Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar
A Gondhali folk singer who knows over 1,000 songs by heart and has trained 1,000 students for free, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Gondhali is a tradition of devotional song and storytelling performed through the night. Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar has performed it for more than seventy years. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Karnataka [1].
A living library
Sugatekar was born on 1 May 1943 and began performing at the age of 10 [2]. He knows more than 1,000 songs and 150 long stories from mythology by heart, including Dasara pada, the songs of Santa Shishunala Sharifa, vachanas and Devi pada [2].
Passing it on
He has trained more than 1,000 students free of charge and performed for rural and urban audiences across Karnataka [2]. In the 110th episode of Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister praised him as a torch-bearer of Karnataka’s folk traditions [2].
His honours include the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award (2012), the Janapada Shri award (2017) and an honorary doctorate from Karnataka Folklore University (2022) [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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