Born on September 13, 1932, Atre was a science and law graduate and later earned a doctorate in music. Besides Kirana gharana, she was adept at different musical genres, including khyaal, tarana, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan.
She composed music for a full-length dance recital ‘Natya Prabha’, a music composition adapted for jazz by a top Netherlands artist. She also wrote several books on music such as Swararangee, Along the Path of Music and Swarmayi and gave new ‘raagas’ to the world of music.
The Indian government honoured the legendary singer with all three Padma awards – the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.
She never married.