraporvala.

Death

She died on 8 December 2005 at Bangalore.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bhaktavatsala, M (10 January 2006). "End of a gentle glow". Archived from the original on 2 May 2006.
  2. 1 2 Sardana, Nikhil (1 December 2016). "Urmila Devi Kotda Sangani - Organising Secretary, International Music & Arts Society". Serenade. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
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