Isaivani
இசைவாணி
Born1993 (age 29–30)
Royapuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
GenresGaana
Occupation(s)Singer

Isaivani (Tamil: இசைவாணி; born 1996) is a gaana singer from Chennai, who performs with The Casteless Collective. In 2020 she was recognised for her achievements with one of the BBC 100 Women Awards.

Biography

Isaivani was born in Royapuram in Chennai in 1996 to Sivakumar D and Selvi.[1][2][3] Her father, a self-taught keyboardist, encouraged her musical ability and singing from a young age, encouraging Selvi to sing to Isaivani and her brother while they were in the womb.[3] Her performance career began at the age of six, alongside her father and by 2018 she had performed approximately 10,000 shows with him.[3] She began sing Tamil film songs and to cover gaana songs as a teenager because audiences responded well to them.[2] In 2017, gaana musician Sabesh Solomon contacted her and encouraged her to audition for a new band that was being formed by Tenma - this band became The Casteless Collective.[1]

By joining the band, Isaivani became one of the first professional female gaana singers in the world.[4] In addition she is a woman from a low caste, succeeding in a male, high-caste dominated genre of music, despite initial opposition from people who felt that gaana should be preserved as male-only artform.[2] The music she sings with The Casteless Collective is political: in 2018 they released 'Beef Song' in protest at the lynching of dalit people; in 2019 they released 'I’m Sorry Ayyappa' about the Sabarimala temple controversy.[2] Her presence on stage has led to other women coming forward as gaana performers.[5]

In 2020, Isaivani was recognised for her contributions to gaana music with a BBC 100 Women Award.[1][5][6] She participated in Tamil Bigg Boss Season 5.[7]

Television

Year Show Role Channel Notes
2018Singing StarsContestant Colors TamilFinalist
2020 Tamilargale Tamilargale Guest Kalaignar TV
2021 Vanakam Tamizha Sun TV
Tamizha Tamizha Herself Zee Tamil Episode; 112
2021-2022 Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5 Contestant Vijay TV Evicted Day 49
2022 Bigg Boss Tamil Season 5 Kondattam Guest
2022 BB Jodigal (season 2) Contestant Vijay TV Evicted Top 7

References

  1. 1 2 3 Muralidharan, Kavitha (26 November 2020). "The girl who has made it big in the male-dominated world of gaana". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Isaivani: The pathbreaking woman gaana singer now on a BBC Top 100 list". Hindustan Times. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Joseph, Raveena. "The Casteless Collective: Being a woman gaana singer". The Lede. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Gaana singer Isaivani of The Casteless Collective on BBC's '100 Women 2020 list'". The News Minute. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Shaheen Bagh's Bilkis Bano, TN Singer Isaivani in BBC's Top 100 Women for 2020 List". The Wire. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Namitha, Isaivani, Abhishek Raaja and more: Meet the contestants of Big Boss Tamil 5". The News Minute. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.