I have achieved everything through practice. I did not know of books or pens and music recordings until recently
R Guruprasad
Sukri Bommagowda is aptly called the nightingale of Halakki Vokkaliga tribes in Karnataka. She has also been instrumental in preserving cultural heritage by way of singing songs to save the culture from disappearing. She is also known to have a repository of songs and was the first person to be called for any occasion; marriage, birth, festivals or rituals.
Sukri had got into this singing habit since her childhood while singing alongside her mother and she went on adding songs and today, her songs are said to be more than 1,000. In a TV interview she said that she did not know of recording songs in books till recently and she had practiced everything. So, she has been teaching all her tribeswomen about the songs which she has in memory. Sukri had a troubled life as she got married at the age of 16 and lost her husband shortly and she with her children went on to work as agricultural labourers to earn livelihood.
Sukri didn’t limit her talent just for singing as she was recently the face of banning alcohol in Badigeri haadi (a small hamlet) as her adopted son died in 2014 due to excessive alcohol consumption. She had won several awards and has also made a mark in textbooks as her lesson makes a mention in the second language Kannada textbooks of Standard VIII in Karnataka. Sukri was conferred the Padma Shri award as the Union Government laid special emphasis on awarding recognition to those who have been rendering selfless service to the society at the grass root level.
Key Contribution :?Preserving more than thousand folk songs in memory
