Chithra

Chithra

Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages, as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Hamsalekha, M. M. Keeravani and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam over the years. She is regarded as a 'cultural icon' of South Indian states. She is called as the 'Melody Queen of Indian Cinema' and 'Little Nightingale of Indian Cinema'. She was cited as the Golden Voice of India by the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, London, and her performance in the hall was applauded with much appreciation by a roomful of an international audience.Chithra is a recipient of six National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards South and 36 different state film awards from six states of India such as 16 Kerala State Film Awards, 11 Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards, 4 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, 3 Karnataka State Film Awards, 1 Orissa State Film Awards, 1 West Bengal State Film Awards. She was awarded India's third-highest civilian honours Padma Bhushan in 2021 and Padma Shri in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity. She is the first Indian woman to be honoured by British Parliament at House of Commons, United Kingdom. Her performance at the Qinghai international water and music festival in Qinghai, China, in 2009 changed this national talent into a global musical genius. She was honoured with the Rashtrapati Award for First Ladies in the field of music felicitated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 20 January 2018.

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