B. Vasantha bags Kamukara award
Noted South Indian playback singer B. Vasantha, one of the most talented female voices during the 70s, has been selected for the 13th Kamukara Award, instituted by the Kamukara Foundation in memory of playback singer Kamukara Puraskaram. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 25,000, citation and a sculpture designed by artist Namboothiri.
The jury, comprising Perumpavoor G. Ravindranath (chairman), Kamukara’s sister (noted vocalist Dr. Leela Omcherry) and Poovachal Khadar, selected the awardee after considering the opinion of the public.
D. Chandrasenan Nair, president of the foundation said in a press meet at Thiruvananthapuram that Vasantha was selected for her comprehensive contributions to music. The award ceremony will be held in Thiruvananthapuram in November.
Hailing from Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, B. Vasantha began singing from a very young age and made her debut as a playback singer with Vagdanam (Telugu) in 1962. She has sung over 3000 songs in various South Indian languages and one Hindi film.
Vasantha’s first song in Tamil was a duet 'Aasai vantha pinne' (Konchum Kumari) with K.J. Yesudas, who was also making his debut in Tamil with the same song. This pair then went on to sing some of the best duets in Malayalam. Vasantha has won many awards including the Kalaimamani Award and the Ugadi Award instituted by the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments respectively.
Her notable songs include 'Karthikavilakku kandu' (Kayamkulam Kochunni), 'Nadikallil sundari Yamuna' (Anarkali), 'Parijaatha malare' (Sahadarmini), 'Sugandam ozhukkum' (Jeevikkan Anuvadikku), 'Thekkumkoor adiyathi' (Aswamedam), 'Kanyaka mathave' (Madatharuvi), 'Vadhu varanmaare' (Jwala), 'Kavillilenthe kumkumam' (Moodalmanju) and 'Innathe ratri sivaratri' (Vilakku Vangiya Veena).
