Krishnan’s daughters/disciples, Priya Krishnan Parameswaran, Harini Krishnan Vikas, and Subhapriya Krishnan Srivatsan, are acclaimed Carnatic musicians settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the ‘Krishnan Sisters’ in Europe and the United States, and the ‘California Sisters’ in India, the three began performing very young in AIR and Doordarshan, also touring internationally very young, releasing their first classical music album in 1982. The sisters had their initial training from their mother, Radha Krishnan, and were also trained under the eminent musicologist Dr. S. Ramanathan in the 1980s.
Priya has been a writer, co-producer and co-director of several musicals and theatrical productions primarily from Valmiki Ramayana, Ram Charit Manas, Abhang-Sants and Varkari traditions, and Devi Bhagavatam. Her Soundarya Lahari musicals and spiritual recitational teaching over YouTube have earned a wide following of fans and devotees. She is also a Vainik and teaches vocal and instrumental classical music to a select few, and runs a Samskriti group known as Siksha.
Harini has been very active in the US political arena for more than a decade. She is the nationally acclaimed Democratic community organizer mobilizing South Asian & AAPI constituencies, holding very high offices in the DNC such as chair or co-chair of SAFA and AAPI. Her prime goal is to organize and motivate the citizens-at-large to bring about positive change in governance and public attitudes — to help resurrect morality in governance, and respect and leadership of the US on the global stage. She is also active in the Indian music scene, invited by universities and state-wide arts organizations to judge in music and arts competitions.
Subhapriya is a renowned Indian Carnatic classical vocalist, guru, and musicologist. A versatile artist for over 30 years, she performs in both Karnataka Sangîtam and Hindustani Bhakti Sangîtam. Subhapriya has been a founder member and principal coordinator of SVLOTUS for over 25 years, and conducts regular workshops on classical music and spirituality and on Vishishtãdvaita concepts and scriptures. She collaborates as a music educator and curator of concerts and music festivals — along with her husband, Vidwãn Hemmige V. Srivatsan, a well-known violinist and vocalist (and disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi, Palghat Sri K V Narayanaswamy). Subhapriya is a mentor to the current generation of organic youth, teaching Karnataka Sangîtam and scriptural knowledge, and leading the spiritual organization SGM (Sadãcãra Gnyãna Maṇḍali).
While the sisters are highly academically qualified and well-known in their own chosen professions and pursuits, music has been their mainstay and hallmark. Their hoary music tradition now extends to the fourth generation through their children, all of whom are vocal and instrumental musicians, well-versed in Indian and other systems of global music with proficiency and acclaim.
The Fourth Generation
The musical lineage now extends to a fourth generation. Each of the three sisters has children who carry the family’s traditions forward: Priya’s children Kaanchana and Shankara; Harini’s daughters Janani Krishnan-Jha and Abhaya Krishnan-Jha; and Subhapriya’s sons Raama Srivatsan, Keshavan Srivatsan, and Hari Srivatsan, who are trained in Carnatic music under both their parents.
This four-generation arc — from Gana-BhushanamKumaramangalam Srinivasa-Raghavan (RagaSri) through Krishnan, through the Sisters, to their children — is a living embodiment of the parampara tradition that sustains Indian classical music.