K C Runremsangi

K. C. Runremsangi is a folk singer and a dance instructor at the Institute of Music and Fine Arts of the Mizoram government’s art and culture department. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of art, from Mizoram ^[1].

Training

Runremsangi was born on 2 April 1963 ^[2]. She completed her pre-university course under the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong and earned a top-grade certificate in traditional dance, music and folk song from the Institute of Music and Fine Arts ^[2]. She is a B-high grade artist with All India Radio, Aizawl ^[2].

On stage and in the classroom

She has performed for many years at Chapchar Kut, Mizoram’s biggest festival, and at cultural meets across the state ^[2]. She has represented Mizoram in many parts of India, from Tripura and Manipur to Goa, Karnataka, Delhi and Lakshadweep, and abroad in Pyongyang ^[2].

Between 1986 and 2014 she released eight albums of traditional and modern folk songs ^[2]. She has taught cultural dances, folk songs and folk music in villages, schools and colleges on more than 50 occasions, has judged folk song and dance contests, and in 2017–18 taught under the guru-shishya scheme of the North East Zone Cultural Centre ^[2].

She won first prize in a folk song competition held for Aizawl’s centenary in 1990, and the President presented her the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2017 ^[2].