A devadasi singer spent her fortune on a temple for the saint Thyagaraja, was barred from singing at his festival, and held her own

Bangalore Nagarathnamma was born on 3 November 1878 at Nanjangud to Puttalakshmi of Mysore, a devadasi. She became court artiste (Asthana Vidushi) at Mysore and was patronised at Travancore, Bobbili and Vizianagaram. One account calls her the first woman artiste to pay taxes^†. In 1910 she published an edition of the Telugu poem Radhika Santawanam, which was banned and released only after independence. Her teacher's letter told her the grave of the saint-composer Thyagaraja at Thiruvaiyaru lay neglected. She spent her savings and sold her jewellery to build a temple over it. The festival in his honour was run by rival factions of male musicians who barred women from performing. In January 1927 she held a separate festival, and 40 devadasi women sang. That year she became the first president of the Association of the Devadasis of Madras Presidency. In 1941 the groups merged, and men and women sang together. She died on 19 May 1952. Her own memorial stands facing Thyagaraja's samadhi, and a trust in her name continued to fund the shrine.