Yamunabai Waikar, acclaimed Lavani singer passes away

Yamunabai Waikar (103), the acclaimed Lavani singer and Padma Shri recipient, has passed away in Satara district, Maharashtra on May 15, 2018. Born into a poor family, Yamuna Vikram Jawale learned singing and started performing along with her sisters at a young age. Soon offers to act in the `Tamasha’ theatre followed, and she became famous as Yamunabai `Waikar’ across Maharashtra. She also worked to create awareness about water conservation during the 1972 drought in Maharashtra and campaigned against archaic and regressive rituals of her Kolhati community.