SP Balasubrahmanyam, KS Chithra among Padma awardees for Republic Day 2021

Legendary artiste SP Balasubrahmanyam and singer KS Chithra will be among the 119 Padma awardees announced on Republic Day this year. The late Balasubramaniam will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, while KS Chithra will receive the Padma Bhushan award. The Padma awards, the highest civilian awards presented by the government of the country, were announced on the eve of the Republic Day 2021. 

The awards are given in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri - in various disciplines of sport, art, science and engineering, social work, and literature among others. 

SP Balasubrahmanyam will become among the rare individuals to receive the award posthumously. The singer passed away on 25 September 2020 following post-COVID health complications. The singer will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan at the official ceremony to be held in March-April. The late singer had already been awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011.

The singer will be joined by long time collaborator, KS Chithra, who has been conferred the Padma Bhushan award. An eight-time National award winner, Chitra will receive the Padma Bhushan for her long career that has seen her sing across different languages, and film industries. 

The list approved by the President of India this year sees 119 awards conferred, including 16 posthumous awards. 

Theatre director and filmmaker Peter Brook is another prominent artist to be presented with the Padma Shri, alongside singer Bombay Jayashree Ramnath. Brook directed the theatrical adaptation of the Mahabharata (1989). 

Bombay Jayashri will receive the award for her distinguished career in classical music. While the singer remains a prominent classical musician, she has sung occassionally in Tamil films.