Pokhila Lekthepi
A Karbi singer and songwriter from Karbi Anglong who has sung Karbi folk and modern songs since the 1970s, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Pokhila Lekthepi is one of the best-loved voices of the Karbi people of Assam. In 2026 she was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Assam [1].
A singer from school days
Lekthepi was born on 21 August 1962 in Dopor Timung village, Dokmoka, in Karbi Anglong district [2]. She sang from childhood, with her parents’ encouragement [2]. Her first public stage was the first Karbi Youth Festival in 1974 at Diphu, where she won first prizes for modern and folk songs, and a best actress prize for drama [2].
Songwriter
In 1975 she began writing her own Karbi modern songs, and one of them won first prize at the youth festival in 1976 [2]. She sang Karbi modern and folk songs on All India Radio Guwahati from 1978 and on Doordarshan Guwahati from 1984 [2].
Over the decades she has received many honours, including best singer awards from the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and the Assam government’s Assam Gaurav award in 2024 [2]. In 2024, at the 50th Karbi Youth Festival, she received a Culture of Resistance award from a US-based network [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Pokhila Lekthepi — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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