K. S. Chithra

Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Awadhi, Marathi, Tulu, Badaga, Braj, Banjara, Urdu, Assamese, Gujarati, Manipuri and Sanskrit, as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French. The Royal Albert Hall, London, has recognised her with the honorific title the Golden Voice of India. The Times Group honoured her as the Melody Queen of Indian Cinema in 2016, reflecting her contribution to the industry. She is also celebrated as the Little Nightingale of Indian Cinema, Nightingale of South India, and in different regions, she is known by various affectionate titles: Piya Basanti in North India, Vanambadi in Kerala, Chinna Kuyil in Tamil Nadu, Kannada Kogile in Karnataka and Sangeeta Saraswathi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. She is also known for her history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, M. M. Keeravani, Hamsalekha, and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam over the years. Chithra is a recipient of 6 National Film Awards, 10 Filmfare Awards South and 43 State Government awards from 8 states of India including 18 from Kerala, 12 from Andhra Pradesh, 5 from Tamil Nadu, 4 from Karnataka, and 1 each from Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments. 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 honoured with the title First Ladies by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be honoured by British Parliament at House of...