It was a December like this, but 84 years back. Madras hosted All India Congress Committee in 1927. An all India music conference was held along with the Congress session. Let me quote from Shri V. Sriram’s book ‘The Devadasi and the Saint, the life and times of Bangalore Nagarahnamma’
“ While the Conference listed the concert schedules of the male artstes, it carefully avoided those of women, but a later document from the Music Academy, released in 1928 states that among the 25 vocalists who sang during the concerts held between 24th and 31st December, there were five women. Nagarathnamma was the sole woman singer from Madras Presidency and also the only Devadasi from Madras Presidency.
Pt. Vishnu Digambar, the eminent Hindustani musician who was chairing the debates on Hindustani music during the conference was moved by Nagarathnamma’s music to reward her with a gold medal. ……Strangely for all her status as a premier artsite, Nagarathnamma was not invited to perform even once by that august body during remaining years of her life” ( page 125)
Please see a very rare recording of a ragamalika ( Ragas Kalyani, Shankarabharanam,Todi, Kamboji, Nayaki, Bhairavi, Mohanam and Bhoopalam) by Bangalore Nagarathnamma (1872-1952)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObZP-F7AM0o
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